Mauritius

MAURITIUS, a state located on the island of Mauritius and the islands of Rodrigues, Agalega and the archipelago of Cargados-Karajos in the zap. parts of Indian approx . Enters the brit. Concord. The total area is 2045 km2 (including the island of Mauritius 1865 km2). Us. 850 thousand people (1972), mainly Indians (68%), Creoles (preim. descendants of French colonists, 28%), Chinese (3%), Africans (descendants of slaves exported from Madagascar), etc. Ofits. the language is English, French is common. By religion, mostly Hindus (49%), there are Christians (about 33%), Muslims (14%), Buddhists (4%). The official calendar is Gregorian (see calendar). Population growth in 1963-71 averaged 2% per year. With a population density of 415 people per 1 km2. The most populated plateau is about . Mauritius, where 800 people live on 1 km2.

The capital is Port Louis (150 thousand inhabitants in 1972); hence, the cities are: Beau Bassin (70.6 thousand inhabitants in 1968), Kyorpipe (51 thousand inhabitants), Vacoas (50 thousand inhabitants), Quatre-Born. In adm. In relation to the territory, M. is divided into 9 districts. : M. is a constitutional monarchy. The current Constitution was adopted on March 4, 1968 (entered into force on March 12, 1968). The head of the state is English, the king (Queen), represented at the Meeting by the Governor-General appointed by him. The highest body is the legislator. The government is a unicameral Legislative Assembly (term of office - 5 years), consists of 70 members. Prime Minister and members of Pr-va M. (cabinet) are appointed by the Governor-General from among the members of the Legislatures. meetings. Local government bodies are district and rural municipal councils. The judicial system of Moscow includes the Supreme Court, the Civil Court of Appeal, the Criminal Court of Appeal and the District Magistrate courts. State coat of arms and state flag, see the tables for the articles State coats of arms and State Flag.

Nature. Vulkanich Islands. of origin, composed of basalts, dolomites and tuffs. The surface is elevated, especially in the south-west. parts of the island of Mauritius (Python, 826 m); in the center, parts of the island - the plateau. up to 600 m, on the S. and V. - a narrow strip of coastal plain; on the O. Rodriguez you. up to 396 m . The shores are bordered by coral reefs, making it difficult to approach the island. The climate is tropical. sea. Wed. temp-pa of the warmest month (February) 26 °C, the coldest (August) from 14 °C in the interior to 18.5 ° C on the coast. Annual precipitation ranges from 1500-2500 mm on the coastal plains to 3500- 5000 mm on the central plateau and in the mountains; precipitation falls mainly in summer. In January-March

hurricane winds (typhoons) are frequent. The rivers are low-water, completely dry up in the dry season; the main river of the island of Mauritius is the Grand Riviere. Fertile soils on volcanic. breeds. Dense tropics. forests with valuable tree species (ebony, etc.) that once covered the islands were cut down and preserved only in the mountains; on the island of Mauritius, forests occupy approx. 1/3 of the terr. fauna belongs to the Madagascar subdistrict, is endemic (elephant turtles, etc.), is distinguished by the diversity and abundance of birds.

Historical information. The island of Mauritius was known in the 10th century. Arab, travelers who mentioned it in their descriptions under the name. Dina Arobi (Silver Island). It remained uninhabited until the 16th century. The first Europeans to land on the island in the beginning. 16th century, there were Portuguese. In 1598, the Dutch took possession of the island, who gave it a name. Mauritius (in honor of Prince Maurice of Orange). Under the Dutch on the island of Mauritius were imported from the East. African slaves. The island is like a convenient pestilence. The base on the way to India and the source of the valuable ebony attracted the attention of France and Great Britain. In 1715, the French captured it, renaming it Ile-de-France. In 1810, after the victory won by the English troops over the French garrisons, it passed into the possession of Great Britain (officially became a colony in 1814). In 1829, the first batch of indentured workers from China was imported to the island. In 1835, after the abolition of slavery in the English colonies, the Indus began. immigration. Throughout its history, the island's population has been fighting against colonization and oppression. The revolt of slaves against the Golden enslavers in 1695, the revolts of 1724, 1732 and 1794 against the French are known. colonialists, the performances did not stop during the years of the English rule. In 1935, trade unions arose on the M. In 1936, the first political party was formed. The party is the Labour Party (LP), which enjoys the support of the main middle and small bourgeoisie of the preim. indus. origin. The growth of anti-columns and the struggle after the 2nd World War of 1939-45 forced Great Britain to make some concessions. In 1957, the rights of the Legislative Council (an advisory body created in 1825 under the English Governor) were expanded. In 1958, a general election was introduced. right. In 1964, the National Ave. was formed. Under the pressure of the developing nation on the island.-it will liberate the movement at the London Constitutional Conference of 1965, it was decided to grant independence to Moscow no later than the end of 1966. Great Britain, interested in maintaining dominance over the island, postponed the fulfillment of this promise under various pretexts. On August 7, 1967, legislative elections were held. council, the island received the status of a self-governing territory. The LP that won the elections, the leader of which S. Ram-ghulam became Prime Minister, demanded the immediate granting of independence to the island. The Mauritian Social Democrats opposed it. The party (MSDP, formed in 1955), which expressed the interests of Creole and Europe. bourgeoisie and Adm. elites. On March 12, 1968, Moscow became an independent state within the Commonwealth. The defense treaty signed on the same day secured for Great Britain the right to provide not only external, but "if necessary" and internal. the security of M., use the existing on the island of Engl, military facilities, airports, equip the national. security and police services. From the end of 1969 to m. A government coalition was formed from the PL, the MSDP and the Muslim Action Committee party (founded in 1958), which has about 3/4 seats in parliament. In the opposition is the Independent Advanced Bloc (founded in 1958), the Mauritian Democrat. The Union (founded in 1970) and the Mauritian Militant Movement (BDM, founded in 1970), which gained popularity among the working masses and trade unions. Since 1970, a broad strike movement has unfolded in Moscow, which reached a special scale by the end of 1971. In Dec. In 1971, the government imposed a state of emergency, the activities of all trade unions adjacent to the BDM were banned, the printing organ of this party "Militan" was closed. In 1972, the Government extended the state of emergency to ser.

General view of the city of Port Louis.

1973. Since April 1968, Moscow has been a member of the UN; since 1970, it has been part of the Common Afro-Malagasy-Mauritian Organization. In 1972 M. joined the "Common Market" as an associate member. Digotomatic. relations with the USSR were established in 1968. 3. I. Tokareva.

Economy. M.- agr. country, in the economy of which a large role is played by foreign, gl. mod. English, and French, capital. Per capita accounts for $261 of national income (1972). Agriculture and fishing account for 20% of the gross national product, processing. prom-st 13%. The economic program is being implemented at M. and social development for 1971-75. The lands under arable land and gardens make up 56% of the terr. The main agricultural culture is sah. cane (80 thousand hectares, 686.5 thousand m of raw sugar in 1972), occupying about 3/4 of all cultivated lands. About 60% of the collection of sah. cane falls on large plantations owned by the Franco-Mauritian Sahs. companies. Sugar provides about 60% of the country's marketable products. The second most important export crop is tea (area of 3 thousand hectares, harvest of 4 thousand m in 1972; 3/4 of it was exported). In addition, tobacco (0.6 thousand tons in 1971/72), bananas, aloe, corn, potatoes, vegetables (mainly tomatoes) are cultivated. They breed mainly goats (68 thousand heads in 1970/71) and kr. horn. cattle (49 thousand heads). Fish catch 3,5 thousand m in 1971.

Mount Peter-Bot on the island of Mauritius. In the foreground is a sugar cane plantation.

The industry is mainly represented by plants for the processing of sax. reeds, which give 48% of the total production. production. Art and rubies are being processed for Swiss watch factories, there are factories for processing tea leaves, shipyards, etc. In 1971, 148 million keth of electricity was produced. Most of the enterprises were created with the participation of foreign companies. 94% of enterprises are small workshops with the number of workers from 1 to 3 people, the rest (including 22 sax. z-yes, owned by English and French companies) with the number of workers from 100 to 400 people and above; about 120 thousand employees work for hire. people, unemployed 31 thousand people (1971).

The length of highways is about 1.4 thousand km (including 0.9 thousand km with asphalt pavement); 29 thousand cars (1972). Large ocean port - Port Louis (cargo turnover approx. 2 million tons per year). International airport. values (Pleasance).

Exports in 1972 amounted to 573.8 million Mauritian rupees, imports - 635.8 million Mauritian rupees. Exported: sugar (91% of the value of exports in 1970), molasses, tea, tobacco; imported mainly food (35% of the value of imports), machinery and equipment (12%), industrial goods (19%). Main trading partners: Great Britain (67.6% of the value of exports and 20.9% of imports in 1970), Canada (20% of the value of exports), South Africa (9% of imports), Australia (7.3% of imports), France, Germany, USA (5.5% of imports). D e n. units a - Mauritian rupee; 2 rupees = 15 engl., pence. L. G. Kofanov.