Seychelles 1851091823, 9781851091829

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527 00604 3323

ORLD BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SERIES VOLUME 153

GEORGE BENNETT with the collaboration of

PRAMILA RAMGULAM BENNETT

-sSr-

Seychelles

WORLD BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SERIES General Robert G. Neville John J. Robert A. Myers Hans H. Wellisch

Editors: (Executive Editor) Horton Ian Wallace Ralph Lee Woodward, Jr.

John J. Horton is Deputy Librarian of the University of Bradford and currently Chairman of its Academic Board of Studies in Social Sciences. He has maintained a longstanding interest in the discipline of area studies and its associated bibliographical problems, with special reference to European Studies. In particular he has published in the field of Icelandic and of Yugoslav studies, including the two relevant volumes in the World Bibliographical Series. Robert A. Myers is Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Division of Social Sciences and Director of Study Abroad Programs at Alfred University, Alfred, New York. He has studied post-colonial island nations of the Caribbean and has spent two years in Nigeria on a Fulbright Lectureship. His interests include international public health, historical anthropology and developing societies. In addition to Amerindians of the Lesser Antilles: a bibliography (1981), A Resource Guide to Dominica, 1493-1986 (1987) and numerous articles, he has compiled the World Bibliographical Series volumes on Dominica (1987), Nigeria (1989) and Ghana (1991). Ian Wallace is Professor of German at the University of Bath. A graduate of Oxford in French and German, he also studied in Tubingen, Heidelberg and Lausanne before taking teaching posts at universities in the USA, Scotland and England. He specializes in contemporary German affairs, especially literature and culture, on which he has published numerous articles and books. In 1979 he founded the journal GDR Monitor, which he continues to edit under its new title German Monitor. Hans H. Wellisch is Professor emeritus at the College of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland. He was President of the American Society of Indexers and was a member of the International Federation-for Documentation. He is the author of numerous articles and several books on indexing and abstracting, and has published The Conversion of Scripts, Indexing and Abstracting: an International Bibliography and Indexing from A to Z. He also contributes frequently to Journal of the American Society for Information Science, The Indexer and other professional

Central American history section of the Handbook of Latin American Studies.

VOLUME 153

Seychelles George Bennett Compiler

with the collaboration of Pramila Ramgulam Bennett

CLIO PRESS OXFORD, ENGLAND • SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA DENVER, COLORADO

© Copyright 1993 by Clio Press Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Seychelles. - (World bibliographical series; v.153) L Bennett, George II. Bennett, Pramila Ramgulam III. Series 016.9696 ISBN 1-85109-182-3

Clio Press Ltd., 55 St. Thomas’ Street, Oxford 0X1 1JG, England. ABC-CLIO, 130 Cremona Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93116, USA.

Designed by Bernard Crossland. Typeset by Columns Design and Production Services Ltd, Reading, England. Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bookcraft (Bath) Ltd., Midsomer Norton

THE WORLD BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SERIES This series, which is principally designed for the English speaker, will eventually cover every country (and many of the world’s principal regions), each in a separate volume comprising annotated entries on works dealing with its history, geography, economy and politics; and with its people, their culture, customs, religion and social organization. Attention will also be paid to current living conditions - housing, education, newspapers, clothing, etc.that are all too often ignored in standard bibliographies; and to those particular aspects relevant to individual countries. Each volume seeks to achieve, by use of careful selectivity and critical assessment of the literature, an expression of the country and an appreciation of its nature and national aspirations, to guide the reader towards an understanding of its importance. The keynote of the series is to provide, in a uniform format, an interpretation of each country that will express its culture, its place in the world, and the qualities and background that make it unique. The views expressed in individual volumes, however, are not necessarily those of the publisher.

VOLUMES IN THE SERIES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24

Yugoslavia, John J. Horton Lebanon, C. H. Bleaney Lesotho, Shelagh M. Willet and David Ambrose Rhodesia!Zimbabwe, Oliver B. Pollack and Karen Pollack Saudi Arabia, Frank A. Clements USSR, Anthony Thompson South Africa, Reuben Musiker Malawi, Robert B. Boeder Guatemala, Woodman B. Franklin Pakistan, David Taylor Uganda, Robert L. Collison Malaysia, Ian Brown and Rajeswary Ampalavanar France, Frances Chambers Panama, Eleanor DeSelms Langstaff Hungary, Thomas Kabdebo USA, Sheila R. Herstein and Naomi Robbins Greece, Richard Clogg and Mary Jo Clogg New Zealand, R. F. Grover Algeria, Richard I. Lawless Sri Lanka, Vijaya Samaraweera Belize, Ralph Lee Woodward, Jr. Luxembourg, Carlo Hury and Jul Christophory Swaziland, Balam Nyeko

25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33

34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

Kenya, Robert L. Collison India, Brijen K. Gupta and Datta S. Kharbas Turkey, Merel Giiglii Cyprus, P. M. Kitromilides and M. L. Evriviades Oman, Frank A. Clements Finland, J. E. O. Screen Poland, Rev. Ed. George Sanford and Adriana Gozdecka-Sanford Tunisia, Allan M. Findlay, Anne M. Findlay and Richard I. Lawless Scotland, Eric G. Grant China, Peter Cheng Qatar, P. T. H. Unwin Iceland, John J. Horton Nepal, John Whelpton Haiti, Frances Chambers Sudan, M. W. Daly Vatican City State, Michael J. Walsh Iraq, A. J. Abdulrahman United Arab Emirates, Frank A. Clements Nicaragua, Ralph Lee Woodward, Jr. Jamaica, K. E. Ingram Australia, I. Kepars Morocco, Anne M. Findlay, Allan M. Findlay and Richard I. Lawless

48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58

59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66

67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85

Mexico, Naomi Robbins Bahrain, P. T. H. Unwin The Yemens, G. Rex Smith Zambia, Anne M. Bliss and J. A. Rigg Puerto Rico, Elena E. Cevallos Namibia, Stanley Schoeman and Elna Schoeman Tanzania, Colin Darch Jordan, Ian J. Seccombe Kuwait, Frank A. Clements Brazil, Solena V. Bryant Israel, Esther M. Snyder (preliminary compilation E. Kreiner) Romania, Andrea Deletant and Dennis Deletant Spain, Graham J. Shields Atlantic Ocean, H. G. R. King Canada, Ernest Ingles Cameroon, Mark W. DeLancey and Peter J. Schraeder Malta, John Richard Thackrah Thailand, Michael Watts Austria, Denys Salt with the assistance of Arthur Farrand Radley Norway, Leland B. Sather Czechoslovakia, David Short Irish Republic, Michael Owen Shannon Pacific Basin and Oceania, Gerald W. Fry and Rufino Mauricio Portugal, P. T. H. Unwin West Germany, Donald S. Detwiler and Ilse E. Detwiler Syria, Ian J. Seccombe Trinidad and Tobago, Frances Chambers Barbados, Robert B. Potter and Graham M. S. Dann East Germany, Ian Wallace Mozambique, Colin Darch Libya, Richard I. Lawless Sweden, Leland B. Sather and Alan Swanson Iran, Reza Navabpour Dominica, Robert A. Myers Denmark, Kenneth E. Miller •Paraguay, R. Andrew Nickson Indian Ocean, Julia J. Gotthold with the assistance of Donald W. Gotthold

86 87 88

Egypt, Ragai, N. Makar Gibraltar, Graham J. Shields The Netherlands, Peter King and Michael Wintle 89 Bolivia, Gertrude M. Yeager 90 Papua New Guinea, Fraiser McConnell 91 The Gambia, David P. Gamble 92 Somalia, Mark W. DeLancey, Sheila L. Elliott, December Green, Kenneth J. Menkhaus, Mohammad Haji Moqtar, Peter J. Schraeder 93 Brunei, Sylvia C. Engelen Krausse, Gerald H. Krausse 94 Albania, William B. Bland 95 Singapore, Stella R. Quah, Jon S. T. Quah 96 Guyana, Frances Chambers 97 Chile, Harold Blakemore 98 El Salvador, Ralph Lee Woodward, Jr. 99 The Arctic, H.G.R. King 100 Nigeria, Robert A. Myers 101 Ecuador, David Corkhill 102 Uruguay, Henry Finch with the assistance of Alicia Casas de Barren 103 Japan, Frank Joseph Shulman 104 Belgium, R.C. Riley 105 Macau, Richard Louis Edmonds 106 Philippines, Jim Richardson 107 Bulgaria, Richard J. Crampton 108 The Bahamas, Paul G. Boultbee 109 Peru, John Robert Fisher 110 Venezuela, D. A. G. Waddell 111 Dominican Republic, Kai Schoenhals 112 Colombia, Robert H. Davis 113 Taiwan, Wei-chin Lee 114 Switzerland, Heinz K. Meier and Regula A. Meier 115 Hong Kong, Ian Scott 116 Bhutan, Ramesh C. Dogra 117 Suriname, Rosemarijn Hoefte 118 Djibouti, Peter J. Schraeder 119 Grenada, Kai Schoenhals 120 Monaco, Grace L. Hudson 121 Guinea-Bissau, Rosemary Galli 122 Wales, Gwilym Huws and D. Hywel E. Roberts 123 Cape Verde, Caroline S. Shaw 124 Ghana, Robert A. Myers 125 Greenland, Kenneth E. Miller

126 127 128 129 130 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141

142

Costa Rica, Charles L. Stansifer Siberia, David N. Collins Tibet, John Pinfold Northern Ireland, Michael Owen Shannon Argentina, Alan Biggins Burma, Patricia M. Herbert Laos, Helen Cordell Montserrat, Riva Berleant-Schiller Afghanistan, Schuyler Jones Equatorial Guinea, Randall Fegley Turks and Caicos Islands, Paul G. Boultbee Virgin Islands, Verna Penn Moll Honduras, Pamela F. HowardReguindin Mauritius, Pramila Ramgulam Bennett Mauritania, Simonetta Calderini, Delia Cortese, James L. A. Webb, Jr. Timor, Ian Rowland

143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153

154 155 156

St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Robert B. Potter Texas, James Marten Burundi, Morna Daniels Hawai’i, Nancy J. Morris, Love Dean Vietnam, David Marr, Kristine Alilunas-Rodgers Sierra Leone, Margaret Binns, J. Anthony Binns Gabon, David Gardinier Botswana, John A. Wiseman Angola, Richard Black Central African Republic, Pierre Kalck Seychelles, George Bennett, with collaboration from Pramila Ramgulam Bennett Rwanda, Randall Fegley Berlin, Ian Wallace Mongolia, Judith Nordby

' •

Contents

INTRODUCTION .xiii CHRONOLOGY . xxiii GLOSSARY . xxvii ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS. xxix THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE. 1 GEOGRAPHY. 6 General 6 Physical 7 Meteorology 9 Maps and atlases 9 Travel guides 12 TRAVELLERS’ ACCOUNTS . 17 FLORA AND FAUNA . 19 HISTORY .28 General 28 The French period (1756-1814) 31 The British period (1814-1976) 33 Pre- and post-independence (1976- ) 35 POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHY .36 General 36 Minority groups 37 ALDABRA .39 LANGUAGE .41 IX

Contents RELIGION.45 SOCIETY, SOCIAL CONDITIONS AND HEALTH .47 POLITICS .49 Pre-independence 49 Post-independence 52 CONSTITUTION, LEGAL SYSTEM AND ADMINISTRATION.57 PHILATELY .60 THE ECONOMY. 61 General 61 Development plans and policy 62 Urban planning 64 FINANCE AND BANKING .65 AGRICULTURE AND FISHING.67 INDUSTRY .70 MANPOWER AND EMPLOYMENT .71 EDUCATION .72 THE ARTS .75 Visual arts 75 Customs, folklore and festivals 76 Music and dance 76 LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS .77 CUISINE.. LITERATURE. Kreol 80 English 83 French 84

80

GOVERNMENT REPORTS AND STATISTICS.86 MEDIA. Newspapers 88 Periodicals 90 Broadcasting 91 x

gg

Contents DIRECTORIES.92 BIBLIOGRAPHIES .95 INDEX OF AUTHORS.99 INDEX OF TITLES. 103 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 109 MAPS OF SEYCHELLES . 115

xi

Introduction

Seychelles is an island Republic in the Indian Ocean which was first a French and then a British colonial possession. Its small population’s fortunes are inextricably linked with the seas that lap its shores - the seas provide fish for food and for export, and shape the beauty of its many islands which attract tourists from all over the world. The scattered separate islands, which number more than a hundred, contain a great variety of bird, marine and animal life but the majority of the population live on the main island, Mahe. Seychelles is noted for its agreeable climate as well as its scenic beauty. The absence of the cyclones and bad weather conditions that make other islands in the Indian ocean so vulnerable has allowed vegetation to flourish, although the early visitors to the then uninhabited islands did a great deal of damage. Seychelles is the only country in the world to have two World Heritage sites - Aldabra atoll and the Vallee de Mai on the island of Praslin. The small nation’s charm and its people’s relaxed way of life belie a volatile political scene. Since shortly after independence in 1976 one man has dominated the country - France-Albert Rene, at the head of a one-party state run on avowedly socialist lines. However, in December 1991 he announced an unexpected constitutional change, heralding the return of multi-party democracy. The 115 islands which form the archipelago of Seychelles are scattered over 1.3 million square kilometres of ocean; the islands themselves are mainly coralline but the biggest, Mahe, and thirtynine others are granitic. Mahe has an area of 154 square kilometres, is mountainous and lies a few degrees south of the Equator, 1,800 kilometres east of the Kenya coast at Mombasa, 3,300 kilometres south west of Bombay and 1,100 kilometres north of Madagascar. The other islands comprise only a further 300 square kilometres in total and 98% of the population live on the granitic island group of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. The total population of Seychelles is xm

Introduction 67,000. The capital and only port, Victoria (which is on Mahe), has a population of 25,000. Most of the granitic islands rise steeply out of the sea and Mahe’s highest peak, Morne Seychellois, rises to 903 metres at the summit of the long ridge which runs most of the length of the island. The other islands are coral reefs still in the process of development, so they lie close to the surface of the ocean. Aldabra atoll, where thousands of giant land tortoises roam free, rings a lagoon bigger in area than Mahe but the majority of the coralline islands are very small. The maximum shade temperature in Mahe at sea level is 29 degrees C but during June to November, when the south-east trade winds blow, this can fall to 24 degrees. The mean annual rainfall, recorded at Victoria, is 2,360 millimetres. The uninhabited Seychelles islands, containing an abundance of trees and vegetation as well as giant crocodiles and land tortoises, were probably first visited by Arab seamen in the twelfth century. In 1502 the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama sighted the Amirantes, the group of coral islands West-South-West of Mahe. Although it was a British East India Company expedition that first put down on record its visit to the Seychelles in 1609 the French showed a more active interest during the 18th century, claiming possession in 1756. Governor General Rene Magon of the tie de France sent Captain Nicolas Corneille Morphey on an expedition to take possession of the archipelago; Morphey unveiled the Stone of Possession on the rising ground above present-day Victoria on 1st November 1756. Morphey, in the service of King Louis XV, was by origin an Irishman whose father’s name was O’Murphy. The islands were named after the influential French family of Herault de Sechelles which Governor General Magon was anxious to influence and into which he eventually married. Captain Morphey spelt Seychelles in a variety of ways in his official report but the French officially adopted the name Sechelles; the British later anglicized the name to Seychelles. In 1770 Brayer du Barre, a French businessman, came from the tie de France (the name given by the French to the island of Mauritius) and established a small settlement. But with only a handful of settlers and slaves the plantations of maize and rice got off to a slow start and it was not until 1789 that an administrator named Malavois began to develop agriculture and apportion land to new settlers. However, little progress had been made by the time of the French Revolution and a British Naval squadron took possession of the islands without difficulty in 1794, at a time when the population was less than two thousand. French administration continued on the islands under the xiv

Introduction redoubtable Chevalier Queau de Quincy but the British did not relinquish their hold, even during the period 1802-03 when the fighting stopped due to the Peace of Amiens. In 1804 a neutrality agreement with Seychelles was concluded and until 1810 sometimes the French flag flew over the small capital, sometimes the British. In 1810 the British invaded and captured the He de France, establishing their sovereignty over the islands in the south-west Indian Ocean, including Seychelles, by the Treaty of Paris in 1814. Britain had little interest in settling or developing these territories. She needed them to secure the route to India and prevent France from establishing naval bases in the region. The island of Reunion, today a departement of France, was returned to France as the British considered its port facilities worthless. The ile de France was given back its old Dutch name, Mauritius, and Seychelles from that time until 1872 was administered from Mauritius. The fortunes of Seychelles began to wither, the authorities in Mauritius showing scant interest in the scattered group of islands which lay a thousand miles to the north. The French settlers had some success in growing cotton but competition from America put an end to this enterprise. The abolition of slavery was viewed with horror by the white settlers and the British administrators wrote alarmist notes to London forecasting the ruin of the economy if the cheap labour provided by the black slaves was withdrawn. The freed slaves refused to work on the plantations - as was common in other parts of the world where slaves were released. The Seychellois had to make do with a limited trade with Mauritius and try to develop their fishing and boat-building industries. The British attempted to introduce a more English way of life, which included converting people to the Protestant religion, but the Seychellois remained staunch Catholics, though in practice morals were lax; Catholic priests were not allowed to reside in the islands until the 1850s. The islands continued in poverty despite some attempts later in the century to separate their finances from those of Mauritius and stop the disruptive effects of anglicanization. At the end of the 19th century the export of copra products at last began to improve the fortunes of the islanders. The people of Seychelles today are a more homogeneous group than that of the islands of Mauritius and Reunion. The wealthy French families of Mauritius and Reunion imported indentured labourers from India to work on their sugar plantations but the rocky and precipitous terrain of Seychelles was unsuitable for growing sugar cane. In fact, the population diminished in the years immediately following the abolition of slavery and the end of the cotton industry as some of the Seychellois moved to Mauritius to find work. In 1826 xv

Introduction

the population of Seychelles was 7,665; it fell to 5,586 in 1842 and then began to rise again slowly. By the middle of the century it was 6,811. Slaves taken by British naval ships from illegal slavers still working the African coast were sometimes landed, as free men, on Seychelles and the population today is almost totally Creole, with just a sprinkling of families of Asian and Chinese origin, together with the few descendants of the original French settlers. By the end of the 19th century the population of Seychelles, like that of the other south-west Indian Ocean islands, had grown rapidly and was approaching 20,000. Gradually the links with Mauritius were broken, beginning in 1888 with the appointment of an administrator presiding over an executive and a legislative council. This was followed in 1897 by a governor subordinate to the governor of Mauritius. The historian Auguste Toussaint writes that an English woman, Mrs E. H. Edwards, reported that the new constitution did nothing to improve conditions in the archipelago. She pointed out that the Seychelles budget at the time showed expenditure on salaries amounting to 121,845 rupees, the total budget expenditure being 219,898 rupees. ‘Thus,’ she commented, ‘it costs this dependency 121,845 rupees to administer the expenditure of 98,053 rupees in the interest (or otherwise) of the country.’ In 1903 Seychelles was at last completely separated administratively from Mauritius and given its own governor; the result of the appointment of Sir Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott, a Colonial Office man who was determined to run his own colony. At this time the regular sea links with Mauritius had been halted, which made communication between the two groups of islands difficult. The Suez Canal was opened and the route round the Cape lost its importance. The British used Seychelles as a convenient location to exile its opponents from other colonies - the Ashanti King Prempeh I from Ghana and Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus both spent time on the islands. Seychelles struggled to diversify its economy away from copra to vanilla and other crops, following a fall in the price of coconut oil. The discovery of a synthetic substitute for vanilla added to the fragility of the colony’s economy and the European war which began in 1914 meant that trade with the German possessions in East Africa was severed. Seychelles was so short of money that in 1918 Mauritius made the crown colony a grant of 100,000 rupees to help balance its budget. By 1931 the population had risen to more than 27,000. The depression in Europe was followed by the 1939-45 war. Seychelles had little chance of development and once more a period of neglect set in. But the spread of modern communications was beginning to open up the remoter parts of the world and political change began to affect xvi

Introduction

Seychelles. The closure of the Suez canal in 1956 meant that the Cape route was once more an important highway for shipping. The tiny islands of Seychelles began gradually to assume a strategic import¬ ance far in excess of their modest political stance and resources. The first political party, the Seychelles Islanders United Party, led by Rifned Jumeau, was founded in 1963 with the aim of improving the standard of living of the people of Seychelles. The following year, as nationalist feelings grew, two young lawyers formed political movements - the SPUP (Seychelles People’s United Party) of FranceAlbert Rene and the SDP (Seychelles Democratic Party) of James Mancham. The first constitutional conference was held in 1970 when Rene pressed for full independence but Mancham favoured con¬ tinued association with Britain, on the grounds that Seychelles could not survive on its own. In 1967, as a consequence of the Suez crisis, the British Labour government created the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The BIOT consisted of three islands in the Seychelles group, Aldabra, Farquhar and Desroches, together with the archipelago of Diego Garcia (previously) part of Mauritius whose main island became the site of a United States defence base under an agreement with Britain. The agreement was to continue ‘until the island was no longer needed for defence purposes’. As part of the BIOT settlement Britain funded a new airport for Seychelles, capable of taking the biggest commercial flights. After the airport opened in 1971 the tourist industry began to play an increasingly important role in the economy. France-Albert Rene’s radical, socialist stance appealed to most members of the Organization of African Unity and by 1974 James Mancham decided that he had no option but to back the call for full independence as well. Without OAU backing the islands would have become even more isolated. In the elections that year the numbers of votes cast for each party was close but the ‘winner takes all’ system meant that the SDP got thirteen seats and the SPUP only two. Following the 1975 Constitutional Conference the SDP and the SPUP formed a coalition government in order to provide a smooth transition to independence the following year, a move Mancham was later to regret. The final constitutional conference was held in January 1976; the Republic of Seychelles became independent on 29 June 1976 with Mancham as President and Rene as Prime Minister. At the same time the three islands which were part of the BIOT were returned to Seychelles. However the US base on Diego Garcia was by this time in the course of expansion and under an agreement with the Mancham government the Americans installed a satellite tracking station high up in the mountains overlooking Victoria. The coalition XVII

Introduction

government which was due to last until new elections in 1979 came to an abrupt end when Mancham was ousted in a coup d’etat while he was attending the June 1977 Commonwealth summit meeting in London, barely a year after independence. Rene became leader of a new regime which styled itself revolutionary and socialist and adopted a one-party constitution. Rene became President under the new constitution, nominated by the newly formed People’s Progres¬ sive Party (SPPF), the only political party then allowed in the country. By this time the discovery of plots against the government had caused him to seek military assistance from Julius Nyerere of Tanzania. During the next few years there were several plots or rumours of plots causing the government to assume emergency powers. A number of people were detained although they were all eventually released. Some discontent arose, principally among the middle class, because of the new socialist policies. There were public demonstrations against the introduction of a compulsory two-year period of youth service, which was later made voluntary and its provisions modified. None the less, many among the working class appreciated the better financial deal they were getting from the new government and seemed to support Rene’s policies. In 1981 the Irish-born adventurer Mike Hoare led a group of South African-based mercenaries disguised as tourists in an attack that was foiled at Seychelles airport. The majority of the mercenary force hi¬ jacked an Air India plane and flew back to South Africa - where they were subsequently tried. Hoare and his second in command were imprisoned. The Seychellois authorities captured six of the mer¬ cenaries and four were sentenced to death, although they were later pardoned by Rene and allowed to go free. At the time, Mancham denied involvement in the coup attempt. The following year some Seychellois soldiers mutinied, although their quarrel was more with their senior officers than with the President. Their brief insurrection was quickly put down with the aid of the Tanzanian garrison. Other plots were uncovered but in 1984 Rene was elected, unopposed, for a second five-year term as President. In 1985 Mancham, who was working as a business consultant, announced his resignation as leader of the London-based Mouvement pour la Resistance but Gerard Hoareau, a Seychellois who had been prominent in the exiled group and succeeded Mancham as MPR leader, was assassinated in London. It later emerged that his telephone had been tapped and three British citizens were charged and sentenced for unlawfully doing so. While the Seychelles tourist industry faced difficulties as a result of these disturbances, the government endeavoured to diversify the economy, opening a tuna-canning factory and planning a prawn

xviii

Introduction

fishery project on one of the outer islands. Although the British government did not approve of Rent’s policies and style of government and gave minimal aid, other countries were happy to help Seychelles. The SPPF government claimed to be non-aligned but there was no doubt of the USSR’s vigorous support, especially with security. Following the resignations of a number of leading members of his government over the years Rene reshuffled his government in 1986, taking the posts of Minister of Finance and Defence himself. In 1987, thirty-six SPPF candidates contested the twenty-three elective seats in the Assembly with an increased proportion of the electorate casting their votes compared with the previous election. In 1988 a constitutional change allowed members absent from the assembly to be replaced by SPPF members appointed by the President. In 1989 Rene was elected for his third five-year Presidential term and the BBC began broadcasting to East and Southern Africa from a new short-wave relay station on Mahe, becoming the biggest consumer of electricity in Seychelles. Faced with criticisms of communist-bloc influence Rene was able to point to the American tracking station and the BBC relay station as evidence of his country’s evenhandedness. While other countries in Africa had bowed to the new winds of change and begun dismantling their one-party states, Seychelles seemed determined to carry on with its system of government - now often criticized as dictatorial - established after the overthrow of President Mancham in 1977 and legitimized in 1979. Pressures on Rene were, however, increasing. The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe had meant the loss of his powerful Russian protector, and at the Commonwealth summit in Zimbabwe in November 1991 it was clear he was becoming isolated. At the same time the economy faltered, due to a decrease in the number of visitors caused by the Gulf war. In December, at an extraordinary SPPF congress Rene proposed the introduction of a pluralist political system and invited exiled Seychellois to return to play a responsible role. He subsequently explained this U-turn by saying that the one-party state was introduced because it was essential that people worked together in order to promote economic development. ‘Now with the developments going on in the world at this particular time we felt it would not be a bad idea if we could move to such a system, but always keeping in mind the need for national unity,’ he said in an interview. Three stages in the new constitutional developments were planned. Elections would first be held for the members of a constitutional commission, which would incidentally determine the support each

xix

Introduction

party attracted. The constitution these members drew up would be put to a referendum and followed by general elections before the end of 1992. Eight parties registered for the elections and a new Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation was established, meant to be free of government control. James Mancham returned to lead his revived SDP and a new Parti Seselwa (Seychellois Party) which had started as an underground movement led by an Anglican priest, Wavel Ramkalawan, started to publish a popular bi-weekly newspaper Regar (Look). The election of the constitutional commission was held on the last weekend of July 1992 when the SPPF won 58.4% of the votes and the SDP 33.7%. The Parti Seselwa came third. Observers concluded that the more effective organization of the SPPF, coupled with its popularity among the working class, who had gained materially during its years in power, had put Rene’s party ahead. Mancham’s return gave an impetus to his old party, despite its tardiness in declaring exactly what it stood for. The leaders of the Parti Seselwa were young and untried although their ideas appealed to many of the middle class. But the electors threw out the constitution that was presented to them in November. Needing a 60% vote for approval the proposals got 53.7% from an 81.9% turnout. The constitutional commission was sent back to reframe the constitution - this time without a deadline. While this ensured that Rene’s government remained in power for the time being, it also gave the opposition parties time to organize themselves more effectively. After three months’ work, commencing in January 1993, the revised constitution would be submitted for approval once again by referendum, to be followed by general and presidential elections. The bibliography Because Seychelles was administered as a dependency of Mauritius up to the beginning of the 20th century many of the early works about Seychelles also deal with Mauritius. Thus Auguste Toussaint’s History of Mauritius includes a large number of references to Seychelles. Moreover, as many historians and researchers have dealt with the island nations of the south-west Indian Ocean as a whole there are a number of more recent books which include Seychelles rather than dealing with the country in isolation. A number of the most important of these books have been included in this selective bibliography which is aimed at the English-speaking reader who seeks the appropriate paths of study. Before the international airport opened in 1971, Seychelles was

xx

Introduction accessible only by ship and there were few tourists. Thus a book like J. A. F. Ozanne’s Coconuts and Creoles, published in 1936, is of special interest - Alec Waugh reported that it was the only book on Seychelles listed in the London Library when he was planning his visit to Seychelles which resulted in Where the Clocks Chime Twice (published in 1952). The large section on Flora and Fauna reflects the keen interest in the natural history of the islands, from both amateurs and professional scientists. I have included a number of travel guides because, although they go out of date fairly quickly, they do have sociological interest. Some of the books I have included are available only in Seychelles and although some are in typescript or flimsily bound they are carefully preserved and annotated at the excellently run National Archives and the National Library. At the time of writing a fine new building to house the National Archives, National Library and Museum is under the course of construction in Victoria. Books in French, and some other European languages, have not been excluded. Much of the important early writing on Seychelles is in French due to the country’s colonial background. France has maintained a cultural and political involvement with Seychelles so there has been a continued production of books in French dealing with Seychelles. Since 1977 the Seychelles government has placed much emphasis on the use and teaching of Kreol and a number of books in Kreol have been published locally. I have included many of them. The bibliography is divided into chapters, some with sub-headings, in order to help the general reader, the specialist and the research student find out more easily about the varying aspects of the country. There are cross references where appropriate. Within each chapter the books are listed alphabetically by title. Articles in learned and other journals dealing with Seychelles are included within the comments on the appropriate book title. There are three indexes, one for authors, one for titles and one for subjects. The references are to entries. There is also a glossary, a list of abbreviations and acronyms and a chronology. Seychelles was originally spelt Sechelles by the French and although anglicized by the British, to this day the name Seychelles should not be accepted in law. I am indebted to Julien Dump’s article in L’Echo des ties (February 1991) for an explanation of the name and its orthography. I have used the accepted anglicized version thoughout the bibliography. President France-Albert Rene wrote a number of books in which his first name was unhyphenated or shortened and the accent dropped from the last letter of his surname, presumably to underline the country’s new ‘authenticity’ and the practice in Kreol. I have included these variations of spellings as they xxi

Introduction

appear in the various book titles; otherwise I refer to him as FranceAlbert Rene. I have used the spelling ‘Kreol’, which is itself a Creole form, when referring to Seychellois Creole; I refer to other Indian Ocean island mother tongues as Creole. All views expressed in this bibliography are my own and the responsibility for any errors or omissions are mine as well. Acknowledgements Seychelles is unrivalled for its natural beauties but I can think of no more agreeable place to have undertaken research for this book than the first floor readers’ room in the handsome building, with its fine views across Victoria harbour, that housed the Seychelles National Archives in 1992 (the new library and archives centre was still under construction). The collections of books and documents in Seychelles, although modest in comparison with those of larger and richer countries, were without exception carefully housed and looked after with dedication. I could not have asked for greater cooperation from everyone in my work. I would like to thank especially Mrs Lina Ernesta of the Seychelles National Library, Mr Julien Dump and Miss Margaret Mondon of the Seychelles National Archives, those two veteran bibliophiles Mr Kantilal Jivan Shah (who conjured books, new and old, from his extensive collection) and Mr Guy Lionnet (who showed me the nutmeg trees in the Botanical Gardens and is the most quoted author in this book) and in London the staff of the libraries of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, the Commonwealth Trust, the Commonwealth Institute, the Royal Geographical Society, the School of Oriental and African Studies, the British Museum (Natural History) and the British Library. Finally I would like to thank His Excellency Mr Sylvestre L. Radegonde, the High Commissioner for Seychelles in the United Kingdom, for his help and encouragement, and British Airways for making it possible for me to travel to Seychelles to undertake research for this bibliography. George Bennett London 30 November 1992

XXII

Chronology

12th Century

Arab seafarers visited the islands.

1502

Vasco da Gama sights the Amirantes.

1609

The British East India Company records its first visit to the islands.

1756

France claimed possession and named the islands Sechelles after an influential French family.

1770

The French botanist Pierre Poivre established a spice garden on St Anne (but did not visit Seychelles himself).

1777

French settlers with parties of slaves began to arrive.

1789

The French Revolution began.

1790

The French settlers attempted unsuccessfully to set up self-government. De Quincy took over and the islands became a dependency of the tie de France once more.

1794

De Quincy capitulated to a British Naval squadron but raised the French flag again after the British ships had left.

1802

The Peace of Amiens was signed.

1803

Hostilities between Britain and France resumed.

1804

Again De Quincy surrendered to the British and XXlll

Chronology

again the islands reverted to nominal French sover¬ eignty as soon as the British warships left the harbour.

1810

A British force captured Mauritius.

1814

Seychelles was formally ceded to Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Paris and governed from Mauritius.

1853

The first Catholic mission was established in Mahe.

1872

A board of civil commissioners became responsible for financial matters.

1888

An administrator was appointed with a nominated executive and legislative council (effective from the following year).

1897

The administrator became Governor.

1903

Seychelles formally separated from Mauritius and became a Crown Colony.

1948

Around two thousand citizens voted for four new elected members of the legislative council.

1963

The first political party, the Seychelles Islanders’ United Party, was registered; there were now five elected members of the Legislative Council (with four ex-officio members and three nomin-ated members).

1964

The Seychelles People’s United party (SPUP) and the Seychelles Democratic Party (SDP) were launched.

1965

The British Indian Occean Territory (BIOT) was formed.

1966

Constitutional adviser Sir Colville Deverell recom¬ mended the introduction of universal adult suffrage, a majority of elected members in the legislature and a single governing council.

1967

17,900 citizens were eligible to vote under the new

xxiv

Chronology

constitution. In the December elections the SDP won four seats, the SPUP three and an independent one seat. 1970

A Constitutional Conference in London agreed a new 18-member legislative with 15 elected members. There was to be a Council of Ministers with a Chief Minister and up to four other ministers, plus the Deputy Governor, Attorney General and Financial Secretary. The SDP won ten seats in the elections that followed, the SPUP five seats and James Mancham became Chief Minister.

1974

In the April General elections the SDP won thirteen seats and the SPUP two seats.

1975

Joan Lestor, MP, chaired a Constitutional Con¬ ference in London which agreed a pre-independence constitution; the SDP and the SPUP formed a coalition government.

1976

The Constitutional Conference resumed in January and agreed on the provisions for independence which began at midnight on 28th June. The coalition government was to remain until the 1979 elections and Britain returned the three BIOT islands to Seychelles. James Mancham was President of the new Republic and France-Albert Rene Prime Minister.

1977

On 5 June a coup d’etat overthrew the government. Mancham, who was attending the Commonwealth summit in London, became an exile. Rene took over as head of state.

1978

The government announced it had foiled a plot involving former politicians. Military assistance was sought from Tanzania. There were demonstrations against the introduction of compulsory Youth Service. The government assumed emergency powers. There were arrests, but those detained were later released.

1979

A one-party state was formalized with Rene at its head. xxv

Chronology

1981

A mercenary force from southern Africa led by Mike Hoare was surprised at the airport and some of its members captured.

1982

An army mutiny was put down.

1984

Rene was elected unopposed for a second five-year term as President. Foreign Minister Ferrari resigned and took a UN post.

1985

Mancham resigned as leader of the Mouvement pour la Resistance. Exiled leader Gerard Hoareau was assassinated in London.

1986

Defence Minister Berlouis resigned. Rene reshuffled his government, taking the posts of defence and finance himself.

1987

Three Britons were imprisoned for tapping Hoareau’s telephone. A plot to overthrow Rene’s government was discovered in London. An increased percentage of the electorate voted for thirty-six SPPF candidates contending twenty-three assembly seats.

1988

A constitutional change empowered Rene to appoint SPPF proxy assembly members.

1989

Rene got a third five-year term as President, winning ninety-six per cent of the votes cast. The BBC opened its East African Relay Station in Seychelles.

1991

In April the SPPF congress confirmed that the oneparty state would continue: in December at its extraordinary congress Rene proposed a multi-party system. Tourism was affected by the Gulf war.

1992

An independent Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation was established. James Mancham returned for his first visit to Seychelles since 1977. Eight political parties were registered. In July, the SPPF won 58.4% of the votes in the election to appoint members of a Constitutional Commission and the SDP 33.7%. The Parti Seselwa came third. The electorate rejected the proposed constitution in the November referendum.

xxvi

Glossary

Amirantes

Group of coralline islands WSW of the island of Mahe.

Lenstiti Kreol

Kreol Institute.

kamtole

Traditional Seychellois dance, possibly originating in Brittany.

Kreol

The Creole language (Creole in French). Kreol is used throughout the text for references to Seychellois Creole.

Mascarene islands

The name given to the islands of Reunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Mascarenhas. They are also known as the Mascarenhas and les lies mascareignes.

moutia

Traditional Seychellois dance, said to originate from Zanzibar.

sega

The music and dance form unique to the Indian Ocean islands. The root of the word is from the Bantu language meaning ‘play’ or ‘dance’.

XXVll

.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

ACP

BIOT CEDREFI CIORS COI EEC HMSO IBION ICIOS IPPF OAU Parti Seselwa SDP SNA SNPC SPPF SPUP UNESCO URTNA

Africa - Caribbean - Pacific (the group of states affiliated to the European Community) British Indian Ocean Territory Centre for documentation, research and training for the south-west Indian Ocean Centre for Indian Ocean Regional Studies Central Office of Information (United Kingdom) European Economic Community Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (London) Issue-based Indian Ocean Network International Conference on Indian Ocean Studies (Perth, Western Australia) International Planned Parenthood Federation Organization of African Unity Seychellois Party Seychelles Democratic Party Seychelles National Archives Seychelles National Printing Corporation Seychelles People’s Progressive Front Seychelles People’s United Party United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Union of African National Radio and Television Companies/t/m’o/r Radio Television Nationale Africaine

XXIX

■

-

The Country and Its People

1

Coconuts and creoles. J. A. F. Ozanne. London: Philip Allan, 1936. 336p. maps.

The author, who was the Anglican Archdeacon in Seychelles for four years, wrote this spirited and acerbic account of the country at the end of his stay. Intending the book to be read by visitors and temporary residents he dedicated it to ‘those unfortunate beings past, present and future, who by fate have been, are, and will be, called to govern Seychelles’. Illustrated with contemporary photographs, themselves of much interest, the book deals with many aspects of colonial Seychelles - there are chapters on ‘servants’ and ‘society’ - and is of considerable sociological and historical importance.

2

Indian Ocean, five island countries. Edited by Frederica M. Bunge. Washington, DC: Foreign Area Studies, American University, 1983. 304p. maps, bibliog.

Seychelles is one of the five independent Indian Ocean countries (Madagascar, Mauritius, the Comoros and the Maldives are the others) dealt with individually in this book which includes a chapter dealing with their inter-relationships and relations with the littoral and powerful countries. The chapter on Seychelles is dealt with, like the others, in political and economic terms and in the context of its struggle to survive with a fragile economy dependent on tourism for almost all its revenues.

3

Islands. Henry William Menard. 215p. map.

New York: Scientific American Books, 1986.

A good deal of general information, as well as scientific and historical data, is included about the Indian Ocean islands and Seychelles in this comprehensive survey of the world’s island territories. The study also examines the geographical formation of the islands and their discovery. A three-page map shows the location of the world’s islands.

1

The Country and Its People 4

Islands of the Indian Ocean — iles de l’Ocean Indien. Gerald C. Cubitt. maps.

Cape Town, Johannesburg: C. Struik, 1975. 176p.

This book, translated into French by Charles du Ray and Antoinette de Leon Silvestri, is intended for the visitor, with the text in English and French side by side. It basically depicts the islands of the Western Indian Ocean - Reunion, Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles and Comoros - through beautifully coloured and black-and-white pictures (234 in all) and vivid descriptive notes. History, topographical features, population, vegetation, monuments, beaches, lagoons, reefs and water sports and gardens are among the items of interest dealt with.

5

Islands: the Seychelles. Guy Lionnet. Newton Abbot, England: David & Chambers; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 1972. 200p. maps, bibliog.

A wide-ranging book about many aspects of the country, including its history, geology, the outer islands, its people and language, literature, religion and culture. There is some tourist information, which has become outdated, but the book is still a good introduction to the country for the interested visitor. It is especially good on the fauna and flora as might be expected from a former Director of Agriculture There are a number of illustrations.

6 Madagascar, Mauritius and other East-African islands. C. Keller.

London: Swan Sonnenschein, 1901. 242p. maps, bibliog.

A complete and authentic study of the islands of the Indian Ocean to the east and south-east of Africa. The islands are studied in a global context. The geologist botanist zoologist, meteorologist, and ethnologist as well as the historian will find the work of considerable interest. The maps are in colour, with sixty-four other illustrations in black and white.

7

Men, women and money in Seychelles. Marion Benedict, Burton Benedict. California Press, 1982. 290p. map.

Berkeley, California: University of

The book is in two parts. The first, by Marion Benedict, is based on a number of interviews with Seychellois women and aims to portray their daily life in an ^,HveSnf°n