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AFC Flag Expedition #8:
Not the way of the Dodo - Endangered Species of Mauritius
Expedition Artist: Ria Winters
Purpose: To visit Mauritius to study, render and support conservation of it's endangered species with special focus on its birds.
Location: Mauritius
Scheduled For: May 2009
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Mauritius is an island with a surface of 720 square miles, situated just above the Tropic of Capricorn, in the south of Indian Ocean, with 57° 35 East longitute and 19° 68 and 20° 15 South latitude. Being of  volcanic origin, Mauritius has a central plateau which is about 400 metres above sea level. There are mountains scattered throughout the island, tropical forests and the  world's third largest coral reef surrounds most of the island.

The Dutch settled on the island in 1598 and named it Mauritius after Prince Maurice of Nassau. Among other things, the Dutch introduced sugar cane and the Java deer before leaving in 1710.

During French colonial rule, from 1767 to 1810, the capital and main port, Port Louis, became an important centre for trade, privateering, and naval operations against the British. In addition French planters established sugarcane estates and built up their fortunes at the expense of the labour of slaves brought from Africa. The French patois, or colloquial language, which evolved among these slaves and their freed descendants, referred to as Creole, has become the everyday language shared by most of the island's inhabitants. French is used in the media and literature, and the Franco-Mauritian descendants of the French settlers continue to dominate the sugar industry and economic life of modern Mauritius.

The British captured the island in 1810 and gave up sovereignty when the Republic of Mauritius became independent in 1968. The official language remains English.

The Republic of Mauritius contains the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega and the Cargados islands.

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