mauritius before the dutch

Before the arrival of the first European navigators, the Indian Ocean already knew great movement of goods and people from Indonesia to Madagascar. Many nations such as the Malays, Chinese and Dravidians might have visited the island although no written records exist to prove this.

The most important countries in the Indian Ocean during the middle ages were India and the Malay Peninsula. These seamen therefore bordered the countries around the Indian Ocean and some, like the Malays, even migrated to Madagascar.

At the end of the 15th century, the Portuguese were the first settlers to come to the Indian Ocean. At that time the Arabs controlled the spice trade. The Portuguese had understood that if the spice trade could be diverted from the usual land route, great economic advantages could be gained. They thus launched the 'Conquista' with the aim of controlling the spice trade. However, the Portuguese never aimed at settling and setting up colonies in the east. Discovered by the Portuguese navigator Diego Dias, there is no evidence that the Portuguese made any attempt to settle in Mauritius.

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Mauritius before the coming of the Dutch