MAURITIUS. We have little to add to the account of this island contained in the Encyclopædia, except what is derived from the accounts given of it by Captain Flinders, and the official documents from the public offices since it has become a British possession.
The expedition for its conquest was planned in India, and executed with considerable talent and arrangement. The forces were collected from various parts of India in the middle of the year 1810; they rendezvoused at the island of Rodrigues in October of that year, and landed on the eastern side of Mauritius the latter end of December, without any opposition. The capital is strongly defended on the sea side, but towards the land its defences are weak, from their great extension. When the troops were landed they were not opposed on their march by any corps of the enemy, and had only the asperities of a mountainous country to overcome. On reaching the capital, in which all the military strength of the colony was concentrated, and where a respectable defence was expected, preparations were made for storming it, which were rendered needless by a flag of truce being sent. A capitulation followed, and the surrender of the capital, the forts, and the whole island, was executed on the 4th January 1811.
By the peace of Paris, in 1814, the full and perpetual sovereignty of this valuable settlement was ceded to Great Britain, and has continued under the colonial system of his Majesty's other distant possessions, independently of the control of the East India Company.
The extent of this island is about 31 leagues in circumference, being 11 leagues in length, and 7 in breadth. Its surface contains 432,600 British statute acres. The north-west part is level, but the north-east is covered with mountains of various heights, from 2700 to 3150 feet. The scenery in the mountainous parts is highly picturesque, exhibiting lofty rocks, deep ravines, and impetuous cascades. The south-west part is an extended mountain plain, whose mean height above the level of the sea is about 1500 feet, and where a more mild and temperate climate is enjoyed, than in the capital or the other parts on the sea-coast. This elevated plain (Wilhelm's Plain) occupies a considerable portion of the interior of the island, extending from near the sea on its northern extremity, to near Port Bourbon on the south-east coast, and its surface is about 90 square miles. On this plain are several lakes, from which issue the numerous rivers and rivulets that water the island.
One of the lakes, the Mareaux Vacouvas, is one of the natural curiosities of the country. It is an irregular piece of fresh water, about one mile in length, surrounded with many hundred acres of swampy land, through which it receives several streams from the neighbouring hills. It is said to be from 20 to 25 fathoms deep, is well stocked with eels, prawns, and a small red fish called dame-cere, brought originally from China. The eels and prawns are indigenous, and attain a large size; the latter are sometimes found six inches long without the beard, and the eels are commonly from six to twenty pounds weight, and are said occasionally to attain the weight of eighty pounds; they are delicious food, and the larger they are the more highly is their flavour esteemed. Its form has more affinity to the conger than to the fresh water eel, and nearly resembles the species caught in the small streams on
Norfolk Island, in the Pacific Ocean. About six miles from Vacouvas lake, another lake, called the Grand Basin, greatly exceeds it in depth. This basin is nearly half a mile in diameter, of a circular form, and said to be more than eighty fathoms in depth. The banks are rocky, and have the appearance of a mound, thrown up to prevent the waters from overflowing, and the surrounding land, especially to the southward, being considerably lower, gives the basin the appearance of a cauldron, about two-thirds filled. No perceptible stream runs into it, but several issue from it through hollow parts of the rocky bank. These, by various additions, form three rivers, that run into the sea on the south and south-east sides of the island. No great difference takes place in the level of the water, except after heavy rains, when the supply, which must come chiefly from the springs in the bottom, so far exceeds the quantity discharged as to raise it sometimes as much as six feet. The elevated bank round this basin consists of stones loosely thrown together, which, though porous, are heavy and hard, of a dark grey colour, and contain numerous specks, which appear to be feld-spath, with some particles of mica and olivine: it is more or less ferruginous, and in some parts appears to run in the manner of lava. It is natural to infer, that, if the whole island does not owe its existence to subterranean fire, it has been subject to volcanic eruptions, and that the Grand Basin is the remains of one of them.
The climate, on these elevated plains, is remarkably moist. A day seldom passes in the whole year without rain upon them, whilst on the low grounds very little falls, except from December to March. This moisture creates an abundance of vegetation, and would render the middle parts of the island extremely fertile, if the soil were not washed down by the violent rains into the low lands, and into the sea as soon as it is formed. The little soil that does accumulate is good, and increases, though slowly; for the decayed wood adds something to its quantity every year, whilst the trunks and roots of the trees save a part from being washed away. A plantation covered with loose rocks is found to retain its fertility the longest, apparently from the stones preserving the vegetable mould from being washed away. The produce of the different districts in Mauritius varies according to their elevation and climate. The chief food for the black population, consisting of maize, rice, manioc, and sweet potatoes, is raised with great facility in different parts; but owing to the want of roads, and the scarcity of beasts of burden, which renders it necessary to employ human labour in conveying productions to market, the prices vary very much in different parts. The articles cultivated for exportation are by no means profitable, as the planters of the neighbouring island of Bourbon can raise coffee and cotton much cheaper, and of better qualities. The spices of Ceylon have been attempted to be cultivated, but hitherto with little success. There are few indigenous fruits, and none abundant, except the plum which grows on the ebony tree; but the banana, the pine apple, the melon, the jack, the orange, the lemon, the Avogada pear, the mangosteen, and the
Mauritius. cocoa tree, have been introduced, and propagated with various success. The most valuable of its trees was the ebony, the heart of whose timber is usually sold by weight. It is a slender and lofty tree, having only a few branches near the top. It produces clusters of an oblong fruit the size of a plum, full of a viscous sweetish juice of rather an agreeable taste. The usual circumference of a good tree is from three to four feet; when the exterior wood is chipped away, a black log remains of about six inches in diameter, and from twelve to fifteen feet long, whose weight usually exceeds three hundred pounds. It is principally exported to the China market. At one time, the planters were induced to cut those trees that had not attained a sufficient size, and as its growth is very slow, there is not the same abundance of them as was formerly found on the island.
Mauritius seems more exposed to the visitation of hurricanes than any other spot on the globe. These usually occur between the months of December and May. Their force is irresistible, and in their course they lay flat the productions of the fields, dissipate most of the marks of industry, scatter the houses, and compel the ships in the roads to abandon their anchorage and fly to the open sea for safety. The only town in the island is Port Louis; the rest of the inhabitants live in scattered plantations, and though sometimes six or eight houses may be found contiguous, yet generally the nearest neighbour is a mile distant. The entrance to the harbour of Port Louis is defended by strong forts on the island of Tonneliers on one side, and by Fort Blanc on a peninsula opposite to it. From these points to the city the channel is narrow, and when the buoys are removed, difficult to pass. Near the city the anchorage is good, if care be taken to avoid the numerous wrecks that are at the bottom, with a depth of water varying from six to fourteen fathoms. The entrance to the harbour is nearly a course from north-north-east to south-south-west, by which all the shoals are avoided. The tide rises ordinarily about two feet, but at the equinoxes about three feet. The time of high water, at new and full moon, is noon. The only other harbour, called Grand Port, on the south-east side of the island, is but little frequented. It has no town near it, and though, from the prevalence of south-east winds, it is easy of access, from the same cause it is difficult of departure. The Dutch, when in possession of this island, erected a new town near it, but it is gone to decay, and only the vestiges of the buildings are now visible.
The commerce of the island, either with Europe or India, is by no means extensive. The whole of the necessaries of life are supplied to the great mass of the inhabitants from their own cultivation, and the European articles that are wanted for the higher classes require but small importations. No accurate accounts of the imports and exports are returned to any of the offices of government in Great Britain. We have no accounts of the whole population; and the hearsay reports of travellers differ so much as to merit little confidence. The only authentic document is the return of slaves to
the colonial register office for slaves. The latest return is that of 1817, when their numbers were 85,423. The free inhabitants are not supposed to be more than as three to two of the slaves; and the whole number of inhabitants may be about 200,000. (w. w.)