Mauritius — Capital, Flag and Country Facts

Explore Mauritius: capital Port Louis, population, flag, geography, languages, history and culture.

Mauritius is in Africa. Its capital is Port Louis.

Climate

Tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; warm dry winter and hot wet summer

Small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling a central plateau

Mauritius was home to the dodo bird before its extinction in the 1600s.

Mauritius is one of the few countries where Hinduism is the most practiced religion outside South Asia.

The underwater waterfall illusion off Le Morne coast is created by sand and silt deposits flowing off the coastal shelf.

1598: Dutch sailors arrive and name the island after Prince Maurice of Nassau

1715: France takes control of the island, renaming it Île de France

1810: Britain captures the island during the Napoleonic Wars

1835: Abolition of slavery; indentured laborers brought from India

1968: Independence from Britain under Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam