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SEYCHELLES

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Originally appearing in Volume V24, Page 753 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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SEYCHELLES , an See also:

archipelago in the See also:Indian Ocean, consisting of See also:forty-five islands—besides a number of rocks or islets —situated between 30 38' and 5° 45' S., and 52° 55' and 530 50' E. Together with the Amirantes, Cosmoledo, See also:Aldabra and other islands they See also:form the See also:British See also:colony of Seychelles. The outlying islands See also:lie See also:south-See also:west of the Seychelles See also:group and between that archipelago and See also:Madagascar. In all ninety islands with a See also:total See also:area of over 156 sq. m. are under the Seychelles See also:government. There are in addition 40,000 to 50,000 sq. m. of See also:coral See also:banks within the See also:bounds of the colony. The Seychelles lie, with two exceptions, towards the centre of a large submarine See also:bank and are all within the 50 fathoms See also:line. See also:Mahe, the largest and most central See also:island, is 934 M. N.N.W. of See also:Mauritius, 970 M. E. by N. of See also:Zanzibar and 600 m. N.E. of the northernmost point of Madagascar. The other See also:chief islands formtwo See also:principal See also:groups: (i.) Praslin, 26 m. N.N.E. of Mahe, and the adjacent smaller islands of La Digue, Felicite, See also:East See also:Silver, West Silver, Curieuse and Aride; (ii.) See also:Silhouette, 14 M.

W. by N. of Mahe, and See also:

North Island. The most easterly island is See also:Frigate, the most southerly See also:Platte; on the See also:northern edge of the See also:reef are See also:Bird and See also:Denis islands. The See also:general aspect of the islands is one of See also:great beauty and fertility, and in the See also:opinion of General C. G. See also:Gordon they formed the See also:Garden of See also:Eden. Mahe is 17 m. See also:long, and from 4 to 7 broad and of highly irregular shape, with an area of about 55 sq. m. There are small areas of lowlands, chiefly at the mouths of the See also:river valleys, but most of the island is mountainous, and in general the hills rise abruptly from the See also:sea. There are ten heights betyveen See also:I000 and 2000 ft., and seven over 2000 ft. The highest point is Morne Seychellois, 2993 ft.; next comes Trois Freres, 2390 ft. Both these mountains are in the northern See also:half of the island. The See also:main See also:ridge runs north and south along the line of the greatest See also:diameter, and from the heights descend many torrents, the whole island being well watered. The principal See also:harbour, See also:Port See also:Victoria, is on the north-east See also:coast in 40 37' S., 550 27' E.

It is approached by a deep channel through the coral reef which fringes the entire eastern See also:

side of the island. Of the small islands See also:close to Mahe the chief are St See also:Anne and Cerf, off the east, and Conception and Therese off the west coast. Praslin Island is 8 m. long and from 1 to 3 m. Broad, has an area of about 27 sq. M. and its highest point is 126o ft.; La Digue covers 4 sq. m. and its greatest height is 1175 ft.: Silhouette is roughly circular in shape, covers 8 sq. m. and culminates in Mon Plaisir, 2473 ft. None of the other islands exceeds 11 sq. m. See also:Geology.—Except Bird and Denis islands, which are of coralline See also:limestone, the Seychelles are of See also:granite, with in places fringing reefs of coral based on granite See also:foundations. The granite is of the same formation or closely related to that of Madagascar and throughout the islands is closely See also:uniform in its See also:composition, but exhibits dikes of finer See also:grain. The rocks are deeply furrowed and cut into ridges, See also:evidence of the long See also:period over which they have been subjected to atmospheric influences. There is no sign of marine See also:action over four-fifths of the islands, which nowhere exhibit any trace of volcanic action, See also:recent or remote. The islands are regarded as a remnant of the See also:continental See also:land which in remote See also:geological ages See also:united South See also:Africa and See also:India. J.

See also:

Stanley See also:Gardiner supposes that when first cut off the Seychelles were the See also:size of the See also:present bank—about 12,000 sq. m. This cutting off was caused largely by subsidence, though partly by marine action. The subsequent dwindling of the 12,000 sq. m. to 156 divided into many small islands is attributed to marine action which had its chief force in the See also:Eocene and See also:Miocene periods. (Cf. " The Indian Ocean," Geo. Journ. vol. See also:xxviii., 1906). See also:Climate.—The climate is healthy and equable, and for a tropical See also:country the temperature is moderate. It varies on the coast from about 68° to 88° F., falling at See also:night in the higher regions to 60° or 55° F. The mean coast temperature slightly exceeds 79° F. The south-east See also:monsoon blows from May to See also:October, which is the dry See also:season, and the west-north-west monsoon from See also:December to See also:March. During See also:April and See also:November the winds are variable. The See also:average See also:annual rainfall on the coast is too-8 in.; it increases to about 120 in. at a height of 600 ft. and at heights exceeding 2000 ft. is about 15o in.

The Seychelles lie outside the track of the hurricanes which occasion-ally devastate See also:

Reunion and Mauritius and are also immune from earthquakes. The public See also:health is See also:good, and fevers and See also:plague are unknown. See also:Flora and See also:Fauna.—Both flora and fauna include See also:species and genera See also:peculiar to the Seychelles. Of these the best known is the Lodoicea sechellarum, a See also:palm See also:tree indigenous only in Praslin Island—but since introduced into Curieuse—noted for its See also:fruit, the so-called Maldive See also:double coco-See also:nut or coco de mer. The nut was long known only from sea-See also:borne specimens See also:cast up on the Maldive and other coasts, was thought to grow on a submarine palm, and, being esteemed a See also:sovereign antidote to poisons (Lusiad, x. 136), commanded exorbitant prices in the East. This palm will grow to a height of too ft., and shows enormous See also:fern-like leaves. Another tree found only in the islands is the capucin (Northea sechellarum), whose massive dead trunks are a striking feature in the landscape. This tree has almost completely fallen a victim to the ravages of a See also:green See also:beetle, probably introduced from Mauritius. The islands were formerly densely wooded, but only patches of See also:forest remain. The central See also:mountain See also:zone of Mahe was in 1909 acquired by the government for reafforestation purposes. This zone also included one of the last remaining portions of indigenous forest.

The forests of the coast See also:

belt resembled those of the coral islands of the neighbouring parts of the Indian Ocean. Characteristic of this region are the See also:mangrove and Pandanus, and, a little inland, the See also:banyan (Ficus), Pisonia and Hernandia. The coco-nut, now a conspicuous feature of the coast flora, is probably not indigenous. The forests of the granitic land, of which typical patches remain, had the characteristics of a tropical moist region, palms, shrubs, climbing and tree ferns growing luxuriantly, the trees on the mountain sides, such as the Pandanus sechellarum sending down roots over the rocks and boulders from 70 to too ft. Of See also:timber trees the bois gayac has disappeared, but bois de fer (Stadtmannia sideroxylon) and bois de natte (Maba sechellarum) still flourish on Silhouette Island. Besides the cutting down for See also:building purposes of the timber trees the See also:jungle was largely cleared for the See also:plantation of See also:vanilla; while a multitude of other tropical See also:plants have been introduced tending to the extermination of the indigenous flora. The most important of the trees introduced since 1900 are various kinds of See also:rubber, including See also:Para (Hevea Brasiliensis), which grows well. For other introduced plants see below, See also:Industries. The indigenous fauna, so far as its limited range affords comparison, resevtbles that of Madagascar. It is deficient in mammals, of which the only varieties are the See also:rat and See also:bat. The See also:dugong, which formerly frequented the See also:waters of the islands, does so no longer. The See also:reptiles include certain lizards and See also:snakes; the See also:crocodile, once See also:common, has been exterminated.

Land tortoises have also disappeared,' but one See also:

freshwater species (Sternothaerus sinuatus) is still found; and the adjacent seas contain many turtles. Three coecilians, three batrachians (including a mountain-frequenting See also:frog) and three fresh-See also:water crustaceans are also indigenous, and about twenty-six species of land shells. The islands are the See also:home of a large number of birds, including terns, gannets and See also:white egrets, though most of the indigenous species are See also:extinct. The neighbouring seas abound in See also:fish. Among the domestic animals introduced are the See also:ass and See also:pig. Inhabitants.—Like Mauritius, Reunion and See also:Rodriguez the Seychelles were uninhabited when first visited by Europeans; though fragments of ruins found on Praslin and Frigate islands may indicate the presence of See also:man in earlier centuries. The islands were colonized by Mauritian and See also:Bourbon creoles; the white See also:element, still prevailingly See also:French, has been strengthened by the See also:settlement of several British families. The first planters introduced slaves from Mauritius, and the See also:negro element has been increased by the introduction of freed slaves from East Africa. There has been also an See also:immigration of See also:Chinese and, in larger See also:numbers, of See also:Indians (mainly from the See also:Malabar coast). An See also:official See also:report issued in 1910 stated that the greater See also:part of the valuable See also:town See also:property had passed into the hands of Indians, and that Indians and Chinese had the bulk of the See also:retail See also:trade. Of the coloured See also:population those See also:born in the Seychelles of negro, or negro-Indian See also:blood are known as " enfants See also:des files." They speak a See also:rude See also:creole See also:patois, based on French but with a large admixture of Indian, See also:Bantu and See also:English words. The Seychellois are of See also:fine physique, and are excellent and fearless sailors.

At the See also:

census of 1881 the inhabitants numbered 14,081, in 1891 the figure was 16,603 and in 1901 the population numbered 19,237, of whom 9805 were See also:males and 9432 See also:females. The population on December 31st, 1909, was officially estimated at 22,409, or 149.59 persons per sq. m. The pure white population is about 600. About two-thirds of the inhabitants are See also:Roman Catholics. See also:Agriculture and Industries.—Apart from See also:fisheries the See also:wealth of the islands depends upon agriculture, and the industries connected there-with. These are fostered by the government, which in 1901 created an agricultural See also:board and established a botanic station at Victoria. Spices (See also:cloves, See also:cinnamon, nutmegs) were the chief articles of trade in the 18th See also:century, and these with See also:cotton, See also:coffee, See also:tobacco, See also:sugar, See also:maize and See also:rice were the main crops grown until about 185o. Bananas, yams, &c., were also largely cultivated, and there was considerable trade in coco-nut oil, timber, fish and fish oil and See also:tortoise-See also:shell, whaling being carried on, chiefly by Americans and French, in the neighbouring seas. Subsequently See also:cocoa was cultivated extensively, and from about 1890 vanilla largely superseded the other crops; in 1899 the vanilla exported was valued at over £1oo,000 out of a total export of £140,000, and from 1896 to 1903 the See also:crop represented more than half the total value of the exports. Owing to increased competition, and in some degree to careless harvesting, there was a great fall in prices after 1900, and the Seychellois, though still producing vanilla in large quantities, paid greater See also:attention to the products of the coconut palm—See also:copra, See also:soap, coco-nut oil and coco-nuts—to the development of the mangrove bark See also:industry, the collection of See also:guano, the cultivation of rubber trees, the preparation of See also:banana See also:flour, the growing of sugar canes, and the See also:distillation of See also:rum and essential See also:oils. The tortoise-shell and calipee fisheries and the export of See also:salt fish are important industries. See also:Minor exports are cocoa, coco-de-mer and beche-de-mer.

From the leaves of the coco-de-mer are made baskets and hats. ' The gigantic land tortoise (Testudo elephantine) is found only in the Aldabra Islands. The imports consist chiefly of cotton goods and hardware from Great See also:

Britain; rice, flour and cotton from India, sugar and rum from Mauritius, coffee from See also:Aden, wines and See also:spirits and clothing from See also:France. The value of the imports and exports (exclusive of specie) for the six years 1901–1906 was: imports, £360,520; exports, £377,613. The increase of trade is indicated by the figures for 1907 (a See also:record See also:year) to 1909. In the three years the value of imports was £233,863, that of exports L355,306. Over 75% of the total trade is with Great Britain or British possessions. The See also:medium of See also:exchange is the Indian See also:rupee (=16d.), with the subsidiary coinage of Mauritius. Towns and Communications.—The only town of any size is the See also:capital, Port Victoria (or Mahe), picturesquely situated at the See also:head of an excellent harbour. Many of the houses are built of massive coral, Porites gaimardi, hewn into square building blocks which at a distance glisten like white See also:marble. The port is a coaling station of the British See also:navy and is connected by telegraphic cables with Zanzibar and Mauritius. There is no inland See also:telegraph See also:system.

All the islands are well provided with metalled roads. See also:

Regular monthly communication with See also:Marseilles is maintained by the Messageries Mari-times, steamers. See also:German and British lines serve the South See also:African and Indian ports. The government employ See also:steam vessels for passenger and See also:mail services between the islands, and there are large numbers of sailing See also:craft belonging to the islanders. Government, See also:Revenue, &°c.—Seychelles is a See also:crown colony administered by a See also:governor, assisted by nominated executive and legislative See also:councils. Revenue is derived chiefly from customs, licences, See also:court fees and the See also:post See also:office, while among the principal heads of See also:expenditure figure telegraph and steamer subsidies and the See also:education, medical, legal and See also:police departments. For the ten years 1899-1908 the average yearly revenue was £28,726; the average yearly expenditure £27,304. A public See also:debt of £20,000, repayable in See also:thirty annual instalments, was contracted in 1899. The See also:law in force is based on the See also:Code See also:Napoleon, considerably modified, however, by See also:local ordinances. The simplification and codification of the See also:laws was carried out during 1899-1904 (see the Colonial Office annual reports, especially that for 1903, § 37). Education is under the See also:control, of a government board and, besides See also:primary See also:schools, there are institutions for higher education and a See also:Carnegie Library. Grants are made to schools of all denominations.

The creole patois is unsuited to be a medium of instruction, and English is used as far as possible, though its acquisition by the peasantry is that of a See also:

foreign See also:language. The same difficulty, to an almost equal degree, would apply to the use of French as a medium. See also:History.—The Seychelles are marked on Portuguese charts dated 1502. The first recorded visit to the islands was made in 1609 by an English See also:ship; then for 133 years there is no documentary evidence of any further visit. The second recorded visit, in 1742, was made by See also:Captain Lazare Picault, who, returning two years later, formally annexed the islands to France. Though then uninhabited there is a strong tradition, probably well founded, that the Seychelles had been from Arab times a See also:rendezvous of the pirates and corsairs who infested the high seas between South Africa and India. Picault, who acted as See also:agent of the celebrated Mahe de la Bourdonnais, governor of the Ile de France (Mauritius), named the principal island Mahe and the group Iles de la Bourdonnais, a See also:style changed in 1756, when the islands were renamed after See also:Moreau de Sechelles, at that See also:time contrSleur des finances under See also:Louis XV. The first permanent settlement was made about 1768, when the town of Mahe was founded. Soon afterwards See also:Pierre Poivre, See also:intendant of Ile de France, seeing the freedom of the Seychelles archipelago from hurricanes, caused spice plantations to be made .there, with the See also:object of wresting from the Dutch the See also:monopoly they then enjoyed of the spice trade. The existence of these plantations was kept See also:secret, and it was with that object that they were destroyed by See also:fire by the French on the See also:appearance in the harbour in 1778 of a See also:vessel flying the British See also:flag. The ship, however, proved to be a French slaver who had hoisted the See also:Union See also:Jack fearing to find the British in See also:possession. Mahe proved very useful to French See also:ships during the See also:wars of the Revolution, and this led to its See also:capture by the British in 1794, but no troops were See also:left to See also:garrison the See also:place, and the See also:administration went on as before.

In 18o6 the island capitulated to the captain of another British ship, but again no garrison was left, and it was not until after the capture of Mauritius in 1810 that the Seychelles were occupied by the British, to whom they were ceded by the treaty of See also:

Paris in 1814. Throughout this period See also:Mons. J. B. Queau de See also:Quincy (1748-1827) administered the islands. This remark-able man, a Parisian by See also:birth, became governor of the Seychelles in 1789 under the See also:monarchy, continued to serve under the First See also:Republic, and Napoleon I.,—acknowledging the British authority when ships of that See also:nationality entered the harbour,—and when the Seychelles were made a dependency of Mauritius was appointed by the British agent-See also:civil. In all he governed the islands thirty-eight years, dying in 1827. His See also:tomb is in Government See also:House garden. Under de Quincy's administration the islands prospered; the cultivation of cotton and coffee was then begun, much of the land being deforested for this purpose—a deforestation practically completed when vanilla was introduced. In 1834 the abolition of See also:slavery led to a decline in the prosperity of the islands, but as many of the slaves captured by British cruisers off the east coast of Africa were landed at Seychelles economic conditions were gradually ameliorated. There was also a slight immigration of coolies from India. From 1810 until 1872 the administration was dependent upon Mauritius; from that date onward greater See also:powers were given to the local authorities, until in 1903 Seychelles was erected into a See also:separate colony with its own governor.

The over-dependence placed on one product caused waves of depression to alternate with waves of prosperity, and the depression following the fall in the See also:

price of vanilla was aggravated by periods of drought, " agricultural See also:sloth and careless extravagance. "1 But during 1905-1910 successful efforts were made to broaden the economic resources of the colony. A natural See also:field for the energies of the surplus population was also found in colonization See also:work in British East Africa. The islands were chosen in 1897 as the place of See also:deportation of Prempeh, ex-See also:king of See also:Ashanti, and in 1901 Mwanga, ex-king of See also:Uganda, and Kabarega, ex-king of See also:Unyoro were also deported thither. Mwanga died at the Seychelles in May 1903. Dependencies.—The outlying islands forming part of the colony of Seychelles consist of several widely scattered groups and have a total population of about 900. The Amirante archipelago is situated on a submarine bank west and south-west of the Seychelles, the nearest island being about 120 M. from Mahe. The archipelago consists of a number of coral islets and atolls comprising the African Islands (4), the St See also:Joseph group (8), the Poivre Islands (9) and the See also:Alphonso group (3). Farther south and within 170 in. of Madagascar is the See also:Providence group (3) formed by the piling up of See also:sand on a See also:surface reef of See also:crescent shape. The Cosmoledo Islands, 12 in number, lie some 210 m. west of Providence Island, while 70 in. further west are the Aldabra Islands (q.v.). The chief island In the Cosmoledo group is 9 m. long by 6 broad. Coetivy (transferred from Mauritius to the Seychelles in 1908) lies about too m.

S.S.E. of Platte. The See also:

majority of the outlying islands are extremely fertile, coco-nut trees and maize growing luxuriantly. Several of the islands contain valuable deposits of guano and phosphate of See also:lime, and their waters are frequented by edible and shell turtle. Like the Amirantes all the other islands named are of coral formation. See Unpublished Documents on the History of the Seychelles Islands Anterior to z81o, with a cartography and a bibliography compiled by A. A. Fauvel (Mahe, 1909); See also:Ancient Maps of Seychelles Archipelago, a See also:portfolio containing 28 maps (Mahe, 1909); J. Stanley Gardiner, " The Seychelles Archipelago ' (with See also:bibliographical notes), in Geo. Jnl. vol. 29 (1907) and " The Indian Ocean," Geo. Jnl. vol. 28 (1906).

See also the annual reports on the Seychelles issued by the Colonial Office; those from 1901 onward contain valuable botanical reports. For the dependencies see R. See also:

Dupont, Report on a Visit of Investigation to St Pierre, Astove, Cosmoledo, See also:Assumption and the Aldabra Group of the Seychelles Islands (Seychelles, 1907). SEYDLI'f,Z, See also:FRIEDRICH WILHELM, FREIHERR VON (1721-1773), Prussian soldier, one of the greatest See also:cavalry generals of history, was born on the 3rd of See also:February 1721 at See also:Calcar in Cleve duchy, where his See also:father, a See also:major of Prussian cavalry, was stationed. After his father's See also:death in 1728 he was brought up in straitened circumstances by his See also:mother, but at the See also:age of thirteen he went as a See also:page to the court of the See also:margrave of See also:Schwedt, who had been his father's See also:colonel. Here he acquired a superb mastery of See also:horsemanship, and many stories are told of his feats, the best known of which was his See also:riding between the sails of a See also:wind-See also:mill in full See also:swing. In 1740 he was commissioned a See also:cornet in the margrave's See also:regiment of Prussian See also:cuirassiers. Serving as a 1 Colonial Reports . . . Seychelles (1907).subaltern in the first Silesian See also:War, he was taken prisoner in May 1742 after so gallant a See also:defence that King See also:Frederick offered to exchange an See also:Austrian captain for him. In 1743 the king made him a captain in the 4th Hussars, and he brought his See also:squadron to a See also:state of conspicuous efficiency. Ife served through the second war, and after See also:Hohenfriedberg was promoted major at the age of twenty-four.

At the close of the war he had an opportunity of successfully handling 15 squadrons in front of the enemy, and this, with other displays of his capacity of leading cavalry in the searching tests of Frederick's " reviews," secured his promotion in 1752 to the See also:

rank of See also:lieutenant-colonel and in 1753 to the command of the 8th cuirassiers. Under his hands this regiment soon became a See also:pattern to the See also:rest of the See also:army. In 1755 he was made colonel. Next year the Seven Years' War, that was to make his name immortal, See also:broke out. In 1757, regardless of the See also:custom of keeping back the heavy cavalry in reserve, he took his regiment to join the advanced guard, at See also:Prague he nearly lost his See also:life in attempting to ride through a marshy See also:pool, and at See also:Kolin, at the head of a cavalry See also:brigade, he distinguished himself in checking the Austrian pursuit by a brilliant See also:charge. Two days later the king made him major-general and gave him the See also:order pour le Write, which promotion he See also:felt to be no more than his deserts, for to See also:Zieten's congratulations he responded: " It was high time, See also:Excellency, if they wanted more work out of me. I am already thirty-six." Four times in the See also:dismal See also:weeks that followed the disaster of Kolin, Seydlitz asserted his See also:energy and spirit in cavalry encounters, and on the See also:morning of See also:Rossbach Frederick, superseding two See also:senior generals, placed Seydlitz in command of the whole of his cavalry. The result of the See also:battle was the See also:complete rout and disorganization of the enemy, and in achieving that result only seven battalions of Frederick's army had fired a shot. The rest was the work of Seydlitz and his 38 squadrons. The same night the king gave him the order of the See also:Black See also:Eagle, and promoted him lieutenant-general. But he had received a See also:wound in the melee, and for some months he was away from the army. He rejoined the king in 1758, and at the battle of Zorndorf Seydlitz's cavalry again saved the See also:day and won the victory.

At Hochkirch with 108 squadrons he covered the Prussian See also:

retreat, and in the great disaster of See also:Kunersdorf he was severely wounded in a hopeless See also:attempt to See also:storm a See also:hill held by the Russians. During his convalescence he married Countess Albertine Hacke. He rejoined the army in May 1760, but his health was so impaired that Frederick sent him home again. It was not until 1761 that he reappeared at the front. He now commanded a wing of See also:Prince See also:Henry's army, composed of troops of all arms, and many doubts were expressed as to his fitness for this command, as his service had hitherto been with the cavalry exclusively. But he answered his critics by his See also:con-duct at the battle of See also:Freyburg (October 29, 1762), in which, leading his See also:infantry and his cavalry in turn, he decided the day. After the See also:peace of See also:Hubertusburg he was made inspector-general of the cavalry in See also:Silesia, where eleven regiments were permanently stationed and whither Frederick sent all his most promising See also:officers to be trained by him. In 1767 he was made a general of cavalry. But his later years were clouded by domestic unhappiness. His wife was unfaithful to him, and his two daughters, each several times married, were both divorced, the See also:elder once and the younger twice. His formerly close friendship with the king was brought to an end by some misunderstanding, and it was only in his last illness, and a few weeks before his death, that they met again. Seydlitz died of See also:paralysis at See also:Ohlau on the 27th of See also:August 1773.

See Varnhagen von Ease, Das Leben des Generals von Seydlitz (See also:

Berlin, 1834) ; and See also:Bismarck, See also:Die kgl. preussische Reiterei unter Friedrich dem Grossen (See also:Karlsruhe, 1837).

End of Article: SEYCHELLES

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