HISTORY OF MAURITIUS. 
*59 
Observations on the Isle of Bourbon , by Admiral Kempenfelt , 
in the Year 1758. 
u The Isle of Bourbon was inhabited some time before that of Mauritius, by the 
remains of the French, who had been expelled by the inhabitants of Madagascar 
from the settlement at Fort Dauphin. These were joined by the pirates who had 
infested those seas, and together, formed an establishment there under the protection 
of the French flag. They were composed of renegades of all nations, French, 
English, Irish, Scotch, Portugueze, See .; and having married the black women of 
Madagascar, whom they had taken away with them, they soon had children, and 
thus augmented their new colony. 
“ The Isle of Bourbon is situated in the twenty-first degree of south latitude, 
and the fifty-fifth degree of east longitude from the meridian of London. It is about 
forty leagues west-south-west from the island of Mauritius. 
“ The inhabitants sowed corn and rice, and had planted coffee with great success; 
they had brought horned cattle as well as fowls from Madagascar, which soon mul¬ 
tiplied, and served for their subsistence. In all their wants they had recourse to that 
island, with which they maintained a communication by means of their large canoes. 
Full Point, and the Island of St. Mary, on that coast, not being more than an hun¬ 
dred and forty-five leagues from Bourbon. ? 
“ About the year 1720, the pirates, who had been driven from Madagascar by 
the King’s cruizers, took shelter in the Isle of Bourbon, and submitted themselves 
to the French government. 
** The soil is extremely fertile, and the air wholesome, though there are two vol¬ 
canoes which burn with great violence: their flames are seen in the night and their 
smoke in the day at a great distance. 
** The want of a port or harbour, is the cause of its being less inhabited than the 
Isle of Mauritius. The necessaries of life are there in so great abundance, that they 
can supply the neighbouring island with provisions. The fine season lasts from the 
month of June to November; in the remaining part of the year there are terrible 
hurricanes, and particularly in February, March, and April; they frequently tear 
up the largest trees by the roots, overthrow the strongest buildings, and ravage 
the island from one end to the other. Many vessels have perished on this coast 
from these hurricanes, which come on so suddenly as to baffle every precaution; 
