Rodrigues

Rodrigues (Rodriguan Creole: Zil Rodrigues, from "les îles Rodrigues", French for "Rodrigues Islands"), sometimes spelled Rodriguez but named after the Portuguese explorer Diogo Rodrigues, is the smallest of the Mascarene Islands and a dependency of Mauritius. With a peak elevation of approximately 355 meters (1165 ft), it is located 560 km (348 mi) east of Mauritius island, in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is 109 km² (43 sq mi) in size, and surrounded by a coral reef. The capital of the island is Port Mathurin.

As of 2006, the island's population was about 40,000. The main language is Rodriguan Creole, while French and English are spoken or understood by some of the inhabitants. The main religion is Roman Catholicism with a small minorities of other religions. Most of the inhabitants are of mixed African and French descent. The main industries are handicraft, farming, fishing and tourism.

History

From the 10th century, Arabs have been known to visit the Mascarene Islands. A 12th century map by the Arab geographer Ash-Sharif al-Idrisi supposedly contains them, and the Cantino planisphere of c.1500 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 transliterations or transcriptions of the Arabic Diva Harab ("Desert Island"), Diva Maghrebin ("Western Island") and Diva Mashriq ("Eastern Island"). While the second clearly refers to Réunion, sources disagree about which of the other is Mauritius and which one Rodrigues, which are both to the east of Réunion and arranged in a somewhat stylized way on these maps. However, even in its original state, Rodrigues had some karst, while Mauritius even after suffering 500 years of deforestation can by no means be called "desert" even in a colloquial sense.^[3]

The island was located again in February 1507. Part of the fleet of Afonso de Albuquerque and Tristão da Cunha, Diogo Fernandes Pereira's Cirne spotted Réunion on February 9 after a cyclone 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 navigator Dom Diogo Rodrigues and has remained so since. The orthography has been less stable at first, with the name being transcribed Diego Rodriguez, Diego Ruys (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, François Leguat and 7 companions landed on the island, intending to set up a farming colony of Protestant 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 (ancestors of the present population) were brought to Rodrigues to develop stockbreeding and farming.

In 1809, after a brief battle with the French, British troops took possession of Rodrigues. And with British occupation, slavery was abolished.

In 1883, the eruption of the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa was heard at Mauritius, described as "the roar of heavy guns". Naval gunmen were quickly ordered to their posts. Having been heard from about 5000 km (3000 mi) away on the other side of the Indian Ocean, the noise was the loudest sound in recorded history.

In 1968, Rodrigues was joined with Mauritius when it attained independence; today it is an autonomous region of Mauritius.

In 2002, the island was made the seat of the Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Rodrigues.

Natural history

Rodrigues is a volcanic island rising from a ridge along the edge of the Mascarene Plateau. The tectonically active Rodrigues Triple Point lies on the seafloor nearby. Estimated to be from 1-4 million years old, over time Rodrigues has developed a unique environment, including many endemic species.

The coral reef of Rodrigues is of particular interest as it is self-seeding – it receives no coral zooplankton from elsewhere. This has led to an overall species-poor but highly adapted ecosystem. A species of coral, two species of Pomacentrus damselfish and many new species of crustaceans are only found on Rodrigues' reefs.^[4]

Extinctions and conservation

Some endemic land animals are now extinct, following an onslaught of introduced species (particularly the black rat, Rattus rattus), habitat destruction and overhunting during the 18th-19th centuries. Due to the early visits being few and far between, the extinctions on this small island can be dated with reasonable certainty:

Before 1691:

• Bourne's Petrel, ?Pterodroma sp.
• Rodrigues Turtle-dove, Nesoenas (picturata) rodericana
• Rodrigues Bulbul, ?Hypsipetes sp.
• Rodrigues "Babbler", Sylvioidea gen. et sp. indet.
• Mascarene Petrel Pterodroma aterrima

c.1730-1760

• Rodrigues Night Heron, Nycticorax megacephalus
• Rodrigues Rail, Aphanapteryx leguati
• Rodrigues Starling, Necropsar rodericanus
• Rodrigues Owl, Mascarenotus murivorus
• Rodrigues Solitaire, Pezophaps solitaria
• Rodrigues Grey Pigeon, "Alectroenas" rodericana
• Rodrigues Parrot, Necropsittacus rodericanus

c.1800:

• Domed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise, Cylindraspis peltastes
• Saddle-backed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise, Cylindraspis vosmaeri

c.1845

• Rodrigues Giant Day Gecko, Phelsuma gigas

c.1875

• Newton's Parakeet, Psittacula exsul

c.1920

• Rodrigues Day Gecko, Phelsuma edwardnewtoni

The Rodrigues Fruit Bat (Pteropus rodricensis) and two species of endemic birds, the Rodrigues Fody (Foudia flavicans) and the Rodrigues Warbler (Acrocephalus rodericana), survive. The latter, together with a Rodrigues Solitaire, is on the coat of arms of the island.

As regards land plants, the coffee relative Ramosmania rodriguesii (café marron) was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1979.^[5][6]

Geography

Rodrigues has 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 22 (the capital Port Mathurin).^[7]

Gallery

See also

• Anse aux Anglais
• Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport

Notes and references

1. ^ Article 49 of the constitution. 1 July 2011. Government of Mauritius. 2011. http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/abtmtius/menuitem.42f3149f267522984d57241079b521ca. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
2. ^ Ministry of Finance & Economic Development (2011). Population and Vital Statistics - Republic of Mauritius, January - June 2011. 1 July 2011. Government of Mauritius. http://www.gov.mu/portal/goc/cso/ei919/toc.htm. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
3. ^ Mauritiusencyclopedia.com
4. ^ "Convention on Biological Diversity - Third National Report for the Republic of Mauritius, Section 5.2.1, p. 26" (DOC). Ministry of Environment and National Development Unit in collaboration with the UNEP/GEF. October 2006. http://www.biodiv.org/doc/world/mu/mu-nr-03-en.doc. Retrieved 2007-01-19. 
5. ^ Kew: Plants: Island plants: Cafe Marron
6. ^ NPR: The Little Coffee Plant that Wouldn't Die
7. ^ Gov.mu

External links

• Zonal map
• Rodrigues Regional Assembly
• Rodrigues Tourist Office