| Mahebourg | |
 | |
| Information | |
| Country |  Mauritius |
|---|---|
| Altitude | Between 20 and m |
| Population | 15 700 hab. (2000) |
| Location | |
 20 ° 24 ′ 0 ″ S 57 ° 42 ′ 0 ″ E | |
Former capital ofMauritius Island, Mahebourg is always the destination city for international flights.
Understand
In 2000, Mahébourg had a population of 15 753 inhabitants. The town is located at an altitude of 20 m above sea level. Built on the edge of the country's largest lagoon, it is watered by several rivers. The lagoon is home to an exceptional underwater fauna, in particular the Harpa costata, shell of the harp family, discovered by Linnaeus in 1758, and currently protected. It is heavily polluted.
Mahébourg is a testimony of the colonial past, with its colonial and Mauritian wooden houses and its rectilinear streets, due to the French presence. It is less frequented by tourists than the north of the island, but tourist constructions are multiplying there.
Story
The first Dutch navigators arrive in the south of the island at XVIIe century. They established a colony in the bay which they named "Warwick Bay" after the Dutch admiral Wybrandt von Warwick. The sheltered anchorage, the presence of drinking water, thanks to several rivers and the forests of the mountains which surround it, from which the wood is exploited, are the reasons for the Dutch establishment.
To supplement the food resources of the island (giant turtles, fish and dodo), the Dutch import deer from Java, chickens and pigs and plant sugar cane. However, tropical storms, epidemics and rat infestations limit the development of the colony.
In 1715, the French settled in Mauritius and took over the colony. In 1735, after a hurricane ravaged the colony, Admiral Bertrand-François Mahé de la Bourdonnais, French governor of the islands of France and Bourbon from 1735 to 1746, moved the capital to the west coast of the island, in Port-Nord-Ouest, and founded the city of Port-Louis. The old colony, rebuilt on Pointe de la Colonie, was renamed Port-Sud-Est.
The city adopted the name of Bourg Mahé in 1804, in homage to Mahé de la Bourdonnais, then that of Mahébourg, from February 1, 1804 to October 1, 1806. Shortly named Port Impérial by General Decaen, named by Napoleon Bonaparte, the city is equipped with barracks, fortifications and warehouses. In 1810, it saw the French and English fleets clash during the naval battle of Grand Port, won by France. The same year, General Abercrombie, commanding the English fleet, landed 10,000 men in the north of the island. Isle de France becomes Mauritius and Mahébourg takes back its name.
Weather
The climate of Mahébourg is less hot than that of the rest of the island. The wind blows there frequently.
To go
By plane
- 1 Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (IATA : MRU, ICAO: FIMP, Plaisance airport) – Flights from Paris on Air France and Air Mauritius.
last updated: Nov 2019
On a boat
Circulate
To see
- 1 National History Museum (National History Museum) Château Robillard Royal Road, Mahebourg, South,
230 631 9329 
Monday to Sunday 9 h - 17 h and public holiday, closed Tuesday. – Installed, in 1950, in a large and very old colonial mansion in XVIIIe century, the National Maritime Museum exhibits the history of the city and that of the clashes, at sea, between the French and the English, in XIXe century, in particular the naval battle of Grand Port, in 1810. This residence, which belonged to Jean de Robillard, welcomed, in 1810, after the naval battle of Grand Port, Admiral Victor Duperré, commanding the French vessel The Bellone, and the English commander Josiah Willoughby, whose frigate The Nereid had been sunk by the French fleet, both wounded. Collection of old porcelain, old maps, cannons, cannonballs, sextants, weapons (including those of Surcouf), antique furniture, palanquins, coins and bells on shipwrecked sailboats. There are also remains (the bell, among others) of the famous Saint-Géran, ship which shipwrecked in Mauritius and inspired Bernardin de Saint-Pierre for his novel, Paul and Virginie. The museum also exhibits engravings and paintings, including prints by the Mauritian portrait and landscape painter Alfred Richard. You can also stroll in the park, accessible by a large gate, which surrounds the building. The museum became the National History Museum in 2000.
Monday to Sunday To learn
To work
To buy
- Mahébourg Fair – Mondays, in Mahébourg, is held the market that the inhabitants call "fair". This weekly event is interesting in several ways. First, it allows you to immerse yourself in the daily life of Mauritians in the middle of colorful stalls where photographers will feast. Then, do not miss this opportunity to do your shopping: spices, clothes, basketwork ... you can find everything at prices much lower than in the bazaar of Port-Louis.
