AS A MELTING-POT

Title: Mauritius’ history as a key of the actual multicultural society

Thesis: “Mauritius is an island of immigrants. From the first settlers, passing by the slaves, to the immigration of workers, the overall inhabitants of Mauritius have always been very different, which may explain why, today Mauritius is a melting-pot where people with different culture and beliefs lives peacefully, in harmony and respect. Nevertheless, history has let a mark that still shadowed nowadays Mauritius’ society”

Tracy Oudin-Duret International Area Studies – Essay

Introduction

“The various races of men walking in the streets afford the most interesting spectacle in Port-Louis” – Charles Darwin; “For an island country that spans less than 800 square miles, and hosts a little over one million inhabitants, Mauritius is surprisingly multicultural” – CNN, 2014; according to “Africaranking”, Mauritius is on the top of the most peaceful countries in Africa 2015. These examples, among every other are agree to say that Mauritius is a peaceful and multiculturalist county. Me too as a spokesperson, I will talk to you more about “Mauritius as a melting-pot”. In this essay, I will defend the following thesis: “Mauritius is an island of immigrants. From the first settlers, passing by the slaves, to the immigration of workers, the overall inhabitants of Mauritius have always been very different, which may explain why, today Mauritius is a melting-pot where people with different culture and beliefs lives peacefully, in harmony and respect. Nevertheless, history has let a mark that still shadowed nowadays Mauritius’ society”. For a better understanding, I will start by telling Mauritius’ history, history which contribute to nowadays identity of Mauritius. Then, in a second part, I will describe how relevant is the multiculturalism that emerge from the country. And finally in a third part, I will show that nevertheless, inequalities and racial stratification still exist in the Mauritian society.

Mauritius’ history starting from the first settlers, to a Democratic Republic

It is said that the very first who discovered Mauritius island were the Arabs, but we do not know or have any proof of that part of history. The official version is the discovery of Mauritius by the Portuguese. Then the island has been successively colonized by the Dutch, the French and the British, and became independent in 1968.

 In 1507, the Portuguese seaman Domingo Fernandez Pereira sighted Mauritius but the Portuguese never settled the island, they just used it as a port of call and a source of fresh foods as they were more interested in protecting their trade routes with India.  Then in 1598, a Dutch called Wybrand van Warwyck sailed into Grand Port Bay and took possession of the island and pompously named it Mauritius after Prince Maurice of Nassau, the stadtholder of Holland. Sugar cane and Java deer were introduced and slaves were brought in from Africa (Senegal, Mozambique) and Madagascar. The Dutch leaved the island in 1710 where they had found in the meantime a far better settling place: The Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.  Abandoned by the Dutch, the island became a French colony when, in September 1715, Guillaume Dufresne d'Arsel landed and named the island "Isle de ". From 1735, with the arrival of the French governor, Mahé de La Bourdonnais, "Isle de France" started developing effectively (a harbor was built, trade on the island thrived, Mauritius could supply enough sugar and rum to the surrounding islands and visiting vessels, Port-Louis, named after the ruling king Louis XV, became the capital of Mauritius).  The British won the Napoleonic war and, Mauritius was captured on 3 December 1810 under Commodore Josias Rowley. Their possession of the island was confirmed four years later by the Treaty of Paris (1814). Most of the French settlers, remained on the island and were allowed to keep their customs, religion and laws. French institutions, including the Napoleonic code of law, were maintained. The French language was at that moment still used more widely than English. The British administration, was followed by rapid social and economic changes. One of the most important events was the abolition of slavery on 1 February 1835. Rapid development of the infrastructure continued. Free primary education was given to the population so that local civil servants could be trained to run the affairs of the country.

Mauritian Creoles trace their origins to the plantation owners and slaves who were brought to work the sugar fields. Indo-Mauritians are descended from Indian immigrants who arrived in the 19th century in order to work as indentured laborers in the sugar cane field after slavery was abolished in 1835. They eventually settled in Mauritius and their descendants constitute nowadays the majority of the population. Moreover, Sino Mauritians are descendants of the Chinese immigration of traders and artisans came during the 20th century.

 An independence campaign gained momentum after 1961, when the British agreed to permit additional self-government and eventual independence. A coalition won a majority in the 1967’s Legislative Assembly election and Constituency No 15 was key to the victory by the pro-independence coalition. This event was preceded by a period of communal strife, brought under control with assistance from British troops. The communal strife that preceded independence led to around 300 deaths. Mauritius achieved independence on 12 March 1968 and adopted a constitution based on the British parliamentary system. The first post-independence years were difficult but after more than 15 years of planning and hard work, Mauritius achieved economic and political stability. In December 1991, the Constitution was amended to make Mauritius a republic independently from the Commonwealth. Mauritius became a republic on 12 March 1992.

This was a short resume of the from the first settlers and slavery, through the wave of workers’ immigration to the independence in 1968 that lead to the constitution of the Republic of Mauritius in 1992. We can see that Mauritius, from a virgin island, is a nation of immigrants. This will help us understand why Mauritius is a melting-pot One of the obvious reason is that there is no “straight” Mauritians and from the very beginning, all inhabitants of the island are mixed and the multiculturalism is truly what is the Mauritian identity.

The pure Mauritian identity: the multiculturalism

As seen in the first part, Mauritius is mixed population, all are descendants of the many immigrants that came on the island for different reasons. Some were settlers, some others were slaves, others were workers, or traders, but what they have in common is that they are all from different origins. Thus, nowadays, each inhabitants of Mauritius are integrated into a culture composed of different cultures.

The population is mostly composed of Indians (68%), the general population (the general population is composed of the Creole and the Whites. The Creoles are the slave’s descendant, and often mixed, most of the time with French; as for the Whites, almost all Whites Mauritians are descendants from the French colons; the general population represent 27% of the population), the Muslims (17%) and the Chinese (3%). And because there have been intermarriages between races over the years, there are also a number of people who have mixes origins. This coming together of different people from different origins created a distinct Mauritian society. Despite being from different origins and ethnics groups, and even though they often keep their languages, religions and cultural practices, all inhabitants of Mauritius are first Mauritians and they have developed their own sense of pride and nationalism. But concerning the Africans-Mauritians, contrary to Franco, Indo or Sino-Mauritians, they could not preserve the memory of their ancestors’ slaves or their native lands: their cultural identity is born on the island. In general, the national identity of being a Mauritian is forged early in school and continues in the workplace. With no defining national cultural traits, the mix of cultures forms a unique identity of the island. All Mauritians talk creole, added to their mother tongue. The Creoles talk creole and most of them are Christians; the Indians talk creole and their mother tong and practice the Hinduism religion; the Chinese talk creole and their mother tong too; the Muslims talk creole and Arab and practice Islam.

It is interesting to see that the creole language itself is representative of the diversity in Mauritius. The creole language is a pidgin (a language that is formed from a mixture of several languages when speakers of different languages need to talk to each other. In our case, creole is mostly bases on the French and African language, created during slavery in order to be understood by both slaves and slave owner, and which keep evolving into a rich language used by all Mauritians). In Mauritius, creole is a unifying factor for all these different communities living together and is based on the diversity of Mauritius history.

As said above, each ethnic group had keep its religion and beliefs. Is has already been the case with the French when the British took possession on the island and it has remained the same today. Now, let’s see how it is implemented. Let’s have a general overview of the Mauritian religious tolerance. First of all, there is no national religion in Mauritius. More than that, religious tolerance is an essential principle of the Mauritian society and is a constitutionally guaranteed right. Recognizing the diversity of its society, the state has set up holidays for each of the major religious communities. There are thirteen official state holidays in Mauritius, and for each holiday, public television seeks to explain the meaning, history and give a voice to people for whom that day mean something special. This is a great way for other communities to better understand their neighbors. Consequently, it is not unusual to see Mauritians who participate in celebrations and ceremonies that do not concern them directly: Catholics will make a pilgrimage with Hindus, Hindus go to pray at the mosque with their Muslims friends, anyone will celebrate the Chinese new year with the Chinese, etc. Religion is not simply a matter of belief, it is an identity and a cultural practice for many Mauritians. Express religion in public is absolutely normal, it is part of the identity and it is officially respected by all.

Besides the language, Mauritian multi-culture can be perceived into all the aspect of the country: the architecture, the food (Mauritian traditional food is a melting-pot of various cuisine which again, main influences are African, Indian, Chinese and French), the music, the dance (Sega is a style of music and also a dance form that originates from African people brought to Mauritius as slaves and which is today the typical dance of Mauritius), etc.

Politic, economic, social inequalities and racial stratification

Mauritius is a melting-pot. This is an uncontested fact. However, some inequalities and racial stratifications still exist. It is very well hidden because it is unconsciously deeply rooted in mentalities since the very beginning of Mauritius’ history. And we can perceive these inequalities in two main areas: culturally and economically.

I will start by the cultural aspect and specifically the language. As I said the language of the people is Creole, however the national language is English. As a matter of fact, it is the legacy of the British colonization. At the time, English was seen to be neutral and unifying and so acceptable to everyone. English is used for the administration, the parliamentary system, system of government and the school system but today, the fact is that English remain a foreign language for almost everyone in the island. Courses are taught in English but are not understandable by everyone and only the richer can afford a better education. For me this situation is shocking! Children go to school to learn, but they are not even able to understand what they are taught because it is taught in what is for them a foreign language. The media, both broadcast and printed, predominantly uses the French language. More, than English, French is understood by almost every one (because only the French descendants remains on the island, and Creole is mostly from French language). After all, we may come to wonder why Creole is not the official language of Mauritius? As a potent unifying factor, Creole is truly a Mauritian language and it imparts a sense of identity and belong to culturally diverse people. The answer to this question is that above all, there is no written form of Creole and having no existing written form, Creole cannot be seen as such as a “real and concrete” language. Creole is the pidgin French spoken by the slaves which has evolved, but still it is the most widely spoken language in the country. Today Creole is at the heart of a political and cultural debate between those who see it with a touch of contempt and those who see the heart of the Mauritian identity. For Afro-Mauritian community, it is also an essential part of their cultural heritage; African practices were often lost or been mixed in the “Creole” culture during the period of slavery. Some seek to recognize Creole as the national language: the language born on the island, spoken by all and which has evolved over the migration and considered to be the Mauritius’ native tongue would become the official language? What a symbol!

Also, there are no much interethnic marriage in Mauritius. For sure this a very opened- mind and tolerant country and despite everyone respect each other religion, belief, and practices, the communities rarely mixed together. Some are more open to mixed than others. Creoles are those who will more marry someone from another community (Indian or White, most of the time), as for Arabs and Chinese they are nor used to mix. On everyculture.com in an article, David Matusky wrote “Most marriages in Mauritius occur within the same ethnic group; only about 8 percent of marriages are interethnic. Those couples who do intermarry usually take on a single ethnic identity for their children. Those children in turn usually associate with that ethnic group and marry within it. Ethnic identification is considered to be more important than class and is the single most examined factor in selecting a mate”.

Another cultural aspect of a social hierarchy is the respect given to the White (talking about Mauritius, the White population designate the Franco-Mauritian and by “respect” I mean the way of seeing a White more prestigiously than a Creole, an Indian, a Chinese). The two main reason are that it is a there is still a mark from the colonization where the White were the chief and the owners and the others were slaves or laborers. And in nowadays mind, White are still in top of the social hierarchy. As an example, rich Creole will talk in French as a distinction of “superiority”. Is French language really superior to the Creole language, a rich language branded by a red hot iron by the country’s history and diversity? The other reason which will lead me to my other point, is that indeed, White are concretely the highest in the economy.

This brings me to the politic and economic aspect. Mauritius is the most successful country in Africa (Mauritius, despite being an island in the middle of the , is technically considered part of the African continent). The country is ranked number one in ease of doing business in Africa. The two main economic pillars of the country are the sugar industry and tourism. And as a matter of fact, the sugar plantations are owned by the White (again, the legacy of the colonization). The Franco-Mauritians have had land and ownership privileges that the other ethnic groups have not, and they form a small, privileged high class. Nowadays, the White elite controls nearly all of the large sugar estates and is active in business and banking. Consequently, and effectively, the White hold the economic power of the country although they represent only 2-3% of the overall population. However, they are almost absent from the political scene even if their economic power gives them a lot of pressure tools.

As the Indian population became numerically dominant and the voting franchise was extended, political power shifted from the Franco-Mauritians and their Creole allies to the Indo- Mauritians. And nowadays these are the Indo-Mauritians who own the political power. Since the independence, all of Mauritius's prime ministers have been Hindu.

Conversely, the "Creole" descendants of slaves are still suffering from their difficult legacy. It is the poorest community in the country, even if some members are doing well. Once again, if we refer to the history, the Creole’s ancestors were slaves whereas the Indians or Chinese came as workers and thus, already had a better situation while being paid. Moreover, a Hindu can get a job more easily with some Hindus than a Creole, and a White in difficulty can often benefit from the influential network of other White: communitarianism can sometimes turn to be excluding for others. The fact that some people are left on the side of the road is therefore a social/political problem.

Conclusion

We’ve seen in this essay that the tumultuous history of Mauritius still has a huge impact on the nowadays society. Whether in the everyday life, or in the cultural, economic, or political aspect, the history still has its mark left on Mauritius society. In this sense, after having been through slavery and colonization, all Mauritians, as different as they are, have learned to live peacefully, in harmony and aspire together to a common identity. Gathered, they form what is today a multicultural society. But, in this happy ending, we have to keep in mind the shadow of history. As meaning, the economic situation, as a legacy, has been left in the hands of those who has ever had it, as well as the privileges, conditions and status going with. But yet, there is no one to blame for the course of history. Mauritius island is a tiny island you do not often heard about. The economy is flourish, there is no political or social problem and its international relations are good to everyone. Thereby, its deep cultural link with France, England, China and India has turned into political and economic asset: Mauritius today relies on all backgrounds to get closer to countries influential on the international scene. The Muslim community creates new relationships with countries in the Middle East like Dubai, which welcomes the government. Moreover, Mauritius presents a face of unity and safety to the international community and every foreigner who leaves Mauritius has felt the harmonious and happy atmosphere on the island and can testify how a great model it could be for the world. I will conclude with this extract claimed in the national anthem “Around thee we gather, as one people, as one nation, in peace, justice and liberty”.

Sources

Book

Culture Shock Mauritius – Ng Cheong-Lum, Roseline

Internet sources http://cctv.cntv.cn/2014/04/21/VIDE1398034680832195.shtml http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/31/world/africa/mauritius-the-worlds-melting-pot/ http://colliersmagazine.com/article/melting-pot-mauritius http://www.madmoizelle.com/ile-maurice-carte-postale-388029 http://www.travelmauritius.net/people-culture.html http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mauritius.html http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pidgin