colony · Central and Southern Africa

Isle de France

1715 CE – 1810 CE · capital Port Louis

French Mauritius, a naval base and plantation colony that threatened British India until its capture in 1810.

Origins

France claimed Mauritius, abandoned by Dutch Mauritius in 1710, in 1715 and renamed it Isle de France. Settlers arrived from Ile Bourbon in 1721, and under governor Mahe de La Bourdonnais from 1735 the colony was developed, with Port Louis built as a capital and naval harbour.

Rule and society

Run first by the French East India Company and from 1767 by the crown, the colony relied on enslaved labour from Madagascar and Mozambique for sugar and food production. The intendant Pierre Poivre introduced spices and created the Pamplemousses garden. During wars with Britain, corsairs such as Robert Surcouf raided British shipping from Port Louis.

Decline and legacy

British forces captured the island in 1810, and the Treaty of Paris of 1814 confirmed its cession along with the Seychelles. Renamed Mauritius, it kept French law and language, and gained independence in 1968.

Lineage

Isle de FranceBritish Seychelles 1810 CE – 1976 CEBritish Mauritius 1810 CE – 1968 CE

Connections (2)

More states of Central and Southern Africa →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Isle de France. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/isle-de-france
MLA
“Isle de France.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/isle-de-france. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Isle de France.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/isle-de-france.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Isle de France’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/isle-de-france (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻