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History
Although the Arabs knew of the existence of the island
in the 10th
century, it was officially discovered in 1505 by the Portuguese navigator
Pedro Mascarenhas. Since then it has been successively occupied by
the Dutch (1598-1712), then the French (1715-1810) before being handed
to Britain through the treaty of Paris in 1814. Mauritius was given
independence on 12 March 1968 and became a Republic on March 12th 1992.
Its
constitution is based on the Westminster model with the executive power
laying in the hands of the Prime Minister
and the Cabinet.
Geography
Mauritius is situated in the South West of the Indian Ocean
(20° S/57,5°E)
approximately 2,000 km from Durban, 1,800 km from Mombassa, 6,000 km from Perth
and 4,700 km from Bombay.
The island covers an area of around 1,865 km2 and has about 330 km of coastline
almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs.
The island is green all year round
and has a wide central plateau broken by some most spectacular mountains.
Climate
The climate in Mauritius is relatively mild and the heat is never unbearable.
In the centre of the island where the altitude is 600m, the average daytime temperature
ranges from around
20° in August to 29° in February. The minimum temperature
at
sunrise is around 14° in August and 20° in February.
At sea level
all temperatures are usually around 3 to 5° higher, with the West and North
coasts being generally warmer
and dryer than the East and the South.
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