Since then, a large amount of subfossil material has been collected from Mauritius, mostly from the Mare aux Songes swamp.

It has been frequently hypothesized that Mauritius was first discovered by the Arabs, who named the island Dina Arobi.

From those days, only the name Mauritius has remained.

Mauritius has a multi-party system.

Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors.

Mauritius has attracted more than 9, 000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $ 1 billion.

Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ).

Mauritius has attracted US $ 10. 98 billion in Foreign direct investment inflows.

Mauritius has followed a pragmatic development strategy in which liberalisation process was sequenced and tailored to its competitive advantages and weaknesses.

Mauritius has a strong human capital foundation developed through consistent and equitable investment in human development.

Mauritius has several operators like Mauritius Telecom, Nomad, Mahanagar Telephone Mauritius Limited ( MTML ) & Emtel.

Mauritius has a widespread bus network with around 220 bus lines and roughly 900 bus stops.

Considered part of Africa geographically, Mauritius has friendly relations with other African states in the region, particularly South Africa, by far its largest continental trading partner.

India has remained one of its biggest trading partners ; in addition India has deep social and historical links with a large portion of the population of Mauritius, India is the country's second largest source of foreign assistance.

Mauritius has established a High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.

Pakistan has an embassy at Port Louis and Mauritius has an embassy at Islamabad.

The Russian Federation has an embassy in Port Louis, and Mauritius has an embassy in Moscow, which was opened in July 2003.

The UNCCD has 194 country Parties: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, the People's Republic of China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d ' Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, the Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Mauritius, which was unknown to Europeans until the Portuguese sailed there and has strong connections with Mozambique, also obtained associate observer status in 2006.

The corsairs raids ( see Mauritius campaign of 1809 – 1811 ) continued until 1810 when a strong British expedition was sent to capture the island ( see Invasion of Isle de France ).

Mauritius has had strong ties with French culture throughout its history and was left with a very French " savoir vivre ".

Following his replacement, the Prince Regent went further by detaining Stojadinović without proper cause until he had managed, with the help of his strong personal ties to King George VI of the United Kingdom ( who had been the Prince Regent's best man in 1923 ) to enlist the support of the United Kingdom to have Stojadinović sent into exile to British controlled Mauritius, where he was kept during World War II.

Mauritius has a multi-party system, with two or three strong parties and a third party that is electorally successful.

Mauritius Breweries produce a local lager called Phoenix Beer and a strong lager.

Following a strong family tradition, Josias joined the Royal Navy at an early age and served an illustrious career during the Napolionic wars and was created a baronet after capturing the Indian Ocean islands of Réunion and Mauritius from the French.

Mauritius, a multilingual island in the Indian Ocean, has strong cultural ties with Mozambique.

On 7 June they lost a home friendly 2 – 1 to Mauritius.

The Soviet Union and Mauritius established diplomatic relations on 17 March 1968.

There is also a significant migrant population of Bhumihar Brahmins in Mauritius who have made a mark for themselves in different fields and they are still in touch with their family members in India and there are instances of marital relations between them to keep their cultural identity intact.

By the early 1990s, commercial flights connected Comoros with France, Mauritius, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, and Madagascar.

To accomplish the UK / US mutual defense strategy, in November 1965, the UK purchased the Chagos Archipelago, which includes Diego Garcia, from the then self-governing colony of Mauritius for £ 3 million to create the British Indian Ocean Territory ( BIOT ), with the intent of ultimately closing the plantations to provide the uninhabited British territory from which the US would conduct its military activities in the region.

* First, the island nation of Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago ( which is coterminous with the BIOT ), including Diego Garcia.

Other countries with large Hindu populations include Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Fiji and the island of Bali.

Radama concluded a treaty in 1817 with the British governor of Mauritius to abolish the lucrative slave trade in return for British military and financial assistance.

The known history of Mauritius begins with its discovery by Europeans and its appearance on maps in the early 16th century.

The island was not permanently inhabited for the forty years after its ' discovery ' by the Dutch, but in 1638 Cornelius Gooyer established the first permanent Dutch settlement in Mauritius with a garrison of twenty-five.

By the Treaty of Paris in 1814, the " Isle de France " which was renamed Mauritius was ceded to Great Britain, together with Rodrigues and the Seychelles.

Indentured labour began with Chinese, Malay, African and Malagasy labourers, but ultimately, it was India which supplied the much needed laborers to Mauritius.

Mauritius became an independent state on 12 March 1968, with Elizabeth II as Queen of Mauritius, represented as head of state the Governor-General.

Mauritius became a republic on 12 March 1992, with the last Governor General, Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo, as interim President.

Until 1992, Mauritius was a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, but on 12 March of that year, the country became a republic within the Commonwealth.

They form part along with the Speaker of the National Assembly, the legislative offices which under the constitution have the final decision and last word on any legislative matter including the laws of Mauritius.

Telecommunications had an early beginning in Mauritius, with the first telephone line installed in 1883, seven years after the invention of the telephone.

The first recorded flight, with takeoff from Mauritius, was undertaken on 2 June 1922 by Major F. W. Honnet.

Mauritius coordinates much of its foreign policy with the Southern Africa Development Community and the Organization of African Unity.

Mauritius is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military ( as covered under Article 98 ).