History

Recent History

The island has, in recent times, sought closer links with Africa and, in 2004, it became a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

The mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus hit the island in late 2005 and, by 2007, had infected one third of the population. Unsurprisingly, the epidemic had a negative impact on tourism; bookings plummeted by more than 60% in 2006 and early 2007. Thanks to a massive effort to kill off the mosquito population, Réunion is back on its feet.

Réunion is home to several best-in-the-world experiences that very few people, aside from the French and a handful of travelati, know about. Local authorities lay emphasis on the island's green image; ecotourism and outdoor activities are encouraged. In 2007, a huge chunk of the rugged interior was classified as a national park, which will go some way to protecting the island's unique cultural and environmental heritage.

Modern Day History

The golden age of trade and development in Réunion lasted until 1870, when competition from Cuba and the European sugar beet industry, combined with the opening of the Suez Canal, resulted in an economic slump. Shipping decreased, the sugar industry declined, and land and capital were further concentrated in the hands of a small French elite.

After WWI, the world demand for sugar increased, helping lift Reunion's economy out of the doldrums. As things turned out, the reprieve was all too brief: during WWII, an economic blockade once again applied the brakes to the island's economy. Part of the problem was the legal definition of a colony under French law, which obligated the colony to provide to the French mainland goods of greater value than the amount of money allocated to it. A colony had to be profitable. This obligation was lifted in 1946, when Réunion's status changed from colony to overseas département, a change intended to provide the island with the benefits of social and political equality with the mainland.

In February 1991, anti-government riots in St-Denis left 10 people dead, and a subsequent visit by the French prime minister Michel Rocard drew jeers from crowds. By 1993, things appeared to have calmed down but there were still undercurrents of discontent.

The island still falls under the jurisdiction of the French government. There have been independence movements from time to time but, unlike those in France's Pacific territories, they have never amounted to anything. Even the Communists seek autonomy rather than independence; Réunion seems satisfied to remain totally French.

As a French département, Réunion suffers from some of the ills affecting metropolitan France: the unemployment rate is extremely high, particularly affecting young people (40% of the population is under 20).

Pre 20th Century History

The island of Réunion has a history similar to that of Mauritius and was visited, but not settled, by early Malay, Arab and European mariners. The archipelago, comprising Mauritius, Rodrigues and Réunion, was christened 'the Mascarenes' after the Portuguese navigator Pedro de Mascarenhas, one of the first Europeans to come across the islands (around 1512). In 1642, the French settled the island when La Compagnie des Indes Orientales (the French East India Company) sent its ship, the St-Louis, and in 1649 the King of France named it Île Bourbon.

There was no great rush to populate and develop the island and, from around 1685, Indian Ocean pirates began using Île Bourbon as a trading base. Until 1715, the French East India Company was content to provide only for its own needs and those of passing ships. Then coffee was introduced, and between 1715 and 1730 it became the island's main cash crop; as a result, the economy changed dramatically. The French enslaved Africans to provide the intensive labour required for coffee cultivation. During this period, grains, spices and cotton were also brought in as cash crops.

Like Mauritius, Réunion came of age under the governorship of the remarkable Mahé de La Bourdonnais, who served from 1735 to 1746. However, La Bourdonnais treated Mauritius as the favoured of the sibling islands and Réunion was left in a Cinderella role.

As a result of poor management and the rivalry between France and Britain during the 18th century, as well as the collapse of the French East India Company, the government of the island passed directly to the French crown in 1764. After the French Revolution, it came under the jurisdiction of the Colonial Assembly. In the late 18th century, there were a number of slave revolts and those who managed to escape made their way to the interior. They organised themselves into villages run by democratically elected chiefs and fought to preserve their independence from colonial authorities.

The coffee plantations were destroyed by cyclones very early in the 19th century and, in 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars, Bonaparte lost the island to the British. Five years later, under the Treaty of Paris, the spoil was returned to the French. The British, however, retained their grip on Rodrigues, Mauritius and the Seychelles. Under British rule, sugar cane was introduced to Réunion and quickly supplanted food production as the primary crop. This resulted in the dispossession of many small farmers, who were forced to sell out to those with capital to invest in the new monoculture. The supplanted farmers migrated to the interior to find land and carry on with their agricultural activities. During this period, the Desbassyns brothers rose to success as the island's foremost sugar barons. The vanilla industry, introduced in 1819, also grew rapidly.