Mauritius: A Melting Pot

Mauritius, an independent island state, lies in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern shores of the African state of Mozambique. The Dutch first colonized the island in 1638, followed by the French in 1715 and the British in 1810. In 1860, the first Hakka immigrants entered Mauritius. Soon, many more followed, especially after the colonial government eased immigration restrictions in 1877. Patricia’s father came from China to work on the island in 1926. Originally he thought it was a temporary move, but as her family grew and prospered, he stayed on. Although the thirty to forty thousand Chinese make up only about 3 percent of the population, the Hakka constitute about 90 percent of the Chinese population. “The Hakka have a very close-knit community there,” Patricia says.