Timeline of Port Louis

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Port Louis on the island of Mauritius.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Prior to 20th century
Part of a series on the
History of Mauritius
  • Discovery of Mauritius
Portuguese
  • Portuguese in Mauritius
Dutch
French (1710–1810)
British (1810–1968)
Independence (1968)
Specific themes
  • Timeline (fr)
  • Economics
  • Political
  • Years
  • 1606 - Dutch settlers start to use this area as a harbour which they call Harbour of Tortoises, after their initial 1598 settlement at Port de Warwick in Ferney, Vieux Grand Port.[1]
  • 1721 - French in power on Isle de France; Noord-Wester Haven (harbor) renamed "Port Louis."[2]
  • 1729 - Hôtel du Gouvernement built.[3]
  • 1735 - Development of Port Louis begins (approximate date).[4]
  • 1749 - Le Réduit (fort) built near Port Louis at Moka.
  • 1772 - Bagne Prison built.[5]
  • 1774 - Line Barracks or Casernes Centrales is inaugurated after start of construction in 1740.[6]
  • 1782 - Dyot Canal construction begins.(de)
  • 1790 - Thomas Enouf becomes mayor of Town of Port Louis.[4]
  • 1791 - Foundation of Collège National or Collège Colonial in Port Louis. This would later become Lycée Colonial and eventually the island's first Royal College.[7]
  • 1794 - Town renamed “Port de La Montagne.”[4]
  • 1795 - Town renamed “Port Nord-Ouest.”[4]
  • 1803 - Captain Matthew Flinders is arrested during a port call to repair his ship Cumberland as Governor De Caen believes he is a British spy.[8]
  • 1805 - Mosque constructed.[2]
  • 1810
    • Invasion by British navy and army forces from Bombay, Madras and the Cape of Good Hope which land between Cap Malheureux and Bain des Boeufs in late November and early December.[4][9][10]
    • For 6 months after the British invasion the “Lycée Colonial” is used as a military hospital.[11]
    • Town renamed "Port Louis" again.[4]
    • Population: 24,000.[2]
  • 1812 - Champ de Mars Racecourse opens.[12]
  • 1816 - Fire.[3]
  • 1822 - Political prisoner Ratsitatane (from Madagascar) is sentenced to death and is beheaded at Jardin Plaine Verte[13]
  • 1838 - Citadel (Fort Adelaïde) built.[14]
  • 1847 - Roman Catholic Diocese of Port-Louis established.[15]
  • 1849 - Development of Coolie Ghat immigration depot begins.[14]
  • 1850
    • February: Municipal election held.[16]
    • March: Louis Léchelle becomes mayor.[17]
  • 1852 - Mosquée des Arabes established.
  • 1864 - North line railway begins operating.
  • 1866 - Municipal government headquartered in the Hôtel d’Europe building.[16]
  • 1867 - Malaria outbreak.
  • 1870 - General Post Office built.[5]
  • 1869 - Port Louis economy affected by opening of Suez Canal in Egypt.[2]
  • 1880 - Foundation of Mauritius Institute.[18]
  • 1887 - Revue historique et littéraire de l'Ile Maurice begins publication.
  • 1892 - 29 April: 1892 Mauritius cyclone occurs.[19]
  • 1897 - 22 June: Statue of British queen Victoria unveiled.[19]
  • 1899 - Due to a plague epidemic the original Royal College Port Louis is permanently closed down as people flee Port Louis to settle in the cooler highlands of Curepipe.[20]

20th century
  • 1904 - 8-9 June: Flood.[19]
  • 1906 - Pagoda Riots between three rival clans (Hakka, Cantonese, Fukienese) over control of Cohan Tai Biou Pagoda
  • 1907 - Population: 30,899.[21]
  • 1910 - Government House rebuilt.[3]
  • 1911 - Riots, which started in Curepipe, spread to Port Louis
  • 1919 - Population: 40,106 metro.[22]
  • 1933 - Catholic St. Louis Cathedral rebuilt.
  • 1942 - Airport established in Plaine Magnien, 48 km from Port Louis.
  • 1945
    • 3 tropical cyclones strike (on 16 January, 02 February and 06 April), causing deaths and destroying homes and infrastructure. International relief arrives in Port Louis.[23]
    • End of World War II is celebrated at Champ de Mars, Town Hall, Luna Park, Majestic, Citadel, Signal Mountain, and streets of Port Louis.
  • 1951 - Fort Adelaide (La Citadelle) murders and hanging
  • 1952 - Population: 84,539.[24]
  • 1953 - Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute founded in nearby Réduit.[14]
  • 1956 - Foundation stone for Royal College Port Louis is laid by Princess Margaret.[25]
  • 1960
    • Tropical Cyclone Alix strikes in January, destroying homes and infrastructure.
    • Tropical Cyclone Carol strikes on 27 February, causing 42 deaths and destruction of infrastructure.
  • 1963 - L'Express newspaper begins publication.[26]
  • 1964 - Population: 126,550 (estimate).[27]
  • 1965
  • 1966
    • City Hall built.
    • Photography museum founded.
    • Riots erupted in October in front of Government House following protests against 10,000 job losses[28]
  • 1967
    • City economy affected by temporary closure of Suez Canal during war in Egypt.[14]
    • Ethnic riots during August 1967 elections[29]
  • 1968
    • Ethnic riots in January, State of Emergency and British military from Malaysia intervene prior to Independence ceremony
    • Mauritian independence in March.[12]
  • 1969 - Six administrative wards created.[4]
  • 1975
    • Suez Canal reopens in Egypt.[14]
    • Tropical Cyclone Gervaise strikes in February, causing 10 deaths and destruction of infrastructure.
    • Student Riots break out on the 20th of May following a protest march, resulting in looted shops and burnt buses in Port Louis and other parts of the island.
  • 1978 - January: Arson attack on headquarters of Le Mauricien which gave rise to the Sheik Hossen Affair.[30]
  • 1979 - August: Sugar industry labor strike.[31]
  • 1984 - Population: 135,200 (estimate).[32]
  • 1986 - Landslide (glissement de terrain) at La Butte results in damage to 1500 private homes, power lines and water pipes.[33]
  • 1989 - Stock Exchange of Mauritius headquartered in city.[34]
  • 1992
  • 1993
  • 1995
    • Mauritius Postal Museum opens
    • Sun Trust Building is inaugurated on Edith Cavell Street.[35]
  • 1996
    • Caudan Waterfront in business.[12]
    • October: 3 political activists are gunned down at night on Gorah Issac Road prior to municipal elections.[36]
  • 1999
    • February: Riots break out at Roche Bois, a suburb of Port Louis, following the death in police custody of singer Kaya and ethnic riots spread across the island.[37]
    • May: L'Amicale riots erupt in the centre of Port Louis following a soccer match, resulting in 7 deaths, looting and property damage.[38]
  • 2000

21st century
  • 2002 - Statue of Basdeo Bissoondoyal unveiled.
  • 2006 - Bank of Mauritius Tower built.[39]
  • 2007 - Appleby Mauritius in business.
  • 2008 - Musée de l'immigration chinoise (museum) opens.
  • 2010 - Population: 128,483 city; 148,416 metro.[12]
  • 2013 - March-April: Flood.[34]
  • 2017 - Heritage building (circa 1791) "La School" (Edith Cavell Street) was demolished. [40]
  • 2018 - Population: 147,448 (estimate).[41]
  • 2019 - October: First train connecting Port Louis to Rose Hill was launched from Richelieu ((Phase 1 of Metro Express Project)[42]
  • 2020 - August 29: Around 75,000 citizens march with activist Bruneau Laurette in the centre of Port Louis to protest against the government's poor handling of the MV Wakashio oil spill[43]

See also

References
  1. Auguste Toussaint, Histoire des îles Mascareignes, p. 24
  2. Nave 2005.
  3. "L'hôtel du gouvernement: sur les traces des élus", Lexpress.mu (in French), 24 April 2017
  4. "History of the City". Mccpl.mu. City Council of Port Louis. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017.
  5. Satyendra Peerthum (25 August 2008), "Port Louis: Home to half of our national heritage", Lexpress.mu. Part 2, 1 September 2008
  6. "History of MPF". Government of Mauritius. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  7. "School History". Government of Mauritius. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  8. "From Terra Australis to Australia". State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  9. Pistorius, Micki. "Mauritius: From Conquests to Naval Battles, Piracy and a Long-Awaited Independence". Ancient Origins. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  10. "History of Mauritius: 1810". Mauritius Holidays. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  11. "School History". Government of Mauritius. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  12. Cybriwsky 2013.
  13. Valayden, Rama. "Ratsitatane". L'Express. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  14. "Port Louis". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  15. "Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: Mauritius". Norway: Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  16. "Il y a 150 ans, P.-Louis perdait son 1er maire", Lexpress.mu (in French), 24 April 2006
  17. "Municipality of Port Louis: List of mayors and deputy-mayors from 1850". Mauritius Almanac and Colonial Register. 1874.
  18. "Historical background". Mauritius Museums Council. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  19. Benjamin Vincent (1910), "Mauritius", Haydn's Dictionary of Dates (25th ed.), London: Ward, Lock & Co., hdl:2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t41r6xh8t
  20. "School History". Government of Mauritius. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  21. Blue Book for the Colony of Mauritius: 1907. Port Louis. 1908. OCLC 18922692 – via HathiTrust.
  22. "British Empire: Mauritius". Statesman's Year-Book. London: Macmillan and Co. 1921. hdl:2027/njp.32101072368440.
  23. "Réminiscences 1945 : l'année des trois cyclones". Le Mauricien. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
  24. "Population of capital city and cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants". Demographic Yearbook 1955. New York: Statistical Office of the United Nations. pp. 171–184.
  25. Le Mauricien. "HISTOIRE: Le séjour de la princesse Margaret en 1956", Le Mauricien, Mauritius, September 2011.
  26. "Mauritius: Directory". Africa South of the Sahara 2004. Regional Surveys of the World. Europa Publications. 2004. ISBN 1857431839.
  27. "Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 and more inhabitants". Demographic Yearbook 1965. New York: Statistical Office of the United Nations. 1966. pp. 140–161.
  28. "Colonisations". Cercle de Généalogie. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  29. "Voting brings riots in Mauritius 1967". New York Times. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  30. "Dimanche 11 Juin 1978 : L'enquête judiciaire sur l'incendie du Mauricien". Le Mauricien. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  31. "Mauritius". Political Chronology of Africa. Political Chronologies of the World. Europa Publications. 2001. ISBN 0203409957.
  32. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistical Office (1987). "Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 and more inhabitants". 1985 Demographic Yearbook. New York. pp. 247–289.
  33. "Newsletter glissement de terrain" (PDF). JICA, Ministry of Public Infrastructure. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  34. "Mauritius profile: Timeline". BBC News. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  35. "L'affaire Sun Trust". L'Express. Retrieved 2004-01-28.
  36. "Shooting death of 3 Hizbullah activists at Gorah-Issac Rd". UNHCR. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  37. Vellien, Clifford. "Rioting in Mauritius set off by jail death of singer (1999)". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  38. Kessel, Anna. "Having a ball in Mauritius". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  39. "Mauritius: Port Louis". Emporis.com. Hamburg: Emporis GmbH. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  40. "Port Louis Batiment du 17eme siecle. Demolition de La School: La grogne continue". Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  41. "Table 8 - Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants", Demographic Yearbook – 2018, United Nations
  42. "Mauritius launches first phase of $525 million light rail system". Reuters. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
  43. "Massive oil spill prompts largest protest in Mauritius in 40 years". Agence France Presse SCMP. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
This article incorporates information from the French Wikipedia and German Wikipedia.

Bibliography
in English
in French
  • Eugène Gallois (1908). "Port-Louis". La France dans l'Océan Indien (in French). Paris.

Images
  • Port Louis railway station (photo circa 1880s-1890s)
  • Aftermath of cyclone, 1892
  • Unveiling of queen Victoria statue, 1897
  • Government House, built 1729, rebuilt in 1910 (photo 2015)
  • Basdeo Bissoondoyal statue, erected in 2002
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