172 
THE MASCARENES 
in a mutiny at Fort Dauphin and were banished to this 
island. The oldest settlement is St. Paul, on the west 
coast. The Dutch gave up their colony in Mauritius in 
1712, and a few years later, in 1715, the French took over 
their legacy, so that the nucleus of European settlers in 
the Mascarenes is of French origin. In order not to 
lose their national characteristics by the admixture of 
foreign blood the first colonists applied to the mother 
country with the request to send young women from 
France to the Mascarenes. A number of Parisian orphan 
girls had the courage to go out; their names were dis¬ 
covered not long ago in the Archives of the French 
Ministry. They laid the foundations of many vigorous 
families, and from them comes the touch of aristocracy 
which distinguishes the French Creole women, and also 
the harshness of the social ban with which they visit 
intermarriages with people of colour. Individuals among 
the Creoles of these East African islands have distinguish- 
ed themselves by their business activity and even by their 
achievements in science and art. 
It is in the highest degree noteworthy that the fecund¬ 
ity of the race has suffered no diminution in this climate, 
but on the contrary that it has increased, being greater 
by a third than in the mother country. 
The insular position they have so long occupied has 
not been without its influence upon their intellectual 
character, and there is therefore a certain interest in 
comparing the French Creole with the type of PTenchman 
of the present day. In one direction he has gained, but 
in another various singularities and weaknesses have 
come into prominence. 
The Creole lives under favourable climatic conditions. 
The struggle for existence has not been severe, so that 
neither selfishness nor reserve are displayed in their 
character; on the contrary, the Creole is hospitable and 
sociable, being often of attractive naivete. The attach- 
