Seychelles community in EU - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Seychelles Community in the European Union is composed of former citizens of the Seychelles

Seychelles

Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....

islands who now live in the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

(EU).

The Seychelles (Isle de Séchelles) were part of the French Empire

French colonial empire

The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...

from 1770 until 1814. The islands were transferred to Great Britain under the Treaty of Paris

Treaty of Paris (1814)

The Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 May 1814, ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars, following an armistice signed on 23 May between Charles, Count of Artois, and the allies...

in 1814. The Seychelles islands were captured and freed several times during the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

and the Napoleonic wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

.

They are descendants of French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

, British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

, and other European

European ethnic groups

The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....

, Creole

Creole peoples

The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...

, Chinese

Chinese people

The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

, Indian

Demographics of India

The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...

and African. Like the French colonists of North Africa, they are called Pieds-Noirs
Pied-noir
Pied-Noir , plural Pieds-Noirs, pronounced , is a term referring to French citizens of various origins who lived in French Algeria before independence....

in France, Belgium, Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

, French-speaking Switzerland, Andorra

Andorra

Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...

and Monaco

Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

.

They consist of the descendants of French people dissatisfied with British colonial rule. Many Seychelles citizens migrated to Europe during and after the Second World War. Seychellois students sent to study in Britain formed the first Seychelles Student Association.

Origins of the diaspora

There was a modest Seychellois community in Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

, Tanganika, Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

, Zanzibar

Zanzibar

Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...

, Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

and Rhodesia

Rhodesia

Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...

who were compelled to leave after independence of those countries. They migrated mostly to Britain, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Seychelles nationals migrated to Britain under a special colonial work quota agreement because of the economic situation in Seychelles; many worked in catering, hotels and hospitals. A large number went to Italy. At this time, a program was set up to recruit young Seychellois for the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

.

Another significant migration of Seychelles people to Europe was after the coup-d'etat on 5 June 1977, when many families fled the Seychelles and go into exile across the European Union

European Union

mostly in Britain, France, Holland and Germany. This continued until 1991 when a multi-party government returned to Seychelles.

A significant number of students who came to Europe to study do not want to return to Seychelles when they complete their studies, having found employment and made their homes in the EU.

As a result of the tourism industry, many Seychelles nationals have married EU nationals and have come to live in the EU.

In spite of political and economic change many young Seychelles nationals choose to migrate to the EU for economic reasons.

It is estimated Seychellois residing in the EU number 17,000 - 21,000. The communities are in Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Britain, Holland, Scandinavia, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, and also some of the new member states of the EU. Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

also has a Seychellois community.

They also have a pan-European organisation, through which their affairs are looked after by leading families and unofficially elected representatives. They have a portal where some information and history can be researched.

Under the Treaty of Rome

Treaty of Rome

The Treaty of Rome, officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, was an international agreement that led to the founding of the European Economic Community on 1 January 1958. It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany...

, they lobbied with important support from President François Mitterrand

François Mitterrand

François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...

, and other European heads of state, that they be given the rights to be responsible for their French, European archaic, heritage and other rights due under the EU Human Rights Charter

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union enshrines certain political, social, and economic rights for European Union citizens and residents, into EU law. It was drafted by the European Convention and solemnly proclaimed on 7 December 2000 by the European Parliament, the Council of...

.

They have contributed very importantly that political and democratic change came to Seychelles under a joint exile] return program started in 1986/7 started under the Seychelles International Repatriation Onward Program

Seychelles International Repatriation Onward Program

Seychelles International Repatriation Onward Program is an exile/refugee return program conceived in 1986/87 by a faction of the Seychelles community in exile, Founder and Leader, Mr Mitchel J Edmond. They supported the return of the Seychelles exile without the use of force or military coup...

, which included most of the exiled political faction.

They continue to play an important role in supporting democracy and economic progress in Seychelles. They are very active in the EU promoting their history, culture and community needs. They have made many efforts to acquire voting rights like Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

nationals - this has not happened. They also support a political party of their choosing and fly to Seychelles for important election.

Under the Schengen agreement

Schengen Agreement

The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...

, Seychelles nationals do not require visas to visit or enter the EU and are allowed to remain up to six months. It is yet to become official.

Exodus

The French Wars of Religion

French Wars of Religion

The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...

began with a massacre at Vassy

Massacre at Vassy

The Massacre of Vassy, also known as the Massacre of Wassy, is the name given to the murder of Huguenot worshipers and citizens in an armed action by troops of Francis, Duke of Guise, in Wassy, France on 1 March 1562. The tragedy is identified as the first major event in the French Wars of Religion...

on March 1, 1562, when 23 Huguenots (some sympathetic sources say hundreds of them) were killed, and about 200 were wounded.

The Huguenots transformed themselves into a definitive political movement thereafter. Protestant preachers rallied an army and cavalry, which came under the leadership of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny

Gaspard de Coligny

Gaspard de Coligny , Seigneur de Châtillon, was a French nobleman and admiral, best remembered as a disciplined Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion.-Ancestry:...

. Henry of Navarre and the House of Bourbon

House of Bourbon

The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...

allied themselves with the Huguenots. This added wealth and holdings to the Protestant strength, which at its height grew to sixty fortified cities, and posed a serious threat to the Catholic crown and Paris over the next three decades.

Protestantism

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

spread throughout France in the 16th century and led to civil wars. Henry IV

Henry IV of France

Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....

, of the Bourbon dynasty, issued the Edict of Nantes

Edict of Nantes

The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...

(1598), granting religious tolerance to the Huguenots.

They were forced into exile and fled, mainly to Britain and North America. A large community found their way to South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Mauritius, Réunion and thence to Seychelles.

Indian Ocean early discovery

The history of Isle de Séchelles Seychelles, Isle D'abondance and Isle Labourdonais is unknown prior to European colonisation. Polynesians

Polynesians

The Polynesian peoples is a grouping of various ethnic groups that speak Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic languages within the Austronesian languages, and inhabit Polynesia. They number approximately 1,500,000 people...

, who eventually settled in Madagascar, perhaps lingered here, circa 200-300 BC. Arab navigators on trading voyages across the Indian Ocean were probably aware of the islands, although they did not settle them. A manuscript dated AD 851, written by an Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

merchant, refers to the Maldives and higher islands beyond them, which may refer to the Seychelles. Arabs were trading coco de mer

Coco de mer

The Coco de Mer , the sole member of the genus Lodoicea, is a palm endemic to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles. It formerly also was found on St Pierre, Chauve-Souris and Ile Ronde in the Seychelles group, but has become extinct on these islands...

nuts, found only in Seychelles, long before European discovery of the islands. The nuts sink in water, so it is unlikely they were found, as the Arabs claimed, washed ashore in the Maldives. The Chinese may have encountered the islands during the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

, according to a recent documentary.

In 1502, Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...

sighted islands which became known as the Amirantes, during his crossing from India to East Africa. The granitic

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

islands began to appear on Portuguese charts as the Seven Sisters.

In March 1608, a trading fleet of the English East India Company set sail for India. Lost in a storm, the Ascension's crew saw "high land" on 19 January 1609 and headed for it. They anchored "as in a pond". They found plentiful fresh water, fish, coconuts, birds, turtles and giant tortoise

Giant tortoise

Giant tortoises are characteristic reptiles of certain tropical islands. Often reaching enormous size—they can weigh as much as 300 kg and can grow to be 1.3 m long—they live, or lived , in the Seychelles, the Mascarenes and the Galapagos...

s with which to replenish their stores. The Ascension sailed, and reported what they had found, but the British took no action.

Towards the end of the 17th century, pirates arrived in the Indian Ocean from the Caribbean and made a base in Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

, from where they preyed upon vessels approaching and leaving the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

and the Gulf.

The French had occupied the Ile de France

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

(renamed Mauritius by the British in 1810) since 1710. This colony was growing in importance, and in 1735 an energetic administrator, Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais

Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais

Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais was a French naval officer and administrator, in the service of the French East India Company.-Biography:...

(1699–1723) was appointed. His brief was to protect the French sea route to India. La Bourdonnais, himself a sailor, turned his attention to making a speedier passage from Mauritius to India. To this end, in 1742, he sent an expedition under the command of Lazare Picault

Lazare Picault

Lazare Picault was a French explorer known for his exploration of islands in the Seychelles. Although Arab, Portuguese and British sailors visited the Seychelles prior to Picault, he was the first to do any extensive exploration....

to accurately chart the islands northeast of Madagascar.

On 21 November 1742, the Elisabeth and the Charles anchored off Mahé

Mahé, Seychelles

Mahé is the largest island of the Seychelles, lying in the north east of the nation. The population of Mahé is 80,000. It contains the capital city of Victoria and accommodates 90% of the country's total population...

at Anse Boileau (not Baie Lazare, later mistakenly named as Picault's landing place). They found a land of plenty. In fact, Picault named the island Île d’Abondance. Picault's mapping was poor, so in 1744 he was sent back and renamed the main island Mahé, and the group the Iles de la Bourdonnais. He had high hopes for the Iles de la Bourdonnais. However the islands were once more forgotten when La Bourdonnais was replaced in 1746.

The outbreak of war between France and England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

reminded the authorities on Mauritius about the islands. Two ships were sent to claim them, commanded by Corneille Nicholas Morphey. He renamed the largest island Île de Séchelles in honour of Viscount Jean Moreau de Séchelles

Jean Moreau de Séchelles

Jean Moreau de Séchelles was a French official and politician.Made a maître des requêtes 13 October 1719, he was the intendant of Hainaut in Valenciennes from 1727 to 1743...

, Minister of Finance during the reign of Louis XV of France

Louis XV of France

Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...

. The name was later Anglicised to Seychelles. This was later used for the island group, whilst Mahé was again used for the largest granitic island. Morphey took possession for his king and the French East India Company

French East India Company

The French East India Company was a commercial enterprise, founded in 1664 to compete with the British and Dutch East India companies in colonial India....

on 1 November 1756.

The end of the Seven Years War and France's corresponding loss of Canada and status in India, caused the decline of the French East India Company

French East India Company

The French East India Company was a commercial enterprise, founded in 1664 to compete with the British and Dutch East India companies in colonial India....

, which had formerly controlled Mauritius. This settlement, and thus Seychelles, now came under direct royal authority. The new intendant of Mauritius, Pierre Poivre

Pierre Poivre

Pierre Poivre was a French horticulturalist born in Lyon; missionary to China and Cochinchina, Intendant of the Islands of Mauritius and Bourbon, and wearer of the cordon of St. Michel...

(1719–1786), was determined to break the Dutch East Indies

Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

monopoly of the lucrative spice trade. He thought Mahé would be perfect for spice cultivation.

In 1768, Nicolas Dufresne arranged a commercial venture, sending ships to collect timber and tortoises from the Seychelles. During this expedition, French sovereignty was extended to cover all the islands of the granitic group on Christmas Day.

In 1769, the navigators Rochon and Grenier proved that a faster route to India could safely be taken via the Seychelles and thus the importance of Seychelles' strategic position became realised. Meanwhile, Poivre had finally obtained seedlings of nutmeg

Nutmeg

The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...

and clove

Clove

Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...

, and 10,000 nutmeg seeds. His attempts to propagate them on Mauritius and Bourbon (later Réunion) met with little success and he thought again of Seychelles. It was considered fortuitous when Brayer du Barré (unknown-1777), arrived on Mauritius with royal permission to run a settlement on St Anne at his own expense.

On 12 August 1770, 15 white colonists, seven slaves, five Indians and one African woman settled on St Anne. Du Barré stayed in Mauritius seeking funds. After reports of initial success, he begged the government for more money. However, reports reached the authorities that ship captains could get no supplies of fresh produce from the islands. Du Barré's appeals for help to Mauritius and Versailles

Versailles

Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...

fell on deaf ears. In desperation, he went to the Seychelles to try to rescue the situation, but to no avail. A ruined man, he left for India and died there shortly afterwards.

In 1771, Poivre sent Antoine Gillot to Seychelles to establish a spice garden. By August 1772, Du Barré's people had abandoned St Anne and moved to Mahé or returned home. Gillot worked on at Anse Royale, establishing nutmeg, clove, cinnamon

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...

and black pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...

plants.

When British ships were seen around Seychelles, the authorities were spurred into action, dispatching a garrison under Lieutenant Charles Routier de Romainville, also a cartographer. In October 1778, they built L'Etablissement du Roi (Royal Settlement) on the site of modern Victoria

Victoria, Seychelles

Victoria is the capital city of the Seychelles and is situated on the north-eastern side of Mahé island, which is the main island of the archipelago. The city was first established as the seat of the British colonial government...

. Gillot was nominally in charge of the civilian colonists, but had no real authority over them. Mauritius sent as Jean Baptiste Philogene de Malavois replacement. He drew up 30 decrees which protected the timber and tortoises. In future, only sound farming techniques and careful husbanding of resources would be tolerated. He assumed command of the settlement in 1788.

In 1790, as a result of the French Revolution

French Revolution

, the settlers formed a Colonial Assembly, and decided they would run their colony themselves, according to their own constitution. Land in Seychelles should only go to the children of existing colonists, who should dispose of the colony's produce as they chose, not as Mauritius dictated. They did not want abolition of slavery, as they believed that without labour that was free of cost to them, they could not survive.

Jean-Baptiste Queau de Quincy (1748–1827), whose name was later Anglicized to Quincy, took command of the colony in 1794. A wily man, he used skill and expediency to steer Seychelles through the years of war ahead. Seychelles acted as a haven for French corsairs (pirates carrying lettres de marque entitling them to prey legally on enemy shipping). Quincy hoped this might go unnoticed, but in 1794 a squadron of three British ships arrived. The British commodore, Henry Newcome, gave Quincy an hour in which to surrender. Through skilful negotiations, Quincy obtained a guarantee of his honour and property and surrendered.

The British made no effort to take over the Seychelles; it was considered a waste of resources. The settlers decided that unless they were sent a garrison, they could not be expected to defend the French flag. Therefore they would remain neutral, supplying all comers. The strategy worked. The colony flourished. Quincy's favourable terms of capitulation were renewed seven times during the visits of British ships.

On 11 July 1801 the French frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

Chiffonne arrived with a cargo of French prisoners sent into exile by Napoleon. Then HMS Sybille arrived. Quincy had to try to defend the Chiffonne, but after a brief battle, the Chiffonne was taken. Captain Adam of the Sybille wanted to know why Quincy had interfered, in contravention of his capitulation terms. Quincy managed to talk his way out of the difficulty, and even persuaded Adam to agree to Seychelles' vessels flying a flag bearing the words Seychelles Capitulation, allowing them to pass through the British blockade of Mauritius unmolested.

On 15 September 1801, a memorable sea battle took place just off the settlement. The British ship Victor was seriously disabled by damage to her rigging, but she was able to manoeuvre broadside to the French vessel La Flêche and rake her with incessant fire. La Flêche began to sink. Rather than surrender her, her captain ran her aground, torching her before abandoning ship. The opposing commanders met ashore afterwards, the Englishman warmly congratulating his French counterpart on his courage and skill during the battle.

The British tightened the blockade on the French Indian Ocean colonies. Réunion surrendered, followed in December 1810 by Mauritius. In April 1811, Captain Beaver arrived in Seychelles on the Nisus to announce the preferential terms of Quincy's capitulation should stand, but Seychelles must recognise the terms of the Mauritian surrender. Beaver left behind a Royal Marine lieutenant, Bartholomew Sullivan

Bartholomew Sullivan

Bartholomew Sullivan is American Correspondent.Bartholomew Sullivan is a graduate from Santa Clara University. He is a Washington correspondent at Scripps Howard News and at The Commercial Appeal where he had extensive reporting trips to Portugal and India...

, to monitor the Seychelles situation.

There was little Sullivan could do alone to stop the settlers continuing to provision French frigates and slavers. Slave ownership was not then against British law, although slave trading was. Sullivan, later given the title of Civil Agent, played cat and mouse

Cat and mouse

Cat and mouse, often expressed as cat-and-mouse game, is an English-language idiom dating back to 1675 that means "a contrived action involving constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes." The "cat" is unable to secure a definitive victory over the "mouse", who despite not being able to...

with the pro-slaver colonists. Once, acting on a tip-off, Sullivan was rowed over to Praslin

Praslin

Praslin is the second largest island of the Seychelles, lying 44 km north east of Mahé. Praslin has a population of around 6,500 people and comprises two administrative districts; Baie Sainte Anne and Grand' Anse . The main settlements are the Baie Ste Anne, Anse Volbert and Grand' Anse.It was...

and was able to confiscate a cargo of newly-landed slaves. It was but a small triumph amidst many frustrations, and Sullivan, complaining that the Seychellois had "no sense of honour, shame or honesty", resigned.

The first civilian administrator of the British regime was Edward Madge. He had a bitter feud with Quincy, who remained in the administration as Justice of the Peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

. In the following years, the islands became a backwater ticking over quietly. Seychellois landowners had a pleasant life, though making ends meet given the fickle markets for their produce was not always easy. The British had allowed all customary French practices to remain in place. The administrator may have been British, reporting to London, but he governed according to French rules. The biggest grievance the colonists had with their new masters was the colony's dependence on Mauritius.

The other cloud on the planters' horizon was
British anti-slavery legislation. In 1835, slavery was completely abolished. The plantations were already in decline, their soils exhausted by years of cultivation without investment in renewing fertility. The plantocracy

Plantocracy

A plantocracy, also known as a slavocracy, is a ruling class, political order or government composed of plantation owners....

believed they could not farm without free labour. Some planters took their slaves and left. The liberated slaves had no land, and most squatted on the estates they had tended in bondage, working sporadically to keep themselves from starvation, but generally refusing to work at all. It was a poor sort of freedom, and the colony entered a period of stagnation. There were no exports, and no money to pay for new infrastructure.

The situation was only improved when planters realised they could grow coconuts with less labour and more profit than the traditional crops of cotton, sugar, rice, and maize. Soon, they also had a source of virtually free labour once again. The British took their anti-slavery stance seriously, and operated patrols along the East African coast, raiding Arab dhow

Dhow

Dhow is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with lateen sails used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Some historians believe the dhow was invented by Arabs but this is disputed by some others. Dhows typically weigh 300 to 500 tons, and have a...

s transporting slaves to the Middle East. Slaves liberated south of the Equator were brought to Seychelles, and apprenticed to plantation owners. They worked the land in return for rations and wages. Over a period of thirteen years from 1861, around 2,400 men, women and children were brought to Seychelles.

The town, called Victoria

Victoria, Seychelles

since 1841, began to grow. Licences granted in 1879 give some idea of the range of businesses in the town. There was a druggist, two auctioneers, five retailers, four liquor stores, a notary

Notary public

A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...

, an attorney, a jeweller, and a watchmaker.

There was a disaster on 12 October 1862, when torrential rain and strong winds hit Mahé. An avalanche of mud and rocks fell on the town from the hills. It has been estimated that over 70 persons lost their lives.

Seychelles yearned to be a colony in its own right. The authorities in the mother colony supported them. Sir Arthur Gordon, the Mauritian governor, sent a petition on their behalf to London. Concessions were made, but Seychelles did not become a Crown Colony

Crown colony

A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....

in its own right until 1903, when its first Governor, Sir Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott took office. Befitting its new status, the colony acquired a botanical gardens, and a clock tower in the heart of Victoria.

The British, like the French before them, saw Seychelles as a useful place to exile troublesome political prisoners. Over the years, Seychelles became a home to prisoners from Zanzibar

Zanzibar

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

and Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

, to name but a few. The first in the line of exiles was the ex-Sultan of Perak

Sultan of Perak

Sultan of Perak is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states.When the Sultanate of Malacca empire fell to Portugal in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Syah I retreated to Kampar, Sumatra and died there in 1528. He left behind two princes named Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah II and Sultan Muzaffar...

who arrived in 1875 after his implication in the murder of the British Resident

Resident Commissioner

Resident Commissioner is the title of several, quite different types of Commissioner in overseas possession or protectorate of the British Crown or of the United States.-British English:...

of Perak

Perak

Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...

. Like many of the exiles who followed, he settled well into Seychelles life and became genuinely fond of the islands. He took home with him one of the popular local tunes, and incorporated it into the national anthem of his country. With new words, it later became the national anthem of Malaysia

Negaraku

"Negaraku" is the national anthem of Malaysia. "Negaraku" was selected as a national anthem at the time of the Federation of Malaya's independence from Britain in 1957. The tune was originally used as the state anthem of Perak, which was adopted from a popular French melody titled "La Rosalie"...

.

Perhaps the most famous of the political prisoners was Archbishop Makarios, who arrived in 1956. He likewise fell in love with his prison. "When our ship leaves harbour", he wrote, "we shall take with us many good and kindly memories of the Seychelles... may God bless them all."

Superpower involvement - challenges

The Republic of Seychelles, Réunion

Réunion

Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...

and Diego Garcia

Diego Garcia

Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude....

(British Indian Ocean Territory

British Indian Ocean Territory

The British Indian Ocean Territory or Chagos Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Africa and Indonesia...

) have long formed part of a long chain of complex attempts by the superpower rivals to dominate and control a strategic region of the world.

Other than Madagascar, none of these nations were like other countries in Africa - where a great deal of blood was lost in the process of colonization. In reality the powers involved were interested primarily in important economic gains, whether that involved slaves, gold, diamonds, copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

, tin

Tin

Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...

, bauxite

Bauxite

Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...

, precious stones, timber, animal trade and their precious parts.

In the case of Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles, and Diego Garcia, the countries had a strategic interest. The colonising power, be it Portuguese, Dutch, French, British, Spanish, German, or Austrian, felt the necessity to create protective outposts to secure their respective interests.

With economic and political powers like the African Union

African Union

The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...

, Gulf States

Arab states of the Persian Gulf

"Arab states of the Persian Gulf" or "Arab Persian Gulf states" or "Persian Gulf Arab states" or "Arabic Persian Gulf states" or "Arab States of The Gulf", are terms that refer to the six Arab states of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, bordering the Persian Gulf....

, Australia

Australia

, Asian economic bloc, Pakistan, combined with the issues facing those nations with nuclear capabilities, vying for power in the Seychelles, the people of this region have had to deal with all the countries involved.

It is important for nations around the world to understand the issues involved prior to the upcoming independence in spite of the notion and talk of isolation. The educated, figurative, populace had recognised the gravity, consequences and dangers of the superpower rivalry in the 1960s. This was aggravated by developments in East Africa, such as the revolution in Zanzibar, a formerly strong Arab colonial enclave. The decision by Britain and the USA to remove several key strategic island from the Seychelles Group and create a new political, military strategic entity, namely the British Indian Ocean Territory

British Indian Ocean Territory

The British Indian Ocean Territory or Chagos Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Africa and Indonesia...

(BIOT) ensued. Those two parties were prepared to use their resources to the national and public disadvantage. Over the past 35 years some of the very important regional conflicts - past and ongoing wars, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

have an impact upon the community and nation.

In colonial practise, visiting navies would often stay, something which prevailed until independence. The US High Command setting up a Tracking Station facility in 1963, which closed in 1996, contributed to its inhabitant acquiring more awareness of the issues and the possibility of such facilities creating more problematic situations. The Seychelles People United Party was involved in many confrontations, public protests and demonstrations, demanding its closure, while in fact they capitalised upon the facility and used it to gain public support and popularity for their cause, the Call for Independence. The paramount colonial powers then was Britain, the United States and France, while the Soviet Union and China were seen as emerging threats, specially after independence, all of which created a need for greater attention to security.

Prior to independence, the Seychelles had the full protection of the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

, particularly the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. Upon independence, as a young nation with limited resources, the Seychelles was now required to take care of all eventualities. The Liberal Party of Seychelles of Dr Stevenson Delhomme, the Seychelles Democratic Party

Seychelles Democratic Party

The Seychelles Democratic Party is a political party in Seychelles. It was founded by Sir James Mancham in 1964, and governed the country from 1976 to 1977. After a time in exile in the United Kingdom, Mancham returned to the islands following the Seychelles' transition to democracy in 1993. He has...

of James R Mancham and the SPUP of FA Rene all had differing vews of what was best for the Seychelles nation. The Seychelles of today and that of the 1960s have greatly changed those individuals who understood the gravity and development.

The Seychelles became embroiled in superpower conflict after its independence. The involvement of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

became involved in the region during the "Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

era" as a result of its need to strengthen its position to out-manoeuvre, outgun- and out play the USA, colonial position and interest. The USSR played a paramount role in supporting and bolstering the one-party political system of the 2nd Republic and FA Rene government; without them the system and government would not have survived. Seychelles had signed major military, diplomatic alliance and economic protocol with the USSR, which allowed the USSR to embed itself in Seychelles. This had a significant impact on government operations and general policies, from media to education.

China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

took a political long term interest in the region from both economic and diplomatic aspects, notwithstanding the "friendly rivalry" with Soviet Union political and social ideology. Both countries intervened and became highly embroiled in our domestic and international politics and geopolitics

Geopolitics

Geopolitics, from Greek Γη and Πολιτική in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale....

. Hence, the Western political and economic bloc attempted to use any means necessary to dislodge and rid them from Seychelles; this involved the NATO policy and military resources and Western intelligence services.

This had a significant impact on Seychelles' international relations with communities in Europe and across the world, particularly the Exile and refugee communities which had come into existence because of the warring superpower interests and ambitions. The role of France between 1972 to 1991 was complicated by the fact that it was not a member of NATO, which as a result complicated its relationship with Seychelles, its Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

complex interest. Often the political, diplomatic and economic outcome of events were out of the hands of the nationals of Seychelles. This displayed itself until 1991, the return of multiparty elections.

Inevitably, those forming the Seychelles Government in Exile

Government in exile

A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a country's legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usually operate under the assumption that they will one day return to their...

, the many groups of exiles and refugees, were under constant scrutiny and monitored. The position of their national institutions and media did not help, improve or contribute to the situation. If anything, it aggravated the situation.

Hence, the Seychelles Communities in exile in Europe, the USA, South Africa, Australia, Canada had to be more imaginative and competitive. Their decision to develop appropriate network, using their European, French, British and others, ingenuity to involve their ancient military and other such connections, including Royal with the objective of finding a solution. The process they went through, the experience they have acquired, knowledge gained have lend importantly that they understand the greater and more complex geostrategic position of the Indian Ocean region. As such they are able to relate become pro active in some of the more complex similar working issues of the EU, its role today in the world and the future.

It is relevant and important to state that today in terms of community size in EU, the Seychelles community have gained and acquired respectable acknowledgement on their positions, views and approaches to the aforementioned issues from the USA, Russia, NATO, China, Japan, the African Union

African Union

(AU), Gulf Region

Arab states of the Persian Gulf

nations and Australia, including nation of South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. Without which they would not have been able to contribute to the important political, economic, military and social change of their nation and contribute to play such important and crucial role.

With the fall of the COMECON

Comecon

The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance , 1949–1991, was an economic organisation under hegemony of Soviet Union comprising the countries of the Eastern Bloc along with a number of communist states elsewhere in the world...

, the Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...

, the breakup of the USSR, emergence of China as a leading world superpower, development in the Gulf region, Asia, India and Pakistan military, diplomatic and economic posturing, the position of the Non-Aligned Nations is affected by the coming into existence of the African Union, the new role of the European Union

European Union

and NATO in the region. The gravity with which the major industrial nations view such issues is affected by their concern their economic and vital interest being affected, disrupted or infringed. The new world order and approach to resolving conflicts to the detriment of the small or regional governments and their people. The major concerns are that things could escalate and the outcome for the world major capitals, and citizens would be poor.

Historic coup d'etat

One party state era 1977 onward

Widespread involvement of Seychellois in their own political affairs began in 1948 after World War II, when Britain granted suffrage to approximately 2,000 adult male property owners, who then elected four members to the Legislative Council

Legislative Council

A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures, or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies.A Member of the Legislative Council is commonly referred to as an MLC.- Unicameral legislatures :...

that advised the governor. The winning candidates were drawn from a group known as the Seychelles Taxpayers' and Producers' Association (STPA), which represented the landed strata of society — known colloquially as the grands blancs (great whites). The STPA defended its members' interest in matters of crop marketing and other issues and was the principal political force in the nation until the early 1960s, when representatives of the small new urban professional and middle class began to win seats.

Over the past 25 years, the Seychelles community in the EU has presented briefly the issues and reasons why those that had formed the Planters Association—Grand Blanc—had wanted to charter and plan a different course of history for Seychelles then under British Colonial Rule. They involved the elite of Seychelles of French descent in the British government Colonial Administration=, the Police, the Public Work Department, Treasury, the Local Banks, Cable and Wireless, the Hospital, the Harbour and Agriculture Department.

One of the most important historic and political events for the Seychelles Planters Association was the Algeria debacle. They had long been betrayed by France, under the Monarchy, the French Revolution, then the 1st Republic of Bonaparte

Bonaparte

The House of Bonaparte is an imperial and royal European dynasty founded by Napoleon I of France in 1804, a French military leader who rose to notability out of the French Revolution and transformed the French Republic into the First French Empire within five years of his coup d'état...

. Algeria's proximity to Seychelles and the Indian Ocean, and the Suez Canal were also issues. The First and Second World War epoch, the ensuing economic and political development.

Two parties emerged to represent Seychelles' interest and workers interest: the DP, led by James Mancham

James Mancham

Sir James Richard Marie Mancham KBE was the first President of Seychelles from 1976 to 1977.-Political background:...

, and the SPUP, led by France Albert René. Both men were London-educated lawyers who had returned to Seychelles determined to improve local conditions and to develop popularly based local politics.

Although community rivalries and the differing styles of the two leaders were important in attracting followers, the two parties also differed in substantive ways. The SPUP called itself socialist, favored worker-oriented policies, and pressed for complete independence from Britain and a nonaligned foreign policy. The pressure for independence was intensified after Britain in 1965 removed Île Desroches, the Aldabra Islands, and the Farquhar Islands from Seychelles and made them part of the BIOT. The DP took a more laissez-faire capitalist approach and wanted to continue the association with Britain and to allow British and United States bases on the islands.

Steps toward independence, 1967-76

Continuous and mounting demands for an increased share in running the colony's affairs prompted Britain to enact a series of constitutions for Seychelles, each of which granted important new concessions. In 1967 Britain extended universal suffrage to the colony and established a governing council to run it, the majority of whose members for the first time were elected by the Seychellois rather than appointed by the British government. That year almost 18,000 Seychellois voted, and the DP emerged in control of the council. In 1970 Britain set up a ministerial form of government and gave Seychellois the responsibility to administer all but external affairs, internal security, the civil service, and the government's broadcasting service and newspaper. The DP won ten seats, and the SPUP won five in the Legislative Assembly. Mancham became the islands' chief minister

Chief Minister

A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...

and René, the leader of the opposition.

The opening of an international airport on the east coast of Mahé

Mahé, Seychelles

in 1971 improved contact with the outside world. Before this most journeys to and from Seychelles had involved long voyages on bimonthly steamers

Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

running between East Africa and India and often required inconvenient transits in Mombasa

Mombasa

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....

and Bombay. Air service had been available only on a restricted basis at an airstrip used by the United States in building a satellite station on Mahé. The end of the islands' relative isolation triggered tourism and concomitant booms in foreign capital investment and the domestic construction industry. The construction of the international airport changed the economy from a traditional agricultural and fishing one within a few years into one where services accounted for the major portion of employment and gross domestic product (GDP). The two parties differed on the ways to manage the new tourist industry and to apportion its benefits. The SPUP favored controlling the growth of tourism and at the same time developing the entire economy, whereas the SDP wanted to stimulate the rapid growth of tourism and to establish the islands as an international financial center.

Independence from Britain was the dominant issue between the two parties in the early 1970s, however. The SPUP insisted on cutting the colony's ties with Britain, whereas Mancham argued for even closer association. But when it became plain that the independence issue was popular and Britain showed no interest in retaining close relations, the SDP also shifted to a proindependence policy. Moreover, the disfavor with which African and Asian nations viewed colonialism had put the SDP into disrepute in the region. The SDP won the election campaign in 1974 but the election provoked angry controversy. The SPUP charged that the results had been rigged; because of the way constituencies had been demarcated, the SDP won thirteen of the fifteen seats with only 52.4 percent of the vote, lending credibility to the charges. Thereafter, relations between the two parties, already personalized and bitter, worsened steadily.

Despite their differences, the two parties formed a coalition under Mancham to lead Seychelles to independence. Five members from each party were added to the Legislative Assembly in an attempt to equalize political representation. One year later, Britain granted the colony complete independence, and on June 29, 1976, the Republic of Seychelles became a sovereign nation, with Mancham as president and René as vice president. As a gesture of goodwill, Britain returned Île Desroches, the Aldabra Islands, and the Farquhar Islands. In addition, Britain made a series of grants to the new nation to smooth the transition to an independent economy. Both parties agreed to support the coalition government until elections were held in 1979.

Coup by René supporters, 1977

On June 4–5 June 1977, sixty supporters of the SPUP who had been training in Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

staged a coup and overthrew Mancham while he was in London. René, who denied knowing of the plan, was then sworn in as president and formed a new government.

A year later, the SPUP combined with several smaller parties and redesignated itself the Seychelles People's Progressive Front

Seychelles People's Progressive Front

The People's Party is a socialist political party in Seychelles. It publishes a newspaper called The People. It was known as the Seychelles People's Progressive Front until June 2009....

(SPPF), or simply the Front. A new constitution adopted in 1979 stipulated that the SPPF be the sole recognized party. The constitution provided for a strong executive headed by the president and a legislature of twenty-three elected and two appointed members.

In the first election, held in June 1979, René was the single candidate for president. He won with 98 percent of the vote. The results were viewed as a popular endorsement of the socialist policies pursued by the government in the two years following the coup. The SPPF proceeded with its program to set minimum wage levels, raise government salaries, improve housing and health facilities, broaden educational opportunities, increase social security coverage, and generate employment in agriculture and fisheries. The lives of most Seychellois were enhanced, and most citizens appeared to favor the government's policies.

The decision to turn the nation into a one-party state based on socialist ideology, as well as certain initiatives of the government, caused some bitterness, especially among the upper and middle classes. Censorship of the media and control over public expression were unpopular. A number of groups attempted to oust the René government between 1978 and 1987. The most notable was a group of mercenaries who tried to enter the country in 1981 disguised as tourists from South Africa. The mercenaries were exposed as they came through customs at the international airport but most of them, including their leader, Colonel Michael "Mad Mike" Hoare

Mike Hoare

Thomas Michael Hoare is an Irish mercenary leader known for military activities in Africa and his failed attempt to conduct a coup d'état in the Seychelles.-Early life and military career:...

, escaped after commandeering an Air-India passenger plane to South Africa. Although the South African government prosecuted and jailed some of the mercenaries for aircraft hijacking, Hoare testified that South African military and intelligence officials were involved in the coup attempt. During this period, the Seychelles government received support from Tanzania, which deployed troops to the islands to strengthen the government's hand.

Some of the devastating outcome included the imprisonment of many of the leading original settlers Seychelles families, while others were persecuted, forced into exile, their properties confiscated in the process of purging the Seychelles of its rich colonial heritage, history and archaic heritage, as well as Europeans. It also created the situation that Seychelles exile/refugee in EU very often were confronted aggressively by supporters, agents of FA Rene Socialist Party, Black and Arab, COMECON, Latin American supporters, as they went about their existence, educating their children and rebuilding their lives. Hence began also the situation of black Seychellois controlling and dictating a vast array of national issues; their efforts to purge Seychelles of its rich history and heritage resulted in some of today's political problems and grave undercurrents.

Historic exodus to Europe

The Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

debacle was a significant event for the Seychelles Planters Association. France, under the Monarchy, the French Revolution

French Revolution

, then the First French Republic, had not treated them well. Algeria proximity to Seychelles - the Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

issues. The First and Second World War epoch, Colonial Britain, the ensuing economic and political development.

Then came the East African Independence, followed by the Zanzibar revolution. In Rhodesia

Rhodesia

the efforts and attempts by the White minority Settlers to have and force a Unilateral government. All those in Colonial Seychelles together with their European expatriate friends, who watched and monitored events with trepidation - it was a matter of time and they would be next.

Over the past 25 years, the EU community has presented the issues and reasons why those that had formed the Planters Association – Grand Blanc had wanted to charter, plan a different course of history for Seychelles then under British Colonial Rule 1963. Having failed they all mostly knew they were in the process of losing 150 years of hard work and toil and they would probably lose their lives too. Those who had the means, transferred their money abroad.

For most and the vast majority, the events of 5 June 1977 coup d'etat which will be remembered in history. The establishment of a One Party system and abolition of opposition, imprisonment, deportation and confiscation of Private properties, land, etc. All those who had to flee for their lives and seek exile and refuge in Europe. The attitude of the French, British and other European governments and the media changed. During the next 15 years, from 1977 to 1991, they lived a life of sheer suffering, racial oppression, bitter hardship in diaspora and embitterment. Many of the old families who were forced to leave Seychelles never returned.

The role of OAU

League of Arab Nations, India and Pakistan

The formation of a distinctive Seychelles Community

The formation of a distinctive Seychelles community in Europe began 30 years ago shortly after the 5th June revolution in 1977, and the historic and important events which followed. There was already a group of Seychellois in Britain as Seychelles had been a British colony, who had adapted to the British colonial system and way of life, language, and religion, having the means to migrate for various reason, mostly economic.

The next most important category were economic migrants of the 1960s who, as was the practice with other British colonies, were allowed to emigrate to the UK to work in various sectors of the British economy. A similar program in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

made it possible for a number of Seychelles nationals, mostly of Creole

French-based creole languages

A French Creole, or French-based Creole language, is a creole language based on the French language, more specifically on a 17th century koiné French extant in Paris, the French Atlantic harbors, and the nascent French colonies...

black descent, to go and work in Italy and become citizens.

Another distinctive group, with their very cultural uniqueness were the many families of Seychelles origin who had gone to work and live in East Africa

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

, Tanganyika

Tanganyika

Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...

, Uganda

Uganda

and Zanzibar

Zanzibar

under Britain colonial rule and Seychelles proximity. After the coming of independence to East African countries from the 1950s they were forced to migrate to Britain. They are known as the Kenya born and East African Seychelles. They also influenced events and affairs at Home.

Families had been returning to France between 1900 and 1976, mostly because of the British colonial practice, favoritism and economic reasons. There were issues related also to the 1914 and 1944 wars. They were first, second or third generation French colonial descent and so were able to integrate easily, unlike the situation in Algeria

Algeria

where emigrants from Seychelles were confronted by the Native Algerian population. They maintained contact with families and acquaintances in Seychelles, Reunion, Mauritius and Madagascar, East Africa and had their distinctive circles. They also exerted their distinctive French colonial influence on Seychelles and affairs of the Indian Ocean region - South Africa, Australia and India. They maintained contacts with families in Canada

Canada

, and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

There were other small groups of Seychelles families of either French, mixed blood creole

French-based creole languages

in most part of Europe - Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

.

The community has started working for funds to collect statistics, enrolled the help of voluntary organizations in Europe to address the issues with poor response.

The events of 5 June 1977 radically changed how they had lived and functioned till then. In spite of the significant Seychelles colonial history, various events such as the independence of India, the Suez crisis

Suez Crisis

The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...

, crises in former Somali

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

, the Mau Mau uprising

Mau Mau Uprising

The Mau Mau Uprising was a military conflict that took place in Kenya between 1952 and 1960...

, revolution in Congo, East Africa independence, the bloody revolution in Zanzibar, and Rhodesian independence, residents of Seychelles had not expected it to happen in Seychelles. The shock that engulfed not only Seychelles, also affected deeply the groups, communities and families in Europe, both the pro and con groups.

This was followed by the first government in Exile of the Seychelles headed by Sir James Mancham

James Mancham

Sir James Richard Marie Mancham KBE was the first President of Seychelles from 1976 to 1977.-Political background:...

and his former Cabinet Ministers which was supported by Britain, USA, France, South Africa, Australia, Israel and Kenya. The media coverage and attention Seychelles received. Communities in Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland and Italy have their fair share of oppression, exclusion, race motivated attack, persecutions, and has drawn strength from North Africa and Ireland.

In Seychelles after the events of 5 June 1977, the very important exodus of Seychelles families had begun, as those who opposed FA Rene were deported. Among the most important challenges was basic: find housing, food and other basic needs such as education or employment. Additionally, however, there was the constant fear of the situation in Seychelles and those involved making life very difficult for those who opposed or had opposed FA Rene government.

In 1978, Seychelles exiles in South Africa, acting in behalf of ex-president James Mancham, discussed with South African Government officials launching a coup d'etat

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

against the new president France-Albert René. The military option had been decided in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, after concerns for United States access to its new military base in Diego Garcia

Diego Garcia

island, and the determination that René was not corruptible in favour of the Americans.[2][3]

Associates of Mancham contacted Mike Hoare

Mike Hoare

Thomas Michael Hoare is an Irish mercenary leader known for military activities in Africa and his failed attempt to conduct a coup d'état in the Seychelles.-Early life and military career:...

, then in South Africa as a civilian resident, to fight alongside fifty-three other mercenary soldiers, including South African special forces (Recces), former Rhodesian soldiers, and ex-Congo mercenaries[4]. Hoare agreed to fight for Mancham.

After the failed attempted coup of Mike Hoare, the Seychelles exiles made up of a number of leading Seychelles nationals formed the first important opposition party in exile namely MPR and SNM under the leadership of Mr Gérard Hoarau

Gérard Hoarau

Gérard Hoarau was an opposition leader in the Seychelles as head of the Seychelles National Movement, which sought the peaceful overthrow of the France-Albert René regime. His opposition was based in London and began emerging as leader in 1981. He was assassinated in 1985 in London. The English...

, another government in exile was formed - to became the principal opposition force and voice representing the Seychelles to the British and international media attention and involvement. Important issues and events included the Cold War

Cold War

, Seychelles' strategic position in the Indian Ocean, the Eastern Bloc involvement, China, OAU, the USSR, the COMECON

Comecon

- Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact

, Arab State, Cuba and Latin America.

1981 Failed coup in Seychelles led by Mike Hoare, the Italian Secret Service involvement, US Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

, aspect of the France Secret Service DGSE, involvement - our community.

A third government in exile was put together involving former Cabinet ministers, Executives of MPR/SNM and other exile factions. It also involved France leading French mercenary - Bod Denard They later would form the leadership of a successful peaceful exile/refugee return program - SIROP.

These international issues and events caused the former President of Seychelles, Sir James Mancham - his ministers, the Leader of opposition Mr Gérard Hoarau

Gérard Hoarau

and the MPR/SNM executive to call for the deposing of FA Rene government. It was decided after consultation with the European continental community, UN agency and other caritative, voluntary agencies to consider very importantly to building long term grass root

Grassroots

A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...

structures and supporting bodies for our community in EU. A number of exile factions and long established community members had endeavoured to establish such working body and structures.

A proposal was put forth to the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

and other leading international institutions and governments, based on the Seychellois community's contribution to Europe, for the EU to assist in rebuilding Seychelles and establish NGO in Seychelles.

The most important was UKSCA, with a charity registration and supported by several London Councils. It became the first Seychelles NGO in EU to build a network with London's ethnic and exile communities and emphasized the role of the Seychelles exile political parties. It became involved in local, national and international political issues of interest to the Seychelles community. This approach was expanded across the EU. The recognitions of the Seychelles community in EU began to acquire and good will upon which it implemented the SIROP - CDU, Alliance, DP, SNP, SNM exile return program. This radically changed the way the community would be regarded in the EU by the public, the news media and relevant institutions. A pan European organization was also chartered for the future of our EU community in the eventuality that most of the Leadership return to Seychelles and the future of the community in the EU – named FECAS ECSVS. The community had studied closely other communities with similar interests, cultural back ground, history.

Given the colonial life it had had, and its ancestors, the community worked to include the church in its work and community across the EU. This was not an easy task, as it had to meet and discuss with Seychelles individuals across the community, learn to listen their advice, aspiration and needs. It also learned how other communities worked to establish a national identity, whether the Mauritius, the Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

, Zanzibar - Ismaili, Lebanese

Lebanese people

The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....

, the Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

, the Jews

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

, the Armenians

Armenians

Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

, the Turks

Turkish people

Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...

and several communities from former COMECON, among these the Polish community. In France the excellent rapprochement

Rapprochement

In international relations, a rapprochement, which comes from the French word rapprocher , is a re-establishment of cordial relations, as between two countries...

with the many North African communities of Maghreb

Maghreb

The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...

, and importantly the former Algerian colony, the Harkis, Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

, and Comores.

International syndicate

For the Seychelles generation of 2000, there is a need to educate them about the point of reform in the Seychelles. The concept of syndicating for greater economic, diplomatic, political end, purpose and objective is inherent as our European culture as are the rival colonial powers and their approach to over coming resources shortage, the need to "create special friendship with sometime enemies to achieve a greater objective", and sharing the booty

Treasure

Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...

, the spoil and end product or project.

In Seychelles, the practise and concept of syndicating has existed since the First Group of Colon came to the Indian Ocean, with the development of various economic structures, diplomatic and military. Under British colonial rule, they attempted to obliterate this practise of French and European culture. They created their own colonial system which absorbed much of the old system under different name.

The Planters of Seychelles knew about syndicated practise, ethics and benchmarks. In East Africa, the Seychelles communities developed their brand of syndicated working as did the Pied Noir of Congo

Republic of the Congo

The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...

, and North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

.

The Italian communities brought along their own brand of syndicated working from the colonial Seychelles. The Indian - Asian communities had their practise and approach. So too did the Chinese and the Parsi

Parsi

Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....

merchant communities.

The Seychelles communities abroad decided to rebuild this syndicated network, foremost in France, other European capitals, the colonies they had departed to Canada

Canada

, South America, South Africa, and the USA.

Out of the one party state system which came into place in 1977 and lasted over 35 years, their particular approach to developing and international syndicated and Cartel remains. Whilst the government maintained a strictly socialist/communist approach to the need of the people, they had and were compelled to develop more sophisticated syndicated system, methods of working with the international communities in all manner as very many spheres of corporate, financial, commodity and military areas. Upon the return of multi party government, the fusion of the experience and knowledge acquired remained.

The Seychelles Communities in EU over the past 35 years has amassed a vast experience, and wide achievements in this field involving international and multinational economic projects at European level, and elsewhere in the COMECON

Comecon

, USSR, Gulf Region, African Union - former OAU, Latin America, and Asia - China. This knowledge allowed the establishment of the SIROP exile/refugee program, the Phase ll Seychelles development program, and the role we played in helping to put in place the Rim Association. The Seychelles Community was involved in the process of changes in the COMECON, and likewise in the USSR, based on the experience gained with the Seychelles, as were the former OAU - the African Union

African Union

-nations.

Important influential role of EU

The impact of the Seychelles community is widespread, despite clashes until as late as 1985.

This was divided into five categories:

Pro-British, Commonwealth and their institutions, military alliance.
French, Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....

and their institutions, military alliance.
Strong pro-USA, Western, capitalist oriented democracy, political system, ideology, values and military alliance.
Socialist USSR, COMECON
Comecon
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance , 1949–1991, was an economic organisation under hegemony of Soviet Union comprising the countries of the Eastern Bloc along with a number of communist states elsewhere in the world...

, and others sharing the communist ideology, political system, education, economic system, socialist values and military alliance.
A small minority back in the 1960s and 1970s who had began to study, court European political ideology, institutions, economic and diplomatic reasoning.

Each of the above had their political, economic and military agendas and interests in the Seychelles, the Indian Ocean strategic issues, who controlled the region and their motives.

In 1979, the small group of Seychelles exiled refugees based on the Continental Europe, who began looking at the Europe role in the distant future to replace the system so divisive to the country's inhabitants. When they approached the SNM, MPR, and SDP leadership in Britain, London they were labelled Nazi/pro-German, Austrian ideological supporters.

There developed important divisions among the exiled refugee community as a result. This group followed their belief that in the course of time and near future: "The Power that would bring greater stability in the affairs of Seychelles in the Indian Ocean region and their European Communities would be Europe and its vast arrays of then Institutions, values, cultures, heritages, belief, science, diplomacy - military resources, experiences, expertise".

Hence the departure from attempts to change Seychelles by military force; instead they worked towards finding economic and political solutions which would underpin the preferred belief, objective and values. Upon such, the SIROP exile/refugee return program was conceived, planned and implemented.

The communities in EU developed engaged in the greater and important working of Europe from 1979 to date, building effective networks. From 1976 to date, the treaties have benefited the EU of today and the Seychelles communities within it. This include the historic Treaty of Lisbon

Treaty of Lisbon

The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....

. The measure of success have been due importantly to their French, British European heritage, culture, Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

and institutional connections, values, education, challenges as a Community in EU.

Since the return of multiparty government in 1991 in the Seychelles, the refugee communities in the EU have become pro-active in supporting democracy and strong civic engagement in the Seychelles, the Indian Ocean, the Gulf Region and OAU - African Union, Asia subcontinent, and also cultural exchanges throughout the region.

Struggle historic exile return program 1986/87

- COMECON, Warsaw Pact collapse, Changes in South Africa.

The BIOT Diego Garcia issue

BIOT and Diego Garcia

Diego Garcia

, with all their complexities and taboos, are very important to the Seychelles community. The Seychelles exile communities in the EU have worked to build democratic consensus with each other to avert war and enable its citizens to live a peaceful life.

The past 30 years have seen an increase in the relevancy, importance of our community European heritage. The Seychelles and Diego Garcia

Diego Garcia

communities is governed by laws of EU - the very vast majority of members of the community are EU citizens, so it is inevitable that the community is influenced by EU foreign policy and politics.

The Seychelles and exiles elsewhere have come to take over the major and principal responsibilities, rights of French and other European ancestors in addition to the laws, institutions, culture - history will allow. From this prospective we see the problematic in other prospectives. As a part of the European community within the norms of democratic responsibilities and practices, the Seychelles has important responsibilities. In the EU the democratic practice, civil practice is to allow communities influence in the government process by involving them in it.

The Seychelles community in Britain in particular have paid and is paying a price for what was started 40 years ago. The so-called Grand Blanc, plantation owners

Plantocracy

A plantocracy, also known as a slavocracy, is a ruling class, political order or government composed of plantation owners....

, members of the Victoria District Council, did not want to entertain the notion at all, for fear of risking their vested economic interest. Unlike the Chagossians they were educated and articulate. They have had three or four generation of colonial British rule. They knew what had taken place in Mauritius, Reunion, the Chagoss Group. They have experienced the exodus they have made from France from 1000AD. It was with those experience they addressed their concern then.

For the past 30 years the Seychelles community in Britain, EU have suffered directly. Officials and their institutions have created a barrier to full participation of the Seychelles community.

There have been four important wars during the past 30 years associated with Diego Garcia

Diego Garcia

. The situation in the EU government excludes its citizen from active democratic participation and due process because of the status - war, military modalities that have been put into place despite its participation. The EU regards the BIOT/Diego Garcia debate as an African Union debate. However, the AU does not function like EU democratic debates. The AU head of state, institutions would have stood to benefit importantly - because we formed part of the original issue.

In Africa today, they are endeavouring to promote our community in EU vis a vis EU laws; the importance of Diego Garcia would have resulted into over flow. They cannot understand this practice by EU law makers.

USA

The Seychelles community in the USA is concentrated in the Sun belt - Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. In the 1960s, 1970s because of the strategic location of Seychelles, the USA built one of their satellite tracking

Satellite watching

Satellite watching or satellite spotting is a hobby which consists of the observation and tracking of Earth artificial satellites. People with this hobby are variously called satellite watchers, trackers, spotters, observers, etc....

facilities on Mahe at La Miseair, which was nicknamed "the golf ball" because of its unique dome shape. There were several leading United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

contractors, Philco Ford, Pan Am, Nasa

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

, Loral Corporation and Johnson Instruments, IBM

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

, including base defense, military, intelligence personnel.

They numbered some 250 including Voluntary Corps. The vast majority were bachelors - this resulting in marrying and partnering some of the daughter of the elite Seychellois families, after their term of Service in Seychelles migrated with their families to the USA. After the coup d'état of 5 June 1977, a number of families sought refuge in the USA. It is estimated there are some 1500 Seychellois in the USA.

Australia

Seychelles families have been migrating to Australia for as long as the white Mauritian migration to Australia, and for the same reasons.

After the independence of East Africa and Rhodesia, a number of Seychelles families were compelled to leave those countries and migrate to Australia to seek livelihoods and stability.

The second most important wave of migration, exile took place after the 5 June 1977 coup d'état and the abolition of multiparty democracy. Since 1991 and the establishment of the Third Republic, a number of Seychelles individuals have been migrating

Human migration

Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...

to Australia for economic, educational, vocational and political reason.

It is estimated there are some 12,000 Seychelles nationals settled in Australia.

Canada

Some of the more affluent Seychelles families started migrating in the early 1800, the French families, distant relatives who had gone to settle their from Mauritius, Reunion and France. They were dissatisfied with colonial life, opportunity and prospect. The colonial favoritism which existed.

After the independence of East Africa, Rhodesia a number of Seychelles families were compelled to leave those countries and migrate to Australia. This continued until 1977 when there was a wave of migration, exile, refugee fleeing Seychelles due to the coup d'état.

It is estimated there is some 4,500 Seychellois in Canada

Canada

South Africa

Prior to the establishment of Apartheid there have been Seychellois of white, French, British - other European migrating to South Africa. This continued until event of 5 June 1977, the coup d'état. A number of leading Seychelles individuals attended schools, higher training in South Africa.

After Independence in Rhodesia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika

Tanganyika

some of those Seychelles families who migrated to South Africa to restart their lives and rebuild their families. Because of their skill, education and abilities they were welcomed.

History repeated itself over from East Africa, historic events of 5 June 1977, the Seychelles families who fled to South Africa, seek exile there, they had been persecuted, imprisoned, they had lost their properties, among them the family of the leader of the exile Opposition Mr Gérard Hoarau

Gérard Hoarau

.

It is estimated there are some 750 Seychellois in South Africa. They are to be found in Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

, Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

, Pretoria

Pretoria

Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...

East Africa

Seychelles individuals and families started migrating to East Africa in the early nineteenth century. With the event of the first world war and the shipping connection those settled in Mombasa

Mombasa

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....

, Nairobi

Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

, Kampala

Kampala

Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...

, then Zanzibar - the Sultanate, Dar-es-Salaam in Tanganyika then British Colonies. The went to work for British established colonial companies, many reaching high positions. They were regarded in high esteem by the colonial communities.

With the opening of the Kilembe copper mine, the processing plant at Jinja

Jinja, Uganda

Jinja is the largest town in Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, Uganda's capital and only city. Jinja was established in 1907.-Location:...

and concomitant need for skilled, responsible workers some 200 Seychellois were employed in various work/position.

A large numbers of them intermarried, took up the national citizenship after Independence - because they had/faced no alternatives. The Seychelles community in Uganda was hit most under
Idi Amin

Idi Amin

Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...

and the wars which followed; they fled to Britain, France, Canada, Australia, South African and Seychelles. The Tanganyika was equally impacted upon independence and the introduction of one party system; some had worked for the large Greek sisal

Sisal

Sisal is an agave that yields a stiff fibre traditionally used in making twine, rope and also dartboards. The term may refer either to the plant or the fibre, depending on context...

plantations in high positions.

In Kenya they fared better as they had adopted the cross culture between Colonial life and East African life and became known as "Kenya born". However many choose to migrate as life and economic existence became more pressing and difficult.

The situation in Zanzibar was far worse - many had very important and respectable position and work. With independence, the brief new government and finally the Zanzibar Revolution

Zanzibar Revolution

The Zanzibar Revolution by local African revolutionaries in 1964 overthrew the Sultan of Zanzibar and his mainly Arab government. An ethnically diverse state consisting of a number of islands off the east coast of Tanganyika, Zanzibar had been granted independence by Britain in 1963...

which cost some estimated 25,000 lives most fled for their lives to Seychelles, later Australia, Canada, South Africa and Britain.

From EU, Canada, Australia and South Africa they lent their support to help - contribute to the dream of African Union

African Union

- the AU today and the future.

It is estimated there are some 1500 Seychellois or Seychellez in Swahili

Swahili language

Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...

(as they are known in East African today) across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Source

Seychelles EU Community 1997/98 report, project support NCVO & LVSC-Evlyn Oldfield Unit, editing & copy partly funded by Prof., Dentist José Souyave (distributed from London)
Ferrari, Dr Maxime; Sunshine and Shadows, former Minister of Development
Mancham, Sir James R - Seychelles Global Citizen: The Autobiography of the Founding President ISBN 9781557788870
Julien Durup, History of La Digue. Distributed by Océan Editions www.ocean-editions.fr ISBN 978-2-916533-87-2.
Wace; The Battle of Hastings and the poem we can see that on this day, October 14, 1066, Pohiers or residents ....
United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/6268.htm

External links

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