The islands were known by traders from the Persian Gulf centuries ago, but the first recorded landing on the uninhabited Seychelles was made in 1609 by an expedition of the British East India Company. The archipelago was explored by the Frenchman Lazare Picault in 1742 and 1744 and was formally annexed to France in 1756. The archipelago was named Séchelles, later changed by the British to Seychelles. War between France and Britain led to the surrender of the archipelago to the British in 1810, and it was formally ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1814. The abolition of slavery in the 1830s deprived the islands’ European colonists of their labour force and compelled them to switch from raising cotton and grains to cultivating less-labour-intensive crops such as coconut, vanilla, and cinnamon. In 1903 Seychelles—until that time administered as a dependency of Mauritius—became a separate British crown colony. A Legislative Council with elected members was introduced in 1948.
In 1963 the United States leased an area on the main island, Mahé, and built an air force satellite tracking station there; this brought regular air travel to Seychelles for the first time, in the form of a weekly seaplane shuttle that operated from Mombasa, Kenya.
In 1970 Seychelles obtained a new constitution, universal adult suffrage, and a governing council with an elected majority. Self-government was granted in 1975 and independence in 1976, within the Commonwealth of Nations. In 1975 a coalition government was formed with James R. Mancham as president and France-Albert René as prime minister. In 1977, while Mancham was abroad, René became president in a coup d’état led by the Seychelles People’s United Party (later restyled the Seychelles People’s Progressive Front [SPPF], from 2009 the People’s Party [Parti Lepep], from 2018 United Seychelles).
In 1979 a new constitution transformed Seychelles into a one-party socialist state, with René’s SPPF designated the only legal party. This change was not popular with many Seychellois, and during the 1980s there were several coup attempts. Faced with mounting pressure from the country’s primary sources of foreign aid, René’s administration began moving toward more democratic rule in the early 1990s, with the return of multiparty politics and the promulgation of a new constitution. The country also gradually abandoned its socialist economy and began to follow market-based economic strategies by privatizing most parastatal companies, encouraging foreign investment, and focusing efforts on marketing Seychelles as an offshore business and financial hub. As Seychelles entered the 21st century, the SPPF continued to dominate the political scene. After the return of multiparty elections, René was reelected three times before eventually resigning in April 2004 to allow Vice Pres. James Michel to succeed him as president.
In late 2004 some of the islands were hit by a tsunami, which severely damaged the environment and the country’s economy. The economy was an important topic in the campaigning leading up to the presidential election of 2006, in which Michel emerged with a narrow victory to win his first elected term. He was reelected in 2011. One of Michel’s ongoing concerns was piracy in the Indian Ocean, which had surged since 2009 and threatened the country’s fishing and tourism industries. To that end, the Seychellois government worked with several other countries and international organizations to curb the illegal activity.
In October 2015 Michel called for an early presidential election, rather than wait until it was due in 2016. Michel was standing for his third term, again representing the People’s Party. The election was held December 3–5, 2015. For the first time since the return of multiparty politics in 1993, the People’s Party’s candidate did not win outright in the first round of voting. Michel garnered 47.76 percent of the vote; his nearest challenger was Wavel Ramkalawan of the Seychelles National Party (SNP), who took 33.93 percent. Ramkalawan was an Anglican priest who was the leader of the SNP and had run for president in previous elections. The runoff election was held December 16–18. On December 19 Michel was declared the winner by a very narrow margin, taking 50.15 percent of the vote, with only 193 votes between him and Ramkalawan. Michel was quickly sworn in the next day for his third term. Ramkalawan voiced allegations of voting irregularities and filed two petitions with the Constitutional Court with the goal of having the election results nullified: one claiming that neither candidate had received an absolute majority of the votes cast and another alleging that voting irregularities and electoral noncompliance had occurred. In May 2016 the court dismissed both petitions and upheld Michel’s victory but did note that there had been instances of voting irregularities and noncompliance with electoral laws.
In April 2016 the constitution was amended to change the number of consecutive terms that a president could serve. The number of terms was reduced from three to two.
Legislative elections were held September 8–10, 2016. For the first time since independence, the People’s Party did not take a majority of the legislative seats. Instead, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS), an amalgamation of Ramkalawan’s SNP and other opposition parties, took control of the National Assembly, winning 15 of the 25 directly elected seats and receiving 4 of the 8 proportional representation seats while the People’s Party won and received the rest of the directly elected and proportional representation seats. The new legislators were sworn in on September 27, 2016. Later that day Michel announced that he would step down as president, citing the need for new leadership. He formally resigned on October 16, and vice president Danny Faure was sworn in as president to complete the rest of Michel’s term.
The gradual erosion of support that the People’s Party—now known as United Seychelles—had experienced in the last legislative and presidential polls continued in the October 2020 presidential election when, for the first time, voters did not elect its flag bearer. Incumbent President Faure was defeated by perennial opposition candidate Ramkalawan who, representing the LDS, took almost 55 percent of the vote. The LDS also increased its representation in the National Assembly, winning 20 of the 25 directly elected seats and receiving 5 of 9 proportional representation seats in the National Assembly. United Seychelles received the rest of the body’s seats, winning 6 and receiving 4 proportional representation seats. Ramkalawan was sworn in on October 26; the new legislators, on October 28, 2020.
Praslin Island
island, Seychelles
Praslin Island, also called Île de Palme, island, second largest of the Seychelles archipelago, Republic of Seychelles, in the western Indian Ocean. The island is 2.5 miles (4 km) wide and 7 miles (11 km) long and is 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Mahé Island. Praslin is granitic in origin and mountainous. Seven percent of the population of the Republic of Seychelles lives on the island. Copra, timber, vanilla, and vegetables—in particular, tomatoes—are grown there. The Côte d’Or beach and the settlements of Grande Anse and Baie Sainte-Anne are centres of tourism.
Praslin is served by two parallel roads running the length of the island. Another road crosses the south-central mountains, in which the virgin forest of the Mai Valley National Park is located. There is an airstrip at Amitié. Area 15.3 square miles (39.5 square km). Pop. (2010) 8,603.
Seychelles remained uninhabited throughout much of recorded history. Many historians believe that the reason for this was simply that trade winds did not blow in the direction of the islands meaning sailors and explorers were less likely to stumble upon the nation, rendering it undiscovered. Some believe that Malay people settled for a short time between 200-300AD and there is recorded evidence to suggest that Arab merchants knew of the existence of islands beyond Maldives which they called the Tall Islands in the 9th century. However, it would not be until the 16th century that Europeans would make contact.
At the beginning of the 16th century, a Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama was crossing from India to Africa when he spotted a group of coral islands. He named the group of islands Les Amirantes (Admiral Islands) after himself. The Portuguese continued to map the area and named the granite islands the Seven Sisters. The 17th century witnessed the English East India Company anchor in the harbour of North Island. The British ventured onto the islands and explored, however, they made no attempt to settle. With no colonisation interests in Seychelles, the only visitors for the next century and a half were pirates.
The French East India Company sent explorers to map the main island of Mahé after they had successfully settled Mauritius. During the Seven Years' War, the French returned to Seychelles to claim the islands officially. Mahé was renamed Isle de Séchelles after France’s minister of finance. As time passed, the name was Anglicised to Seychelles and was applied to the whole archipelago. The first concerted settlement efforts were carried out in 1770. In 1790, after the French Revolution, the colonists who lived in Seychelles declared their independence first from Mauritius and then from France and remained independent for the next twenty years.
It was during the beginning of the 19th century that Britain took an interest in the islands and in 1811, Britain completely took over the islands. Slavery was still legal in Britain at this time, however, slave trading was illegal. Despite this, many rich colonists supported the ships carrying slaves that were docked in Seychelles’ harbours. These people clashed with the British, forcing many wealthy slave owners to emigrate away from the islands. Within a decade, Seychelles had lost almost half of its population. A British policy was observed in Seychelles which involved raiding Arab ships that were suspected of carrying human cargo. Those slaves on board were freed and between 1861-1874, around 2,500 men, women and children were resettled in Seychelles.
By 1903, the island nation had become an official British Crown Colony. However, the British did not pay much attention to the goings on in Seychelles and as such, much of the previous French language and culture was maintained. Towards the beginning of the Second World War, the people of Seychelles desired home rule. The first political party was formed by wealthy landowners in 1939. It wasn’t until the 1960s that a political party representing the needs of non-landowners was established. In 1964, the Seychelles People’s United Party was formed, wanting socialism and independence. Independence was granted on 29 June 1976 and James Mancham, the leader of the Seychelle’s Democratic Party, became the first president.
For the most part, Seychelles has remained a relatively isolated island paradise. This isolation has allowed a unique and interesting culture to develop. Some of the world’s most natural and unspoiled landscapes are available throughout Seychelles. Considered by many to be merely a honeymoon destination, Seychelles offers much more. Beautiful beaches, diverse and unique wildlife and a laid-back lifestyle await visitors who venture to this island wonderland.
From Official Website
Begins in the 16th century our islands first appeared on an ancient Portuguese map of 1502.
The first recorded landing was in 1609 during an expedition of the English company of the East Indies. The French navigator Lazare Picault (1700-1748) discovered the Seychelles and in 1756 Capt. Nicolas Murphey (1729-1774) took possession of the Seychelles in the name of the king of France, King Louis XV. The island of Mahe was named Sechelles in honour of the French Minister of Finances, Jean Moreau de Sechelles (1690-1761). Later, the main island of the archipelago was named Mahe, in honour of the Governor General of Isle de France (Mauritius) Mahe de Labourdonnais (1699-1753).
The first French settlement was established on the island of Ste Anne on 27th August 1770. In 1778, the L’etablishment du Roi was created on Mahé. The British took possession of our islands in 1811. In 1841, they renamed L’Etablissement du Roi, Victoria, in honour of Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901).
From 1811, our islands were ruled as a Dependency of Mauritius by a succession of Civil Commissioners and Administrators until the 10th November 1903 when Seychelles became a crown colony. From 1903 to 1976, Seychelles was ruled by a series of eighteen governors. On 29th June 1976, Seychelles achieved its independence from Great Britain, and James Mancham (1939 -2017) became the first president of Seychelles. A coup D’etat in 1977 installed a socialist government led by President France Albert Rene. In 1991, a multi party system of government was approved by an extraordinary SPPF congress and following the creation of a constitutional commission, a new constitution was approved by a referendum. In 2009, SPPF was renamed Parti Lepep. In the 2015 Presidential elections, James Alix Michel the Party Lepep candidate who had been President of the Republic of Seychelles since 2004 won by a marginal victory. He resigned from office on the 27th September 2007 ceding the post of President to his Vice President, Danny Faure who was sworn in as the Fourth President of Seychelles on 16th October 2016.
