v25_1211 - ÎLES DE FRANCE ET BOURBON - LOUIS XV Double sol ou grand fanam n.d. Pondichéry

FRENCH ISLANDS AND BOURBON - LOUIS XV

(1715-1774)

The islands of Mauritius and Reunion were discovered by the Portuguese Pedro Mascarenhas in 1507. Mauritius was occupied by the Dutch from 1638. The French seized it in 1715 and the island received the name of Ile de France. The Compagnie des Indes settled in Port Louis in 1720. In 1810, the island was occupied by the English and became an English colony after the Treaties of Paris in 1814 and 1815. Bourbon Island was colonized by the French between 1638 and 1646 then granted first to the Compagnie des Indes Orientales founded on August 27, 1664, then to the Compagnie Française des Indes in 1719.