Emmanuel Anquetil

Emmanuel Anquetil (1885-1946)^[1] was a Mauritian trade unionist, and the second leader of the Mauritius Labour Party. He spent much of his youth in England among the dockers and became acquainted with the ins and outs of trade unionism. When he returned to his native land, he put his experience at the service of his country. He laid the foundations of the Labour Party and struggled for the rights of labourers and workers.^[2] He saw much injustice and was of opinion that "the workers on the sugar estates were better off when they were slaves".^[3] In 1938, he was deported to Rodrigues by the British colonial government for organising strikes in defence of dockers' rights. Back in Mauritius, the people gave him a warm welcome and he became the leader of the Labour Party. He spent much time touring the island campaigning for a more liberal form of government, and took part in debates on the revision of the constitution. His long tours around the island affected his health, and he died of pneumonia before the new constitution came into being. At his death, his faithful henchman, Guy Rozemont, took over as leader of the Labour party.^[4]

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