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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Mauritius
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Island in the Indian Ocean, E of Madagascar.
government Mauritius is an independent state
within the Commonwealth, with a resident
governor general as head of state,
representing the British monarch. Its 1968
constitution, amended in 1969, provides for a
single-chamber legislative assembly of up to
71 members, 62 elected by universal adult
suffrage, plus the speaker and up to eight of
the most successful non-elected candidates as
`additional' members. The governor general
appoints the prime minister and a council of
ministers who are collectively responsible to
the assembly. Of a number of political
parties, the three most significant are the
Mauritius Labour Party (MLP), the Mauritius
Socialist Movement (MSM), and the Mauritius
Militant Movement (MMM). history Uninhabited
until the 16th century, the island was
colonized on a small scale by the Dutch, who
named it Mauricius after Prince Maurice of
Nassau. They abandoned it in 1710, and in
1715 it was occupied by the French, who
imported African slaves to work on their
sugar-cane plantations. Mauritius was seized
by Britain in 1810, and was formally ceded by
the Treaty of Paris in 1814. The abolition of
slavery in 1833 brought about the importation
of indentured labourers from India, whose
descendants now make up about 70% of the
island's population. In 1957 Mauritius
achieved internal self-government, and full
independence within the Commomwealth in 1968.
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, leader of the MLP, who
had led the country since 1959, became its
first prime minister. During the 1970s he led
a succession of coalition governments and
even in 1976, when the MMM became the
assembly's largest single party, Ramgoolam
formed another fragile coalition.
Dissatisfaction with the government's
economic policies led to Ramgoolam's defeat
and the formation in 1982 of an MMM-Mauritius
Socialist Party (PSM) coalition government
led by Aneerood Jugnauth. Strains developed
within the alliance, 12 MMM ministers
resigned in 1983, and the coalition was
dissolved. Jugnauth then founded the MSM, and
the PSM was incorporated in the new party. A
general election later that year resulted in
an MSM-MLP-Mauritius Social Democratic Party
(PMSD) coalition, which won 37 assembly
seats. Jugnauth became prime minister on the
understanding that Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
would be president if Mauritius became a
republic. When the constitutional change
failed to get legislative approval, Sir Seewo
sagur Ramgoolam was appointed governor
general in 1983. He died in 1985 and former
finance minister, Sir Veersamy Ringadoo,
replaced him. Recent economic policies have
cut inflation and unemployment, on the
strength of which Aneerood Jugnauth was
re-elected in an early general election in
Aug 1987. Mauritius, which has no standing
army, has pursued a moderately nonaligned
foreign policy during recent years.