v11_2414 - ÎLE MAURICE 500 rupies or 1988

MAURITIUS

(Twentieth century)

From 1810 to 1903, Mauritius was administered along with the Seychelles as a British colony. It obtained greater and greater freedoms: in 1957 it had its own government and in 1958 universal suffrage was established there. The independence of the island was proclaimed on March 12, 1968. The cultivation of sugar cane was the main activity, but now Mauritius also relies on tourism, light industrialization and its African off-shore banking center..