China in Mauritius: The Telling of the Chinese Story

Abstract

M auritius is a small island state situated strategically in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Home to 1.3 million people, its population claims ancestry from three continents—Europe, Asia, and Africa. France, and then Britain, ruled the island as a colony from 1715 to 1968, bringing enslaved Africans to tend the sugar plantations and attracting indentured laborers from India and merchants from China. France established a plantocracy economy and made French the island’s official language. Britain’s legacy is mainly administrative, having founded the island’s modern electoral, legal, and parliamentary systems. Notably, Britain allowed French to remain the island’s official language.1 In Mauritius today, many “ancestral” languages are taught in schools and used daily, primarily from India, China, Madagascar, and Mozambique. This essay assesses the impact that China has had on Mauritius and how the “China story” is represented through the country’s local media. Despite its small size, several actors compete for influence on the island: France and Britain, given their historic colonial ties; the United States, as an important trade and diplomatic partner; India, from where roughly 70% of the population claims ancestry; and, of course, China.