MAURITIUS. 
$62 
obliged to touch there, they might meet with refrefh- 
ments. The Dutch, in the fecond voyage they made to 
the Fall Indies, under their admiral James Cornelius Van- 
neck, arrived here with five (hips on the 15th of September, 
1598; and anchored in a commodious port, to which, in 
honour of their vice-admiral, they gave the name of War¬ 
wick's Haven. The country was found to abound with 
cattle, fowl, fi(h, and fruits; and afforded a feafonable 
fupply of neceffaries to the crew, and of refrefhments to 
the fick, who went on-fhore for their recovery. Of the 
importance of this ifland they were fufficiently apprifed, 
infomuch that they recorded in their journals an obferva- 
tion, that it might be comtnodioufly vifited by outward- 
bound fnips, as that of St. Helena might be on their re¬ 
turn ; neverthelefis, they made no fettlement in this ifland 
for forty years. 
Captain Samuel Caftletcn, in the Pearl, an Englilh Eaft- 
lndia fhip, arrived there on the -2.7th of March, 1612; 
and, taking it to be an ifland undifcovered before, be¬ 
llowed upon it the name of England's Forejl, though others 
of his crew called it Pearl ljland\ and, in the account of 
their voyage, written by John Tatton, the matter of the 
fliip, celebrated it as a place very convenient for (hipping, 
either outward or homeward bound, to refrefh at. This 
they fometimes accordingly did, and brought fome car¬ 
goes of ebony and rich wood from thence, without fixing 
any fettlement. 
At length, in 1638, the Dutch fieated tbemfelves here: 
and it is highly remarkable, that, at the very time they 
■were employed in making their firrt fettlement, the French 
fent a veffel to take poffeflion of it, who found the Dutch 
beforehand with them, but refufed the afliftance of an 
Englifli Indiamdn, wooding and watering in another port 
of the ifland, who Very frankly offered it, to drive the 
Dutch from their half-fettled polls. They continued for 
fome time in quiet poffeflion of the places they fortified 
in this ifland, to which they gave the name of Mauritius, 
in honour of prince Maurice their ftadtholder. They 
had the precaution to build a fort for the defence of the 
haven and watering-place; and in 1640 they had two or 
three fmall fettlements in the ifland, befides their fort. 
But, as they wanted flaves to cultivate- their plantations, 
they applied to the French governor of Madagafcar, and 
prevailed upon him to ileal fifty blacks out of the num¬ 
ber of thofe who were under his protection. This frau¬ 
dulent aft proved the ruin of both colonies; for the ne¬ 
groes furprifed and maffacred the French in Madagafcar; 
and the flaves in Mauritius fled into the centre of the 
ifland, from whence they fo much and fo inceffantly rao> 
lefted thofe who had been' formerly their matters, that 
they chofe to quit a country where they could no longer 
remain in any tolerable degree of fafety. The-Eaft-India 
Company, however, from motives of convenience, difiap- 
proved this meafure, and therefore ordered it to be re-fet¬ 
tled ; which was accordingly done, and three forts erefted 
at the principal havens. Things now went on fomewhat 
better than they did before ; but they were (till very much 
diliurbfcd by the revolted negroes in the heart of the ifle, 
fvhom they could never fubdue. One principal ufe that 
the company made of this place, was to fend thither ftate- 
prifoners, who, as they were not men of the beft morals, 
quickly corrupted the reft of the inhabitants, and rendered 
them fuch a race of outrageous fmugglers, the fituation 
of the place concurring with tlieir bad difpofition, that, 
after various ineffectual attempts made to reform them, 
orders were at length given to abandon Mauritius a fe- 
cond time, which, after fome delays, were put in execu¬ 
tion in the year 1712. 
A few years after this, the French took pofl’efiion of it, 
and called it the Isle of France. This name obtained 
among themfelves, but the Europeans in general conti¬ 
nued to call it Mauritius. The inconveniences arifing 
from the want of a port at the Ifland of Bourbon, 
induced the French to take poffeflioii of Mauritius, it 
having two very good harbours, to fortify which no ex¬ 
pend has been fpared. That on the north-welt is called 
Port Louis, that on the fonth-eaft fide of the ifland is called 
Port Bourbon. The trade-wind from the fouth-ealt in thefa 
latitudes blows all the year round, excepting for a few 
days at the fummer folftice, when it is interrupted by hard 
gales and hurricanes from the north. The eafe with which 
this wind enables (hips to enter the port of Boerbon, 
caufed the French, when they firft took poffeflion of this 
fpot, to efteem it the beft port in the ifland ; but expe¬ 
rience pointing out to them, that the fame wind often 
rendered the paffage out of the harbour fo difficult, that 
a fliip was fometimes obliged to wait a confiderable time 
before the weather admitted of her putting to fea ; this 
harbour is in a great meafure abandoned, and the principal 
town and (eat of government is now fixed at Port Louis, 
which is nearly in the middle of the north fide of the 
ifland, and its entrance is through a channel formed by 
two (hoals, which advance about two miles into the fea. 
When a (hip arrives oppofite to this channel, the fo'uth- 
eaft wind hinders her from entering the port under fail, 
and (he mult either warp in with cables, or be towed in 
with boats. The neceffity of this operation, joined to the 
extreme narrownefs of the channel, which does not admit 
of two (hips abreaft of each other entering at the fame 
time, is one of the belt defences the harbour has againft 
an attack by fea ; and, in addition to this natural ftrengrh, 
they built two forts and as many batteries, which are 
mounted with heavy cannon, and entirely command the 
approach to the harbour, (liould (hips prefume to force an 
entry under fail. This port is capable of containing one 
hundred fail of (hips, and is well provided with every re- 
quifite for repairing and even building of (hips. This 
port proved of the greateft advantage to France in the 
feveral wars which have been carried on between Great 
Britain and her; and was alfo of great utility to the French 
Eaft-India company’s commerce; for here their (hips and 
crews were fure to meet with all neceffary refrefliment af¬ 
ter a long voyage. The port of Bourbon is alfo fortified ; 
and, though there are feveral places between the north-ealt 
extremity and Port Louis where boats may land, yet all 
thefe are defended by batteries; and the country behind 
them is a continued thicket. The reft of the coaft is in- 
acceflible. 
In a courfe of years, however, the fettlement coft fo 
much, and was confidered in every light worth fo little^ 
that it had been more than once under deliberation, whe¬ 
ther, after the example of the Dutch, they (liould not 
leave it again to its old negro inhabitants; which fooner 
or later in all likelihood would have been its fate, if, in 
1735, the famous M. de la Botmionnais had not been fent 
thither with the title of Governor-General of the French 
Ifiands. 
He found this ifle in the word date poffible, thinly in¬ 
habited by a let of lazy people, who equally hated induftry 
and peace. He-gave himfelf no trouble about this, having 
once found the means to make himfelf obeyed. He faw the 
vaft importance of the ifland ; he conceived that it might 
be fettled to great advantage; and, without fo much as. 
expecting the thanks of thofe for whom he laboured, 
he began to execute this great defign. His firft ttep was 
to bring over black boys from Madagafcar, whom he 
carefully trained up in good principles, and in continual 
exercifie; by which he rendered them fuch good foldiers, 
that he very quickly obliged the Maroons, or wild ne¬ 
groes, either to fubruit or to quit the ifland. He taught 
the planters to cultivate their lands to advantage; he, 
by an aqueduCI, brought frefli water to the fea-fide ; and 
whereas they had not fo much as a boat at his coming 
thither, he made a very fine dock, where he not only built 
(loops and large veffels, but even a (hip of the burden of 
500 tons. However incredible it may feem, yet it is cer¬ 
tainly faff, that in the fpace of five years he converted 
this country into a paradife, that had been a mere wilder- 
nefs for five tlioufand ; and this, in fpite of the inhabi¬ 
tants, and of the company, who, being originally preju¬ 
diced by them, behaved ill to him at his return. Hefoon 
mads the cardinal de Fleury, however, fenlible of the 
trite 
