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Seychelles is an island located to the North of Madagascar and to the East of Africa. It was uninhabited for most of human history, but Arab traders did visit the region for its palm nuts and other tropical commodities. Indian Ocean winds did not often blow ships to Seychelles, but it was known/mapped by Portuguese cartographers in 1517. The English East India Company first alighted upon the picturesque shores by accident because of strong winds in 1609. It was first formally colonized by French explorers who gained rights to the island after the Seven Years War in 1770. Mahé (the main center of Seychelles) was governed under the French colony of Mauritius (East of Madagascar). The new French colonists (and their slaves) grew spices and plantation crops to export to Europe. However, Seychelles (which comes from the French name “Isle de Séchelles”—Louis XV’s finance advisor) was taken over by the British Empire in 1814 under the Treaty of Paris; this was also during the worldwide race for colonial expansion. Since the British Empire abolished slavery (1833), the wealthy landowners in Seychelles left and the population plummeted.
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From 1861 to 1874, the British intercepted slave ships and relocated the former slaves to Seychelles to boost the population levels/economy; coconuts also began to be grown in large quantities. Although the English officially ruled Seychelles, the culture remained French because the island was just a backwater in the large British Empire. The small island became independent in 1976 (after the Constitutional Convention of 1970 in London) and rule under the wealthy elites was limited (most of the population was creoles). James Mancham was the first President (pro-British), but he was deposed after a year and Albert Rene (pro-independence) became the leader. Rene retired from office in 2004 and James Michel is the current President. Today, the median age in Seychelles in 33.4 years and there are 90,846 people living there. There is barely any HIV/AIDS among the Chinese, Arab, Creole, and French populations living there. Creole is the dominant language, although English is the official tongue.
 Albert Rene |