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Rodrigues (french: Île Rodrigues, link=yes ; Creole: ) is a
autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
outer island of the Republic of
Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the
Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...
, which include Mauritius and
Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
. Rodrigues is of volcanic origin and is surrounded by
coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...
, and some tiny uninhabited islands lie just off its coast. The island used to be the tenth
District of Mauritius The Districts of the Republic of Mauritius are the second-level administrative divisions after the Outer Islands of Mauritius. Mauritius Island Mauritius Island is divided into nine districts which consist of one city, four towns, and 130 vil ...
; it gained autonomous status on 10 December 2002, and it is governed by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. The capital of the island is
Port Mathurin The village of Port Mathurin serves as the capital of the island of Rodrigues, a dependency of Mauritius. Most of the population of Rodrigues settles close to or in the city. It lies on the north coast of the Indian Ocean island and functions as t ...
. The islands of Rodrigues,
Agaléga Agaléga (french: îles Agaléga) is a dependency of Mauritius which consists of two outer islands located in the Indian Ocean, about north of Mauritius Island. The population of the islands as at July 2011 was estimated at 289. The islands h ...
and Saint Brandon form part of the larger territory of the Republic of Mauritius. Its inhabitants are Mauritian citizens. , the island's population was about 41,669, according to
Statistics Mauritius Statistics Mauritius formerly known as the Central Statistics Office (CSO) is the national statistical agency of Mauritius. It operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and is responsible for all statistical a ...
. Most of the inhabitants are of African descent. Its economy is based mainly on fishing, farming, handicraft and a developing tourism sector.


Etymology and history

The uninhabited island was named after the Portuguese explorer
Diogo Rodrigues Dom Diogo Rodrigues, Dom Diogo Roiz (; Lagos, Portugal – 21 April 1577; Colvá, Goa) was a Portuguese explorer of the Indian Ocean who sailed as an ordinary helmsmanAuguste Toussaint, ''History of the Indian Ocean'' (Chicago: University Pres ...
in February 1528. Many maps also describe it as Diego Roiz. From the 10th century,
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
are known to have visited the
Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...
. A 12th-century map by the Arab geographer Ash-Sharif al-Idrisi supposedly contains them, and the
Cantino planisphere The Cantino planisphere or Cantino world map is a manuscript Portuguese world map preserved at the Biblioteca Estense in Modena, Italy. It is named after Alberto Cantino, an agent for the Duke of Ferrara, who successfully smuggled it from Portugal ...
of and some other contemporary maps clearly show the three islands of the Mascarenes as ''Dina Arobi'' (or ''Harobi''), ''Dina Margabin'' and ''Dina Moraze''. These are apparently corrupted
transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...
s or transcriptions of the
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
''Diva Harab'' ("Desert Island"), ''Diva Maghrebin'' ("Western Island") and ''Diva Mashriq'' ("Eastern Island"). While the second clearly refers to
Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
, sources disagree about which of the other is
Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
and which one Rodrigues, which are both to the east of Réunion and arranged in a somewhat stylised way on these maps. However, even in its original state, Rodrigues had some
karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
, while Mauritius even after suffering 500 years of
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
can by no means be called "desert" even in a colloquial sense. The island was located again in February 1507. Part of the fleet of
Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa (; – 16 December 1515) was a Portuguese general, admiral, and statesman. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across the Indian Ocean ...
and
Tristão da Cunha Tristão da Cunha (sometimes misspelled Tristão d'Acunha; ; c. 1460 – c. 1507) was a Portuguese explorer and naval commander. In 1499, he served as ambassador from King Manuel I of Portugal to Pope Leo X, leading a luxurious embassy presentin ...
,
Diogo Fernandes Pereira Diogo Fernandes Pereira, sometimes called simply Diogo Fernandes, was a Portuguese 16th-century navigator, originally from Setúbal, Portugal. Diogo Fernandes was the first known European captain to visit the island of Socotra in 1503 and the dis ...
's ''Cirne'' spotted Réunion on 9 February after a
cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...
diverted their course. The other two islands were subsequently rediscovered. The initial name was ''Diogo Fernandes''; ''Domingo Froiz'' was given as a name some years later, and by 1528 it had been again renamed after the
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...
Dom Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...
Diogo Rodrigues Dom Diogo Rodrigues, Dom Diogo Roiz (; Lagos, Portugal – 21 April 1577; Colvá, Goa) was a Portuguese explorer of the Indian Ocean who sailed as an ordinary helmsmanAuguste Toussaint, ''History of the Indian Ocean'' (Chicago: University Pres ...
and has remained so since. The
orthography An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and mos ...
has been less stable at first, with the name being transcribed ''Diogo Rodríguez'' (Spanish maps), ''Diego Roiz'', ''Diego Ruys'' (Dutch maps) (or even ''Diego Ruy's Island''), ''Dygarroys'' or ''Bygarroys''. Some early French sources called it ''Île Marianne''. Due to the island lying far off the beaten track of seafarers at that time, it received few visits. From 1601, the Dutch began visiting the island somewhat more regularly for fresh supplies of food. In 1691, the
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
François Leguat François Leguat (1637/1639 – September 1735) was a French explorer and naturalist. He was one of a small group of male French Protestant refugees who in 1691 settled on the then uninhabited island of Rodrigues in the western Indian Ocean. T ...
and seven companions landed on the island, intending to set up a farming colony of
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
refugees. Farming was not successful, but there was an abundance of tortoises, turtles, birds, fish and other seafood. During the 18th century, several attempts were made by the French to develop the island. African
slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
(ancestors of the present population) were brought to Rodrigues to develop stock-breeding and farming. In 1735 a permanent French settlement was established, subordinated to Île Bourbon. In 1809, after a brief battle with the French,
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
troops took possession of Rodrigues. After British occupation, slavery was eventually abolished in 1834. By 1843, the population had declined to a low of 250. In 1883, the eruption of the
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n volcano
Krakatoa Krakatoa (), also transcribed (), is a caldera in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The caldera is part of a volcanic island group (Krakatoa archipelago) comprising four islands. Tw ...
was heard at Rodrigues Island and it remains the furthest point, at almost , at which the explosion was heard. The sound was described as "the roar of heavy guns". Naval ships were ordered to investigate as it was feared the sound was due to a ship in distress firing its guns. Having been heard from about away on the other side of the Indian Ocean, the noise remains the loudest sound in recorded history. Early in 1968, HMS ''Cambrian'', which had been on duties near Beira in east Africa concerning
Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...
and his unilateral declaration of the independence of
Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
, was diverted to Rodrigues to quell a reported uprising by some of the populace. The uprising consisted of a number of individuals who had been arrested by the local authorities for breaking into a warehouse and appropriating a supply of sweet potatoes. Other locals went to the authorities and by violence released the arrested persons. At this point, it is believed that the authorities requested assistance which was provided by HMS ''Cambrian''. On her early morning arrival, the ship's 4.5" guns were fired (with blanks, it is believed) and an armed landing party was provided. This resulted in the offenders being rounded up and imprisoned again. In 1968, Rodrigues was joined with
Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
when it attained independence. In 2002, Rodrigues became an autonomous region of Mauritius and the island was made the seat of the Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Rodrigues. In 1997, the Russian yacht ''Admiral Nevelskoi'' ,
Gennady Nevelskoy Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy (; in Drakino, now in Soligalichsky District, Kostroma Oblast – in St. Petersburg) was a Russian navigator. In 1848 Nevelskoy set out in command of what became the to the area of the present-day ...
was found in the lagoon of Rodrigues Island. Formerly captained solo by professor Leonid Lysenko for the Russian
Maritime State University Maritime State University (MSU) (russian: Морско́й госуда́рственный университе́т и́мени адмира́ла Г.И. Невельско́го, translit= G.I. Nevelskoi Maritime State University) is a maritime ...
as a research ship, the vessel's mast and rudder broke on a voyage in 1995, drifting for 21 days until Lysenko was rescued by the crew of the Ukrainian vessel ''Arkaja'', at which time the ''Admiral Nevelskoi'' was abandoned. Lysenko was certain that the ship would eventually sink; however, the vessel continued to drift at sea without crew for over 2 years before finally washing up on Rodrigues, at which time it was removed from the water and brought ashore. In 2010, Russian Hon. Eric Typhis Degtyarenko located the yacht and contacted the Maritime State University, at which time the ship was converted to a
maritime museum A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the militar ...
in recognition as Russia's only link to the Indian Ocean.


Geography

Rodrigues is a
volcanic island Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...
rising from a ridge along the edge of the
Mascarene Plateau The Mascarene Plateau is a submarine plateau in the Indian Ocean, north and east of Madagascar. The plateau extends approximately , from Seychelles in the north to Réunion in the south. The plateau covers an area of over of shallow water, wi ...
. The
tectonically Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents k ...
active
Rodrigues Triple Point The Rodrigues Triple Junction (RTJ), also known as the Central Indian ceanTriple Junction (CITJ) is a geologic triple junction in the southern Indian Ocean where three tectonic plates meet: the African Plate, the Indo-Australian Plate, and the An ...
lies on the sea-floor nearby. Rodrigues is only 1.5 million years old, even if the plateau under the lagoon surrounding Rodrigues may be much more ancient than the island. Over time Rodrigues has developed a unique environment, including many
endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
. Rodrigues is situated about to the east of Mauritius. It is about long and wide with an area of . The shape is that of a whale back with a central ridge and deep cut valleys. The island is hilly with a central spine culminating in the highest peak, Mountain Limon at . Rodrigues is the only Mascarene island with extensive limestone deposits and caves. A large fringing reef surrounds the island forming a lagoon within which lie eighteen small islets. The
coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...
of Rodrigues is of particular interest as it is self-seeding – it receives no coral
zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...
from elsewhere. This has led to an overall species-poor but highly
adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
ecosystem. A species of coral, two species of ''
Pomacentrus ''Pomacentrus'' is a genus of marine damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. These fish inhabit tropical locations and are often captured or bred as aquarium fish. Species There are currently 76 recognized species in th ...
''
damselfish Damselfish are those within the subfamilies Abudefdufinae, Chrominae, Lepidozyginae, Pomacentrinae, and Stegastenae within the family Pomacentridae. Most species within this group are relatively small, with the largest species being about 30 ...
and many species of
crustaceans Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
are found only on Rodrigues' reefs.


Climate

The isolation and location of the island give a microclimate specific to Rodrigues, with two seasons. Rodrigues enjoys a mild tropical maritime climate with persistent trade winds blowing throughout the year. Mean summer temperature is and mean winter temperature is around . The temperature difference between summer and winter is 3.6 °C. January to March are the hottest months and August is the coolest month. The wettest month is February; September and October are the driest months. The climate is hotter and drier than in Mauritius. Cyclones may arise from November to April, and Rodrigues is more often hit than Mauritius.


Biodiversity

Rodrigues was characterised by endemic plant and animal species in abundance, but since the seventeenth century much of its biodiversity has been eradicated. The island was home to a now extinct endemic species of flightless bird, the
Rodrigues solitaire The Rodrigues solitaire (''Pezophaps solitaria'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Rodrigues, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Genetically within the family of pigeons and doves, it was most closely relate ...
(''Pezophaps solitaria''). An endemic species of bat, the
Rodrigues flying fox The Rodrigues flying fox or Rodrigues fruit bat (''Pteropus rodricensis'') is a species of bat in the family Pteropodidae, the flying foxes or fruit bats. It is endemic to Rodrigues, an island in the Indian Ocean belonging to Mauritius. Its nat ...
, is currently listed as
endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
on the
IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
. There are two remaining endemic bird species: the Rodrigues fody and the
Rodrigues warbler The Rodrigues warbler (''Acrocephalus rodericanus'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Acrocephalidae. It is found only on the island of Rodrigues (which belongs to Mauritius) and used to be plentiful there. Their population soon g ...
, both are listed as near threatened. To restore some forest areas, Grande Montagne, Anse Quitor (with neighbouring François Leguat Giant Tortoise Reserve) and two islets, Île aux Sables and
Île aux Cocos Île aux Cocos (; "Cocos Island") is a small island lying west of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean. It is a nature reserve known for its seabird colonies, including the noddy, lesser noddy and fairy tern The fairy tern (''Sternula nereis'') ...
have been declared nature reserves (under the Forest and Reserves Act 1983). Endangered plants on the reserves include ''Zanthoxylum paniculatum'', '' Polyscias rodriguesiana'', ''Badula balfouriana'', and ''Gouania leguatii''.


Government and politics

The island of Rodrigues is a constituency of the Republic of Mauritius and is dependent on the latter. However, on 20 November 2001, the Mauritius National Assembly unanimously adopted two laws giving Rodrigues its autonomy, creating a decentralised government system. This new legislation has allowed the implementation of a regional assembly in Rodrigues constituting 18 members and an executive council headed by a Chief Commissioner. The council meets every week to make decisions, draw up laws and manage the budget. The
Chief Commissioner A chief commissioner is a commissioner of a high rank, usually in chief of several commissioners or similarly styled officers. Colonial In British India the gubernatorial style was chief commissioner in various (not all) provinces (often after be ...
has the main task of informing the Mauritian Prime Minister of the management of the island's concerns. The last election of the Rodriguan Regional Assembly was held on 27 February 2022. The
Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
(UPR/MIR/PSMD/FRP) party was the winner and obtained nine seats, while the
Organisation du Peuple de Rodrigues The Rodrigues People's Organisation (OPR) (french: Organisation du Peuple Rodriguais) is a political party based in the Island of Rodrigues, Mauritius. At the legislative elections of 11 September 2000, the party won 2 out of 70 seats (both the ...
(OPR) obtained eight. The
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
acts as head of state and the
Chief Commissioner A chief commissioner is a commissioner of a high rank, usually in chief of several commissioners or similarly styled officers. Colonial In British India the gubernatorial style was chief commissioner in various (not all) provinces (often after be ...
as head of government on Rodrigues. The current chief commissioner is Roussety Johnson and the
Chief Executive of Rodrigues The Chief Executive of Rodrigues is in daily charge of the administration on the island of Rodrigues under the Chief Commissioner of Rodrigues. The current Chief Executive is Jacques Davis Hee Hong Wye. List of Chief Executives of Rodrigues *Cl ...
is Pierre Louis Jean Claude.


Electoral regions

The island includes six electoral regions: La Ferme (Region 1), Marechal (Region 2), Saint Gabriel (Region 3), Baie aux Huitres (Region 4), Port Mathurin (Region 5) and Grande Montagne (Region 6). Rodrigues Regional Assembly election are held every five years.


Zones

Rodrigues is divided into 14 municipalities or zones. For statistical purposes, the zones are further subdivided into a total of 182 localities. The zones have between a minimum of six localities (La Ferme) and maximum of 22 (the capital
Port Mathurin The village of Port Mathurin serves as the capital of the island of Rodrigues, a dependency of Mauritius. Most of the population of Rodrigues settles close to or in the city. It lies on the north coast of the Indian Ocean island and functions as t ...
).


Demographics

The population estimate (as of 18 November 2022) for the island of Rodrigues was 43,650. The main religion is Christianity, dominated by
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
with small minorities of other Christian branches, as well as
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
, and there are also
Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
,
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
and
Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. Most of the inhabitants are of African descent and there is a minority of mixed-race peoples, descendants of the first European settlers. The main language is Rodriguan Creole, but
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
are most used as the languages of government administration, the courts and business. Rodriguan Creole is very similar to
Mauritian Creole Mauritian Creole or Morisien (formerly Morisyen) ( mfe, kreol morisien, links=no ) is a French-based creole language spoken in Mauritius. English words are included in the standardized version of the language. In addition, the slaves and in ...
, though some words are pronounced differently. People born in Rodrigues island are called Rodriguans.


Education

The education system in Rodrigues is similar to that throughout the rest of
Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
. The government provides free education to students up to the tertiary level. Education is taught mainly in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
.


Transportation

Rodrigues is served by
Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport is an airport located near Plaine Corail on Rodrigues, an island dependency of Mauritius. It is named after Gaëtan Duval (1930–1996), a former deputy Mauritian prime minister, who oversaw much of the development of R ...
in Plane Corail, with regular flights to
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport is the main international airport in Mauritius. It is located southeast of the capital city of Port Louis. The airport was previously known as the ''Plaisance Airport'' and has direct flights to ...
in Plaisance.


Economy

The economy of Rodrigues is mostly dependent on Mauritius. The main sources of income and economic activity are tourism, fishing, agriculture (especially of onions, garlic and chilli), and animal rearing. The
handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
industry has proven to be beneficial to the economy of the island. However, the income derived from the export of sea products, cattle, and food crops is smaller than the costs of imported products, creating a deficit. It has a special relationship with English-speaking countries, such as England in the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland. There was also the development of the tourist sector with the construction of the airport and opening of hotels and guest houses As of 2020, Gross National Income per capita was approximately $16,400.


Culture

Cultural awakening which occurred at the end of the 1970s allowed the construction and consolidation of the cultural identity of Rodrigues through the development of these various elements, which form the base of the culture of every nation: food, music, and crafts


Music and folklore

The traditional music of the island is known as Sega Tambour. The music has an accentuated beat, usually accompanied by an
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
,
clapping A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), b ...
and the use of improvised percussion instruments like
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
. The folk dance music is similar to
polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...
s,
quadrille The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six '' contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of opera melodie ...
s,
waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...
es and
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
reel A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the en ...
s.


Cuisine

Rodrigues cuisine consists of dishes from local products: fruit, vegetables, seafood (fish, octopus, crab, shrimp, lobster) and meat. National dishes include sausages with kreolinės, rougaille sauce, octopus with curry, kono-kono (a shellfish) salad and Rodrigues cake.


Sports

The most common sport in Rodrigues is
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
. There are local competitions almost throughout the year and in specific competitions, the winning team travels to Mauritius for sport exchange.
Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
is also popular. There is also a public
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
at Marechal, a village located in the center of the island, and a
stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
at Camp Du Rois in the region of
Port Mathurin The village of Port Mathurin serves as the capital of the island of Rodrigues, a dependency of Mauritius. Most of the population of Rodrigues settles close to or in the city. It lies on the north coast of the Indian Ocean island and functions as t ...
.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control Outer Islands of Mauritius States and territories established in 1968 Maritime history of Portugal English-speaking countries and territories Former Dutch colonies Former French colonies Volcanoes of Mauritius Hotspot volcanoes Miocene volcanism Pliocene volcanism Pleistocene volcanism 1809 establishments in the British Empire