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Rodrigues Island RegionRodrigues Zil Rodrigues
Flag Coat of arms of Rodrigues Coat of arms
Anthem: Motherland (Republic of Mauritius Anthem)
Capitaland largest city	Port Mathurin
Official languages	English (official Language), French, Rodriguan Creole
Government	Dependency of Mauritius
• President	Anerood Jugnauth
• Chief Commissioner	Johnson Roussety
• Chief Executive of Rodrigues	Jean-Claude Pierre-Louis
Area
• Total	109 km (42 sq mi)
Population
• 2006 estimate	40,000
Currency	Mauritian rupee (MUR)

Rodrigues, (Rodriguan Creole: Zil Rodrigues) 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, it is located 560 km east of Mauritius island, in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is 109 km² 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, clearly shows the three islands of the Mascarenes as Dina Arobi (Mauritius), Dina Margabin (Réunion) and Dina Moraze (Rodrigues). The island was named after the Portuguese navigator Dom Diogo Rodrigues in 1528.

From 1601, the Dutch began visiting the island, 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 1968, Rodrigues was forcefully joined with Mauritius when it attained independence; today it is an autonomous region of Mauritius which aspires to full sovereignty.

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 approximately 3000 miles (5000 km.) away on the other side of the Indian Ocean, the noise was the loudest sound in recorded history.

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: 42 species of trees; the Rodrigues Fruit Bat; two species of bird, the Rodrigues fody and the Rodrigues warbler; and on the reef a species of coral, two species of damselfish and many new species of crustaceans. Other endemic animals such as Rodrigues giant tortoises and Rodrigues Solitaires are now extinct.

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 the development of the endemic coral and a small number of species being present.

The coffee plant café marron, was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1979.

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• drying Octopus cyanea to be sold on Rodrigues island
• Fruits of Dracaena reflexa
• Pittosporum balfourii, an endemic shrub of Rodrigues island
• Pittosporum balfourii, an endemic shrub of Rodrigues island
• Ecological restoration to an indigenous forest in the Nature Reserve of Grande Montagne on Rodrigues island
• Eastern slopes of Rodrigues island seen from the summit of Grande Montagne
• Eastern slopes of Rodrigues island seen from the summit of Grande Montagne
• Thespesia populnea : flower and ripening fruits
• Casuarina equisetifolia (Casuarinaceae) : male and female flowers
• Sheep on Rodrigues island
• Suriana maritima (Surianaceae), shrub creeping on a calcarenitic shore of Rodrigues island

• The almost uninhabited part of (Rodrigues island)
• Ile aux Cocos (Rodrigues island)
• A street in Port-Mathurin, Rodrigues
• The building of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly
• The Port-Mathurin's stadium, Rodrigues
• The Port-Mathurin's stadium, Rodrigues
• The Saint-Gabriel cathedral of Rodrigues
• A shop in the streets of Port-Mathurin, Rodrigues
• The Saint-Gabriel cathedral of Rodrigues
• The mosque of Port-Mathurin, Rodrigues The mosque of Port-Mathurin, Rodrigues
• Port-Mathurin's harbour (Rodrigues)
• The capital of Rodrigues , Port-Mathurin
• Boats in the harbour of Port-Mathurin, Rodrigues island
• Public warning in creole language on Rodrigues island
• Entrance of the Caverne Patates, south of Rodrigues island
• Boats on the lagoon of Rodrigues
• Acropora rodriguensis
• Pezophaps solitaria Pezophaps solitaria

See also

• Port Mathurin
• English Bay
• Cavern Patate
• L'Hermitage Island

Notes and references

1. "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. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
2. Kew: Plants: Island plants: Cafe Marron
3. NPR: The Little Coffee Plant that Wouldn't Die

Further reading

• The Little Coffee Plant that Wouldn't Die
• Rodrigues Election 2006
• Rodrigues: Cri de Liberte
• Rodrigues Political History
• Rodrigues Limited Autonomy

External links

• Rodrigues Regional Assembly
• Weather in Rodrigues
• Rodrigues images

v t e Districts of Mauritius
Districts	Flacq Grand Port Moka Pamplemousses Plaines Wilhems Port Louis Rivière du Rempart Rivière Noire Savanne

19°43′S 63°25′E / 19.717°S 63.417°E / -19.717; 63.417

• Islands of Mauritius
• Rodrigues