Located at the Northeastern part of the unique Africa addendum (Madagascar), lies Seychelles, an archipelagic nation with over 160 islands, according to the country’s constitution.
Historians agree that for a long time, the islands were inhabited although it was discovered by Portuguese historian Thomé Lopes in 1503. But it is possible that the Arabic and Austronesian seafarers settled temporarily on some Seychellois islands around the time or earlier than Lopes recorded his sighting.
The Austronesian are a unit of peoples who share linguistic uniformities. They are dispersed on islands from the South China Sea down to Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
A huge population of Seychelles’ 100,000 or fewer people are of Austronesian descent. But among the people, there is also a very palpable connection to France due to 18th-century maneuvers by then King of France.
On realization by the French in their own opinion that Seychelles were no man’s lands, the French leveraged on their supremacy to take control from the 1750s. A French captain, Nicolas Morphey, laid claim to the islands in 1756 with the blessing of King Louis XV.
As was the tradition, the Seychelles islands were named in honor of someone of privilege, in this case, Louis XV’s finance minister, Jean Moreau de Séchelles. And until 1794, the islands remained under the control of the French.
When other European nations rose up in arms against the French in what is called War of First of Coalition, the British took the fight to some of France’s international territories, including Seychelles. France surrendered in First Coalition and as punishment, had to forfeit such territories as Mauritius ad Seychelles.
France’s acquiescence to the forfeitures was ratified by the 1814 Treaty of Paris. Britain then ran Mauritius and Seychelles as one colony until 1903.
In 1976, Seychelles gained her independence from the British. The country has since made use of its geographical features to become one of the favorite destinations for tourists across the world.
