Rodrigues
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Rodrigues_76.jpg
Rodrigues (or Rodriguez) is one of the Mascarene Islands and a dependency of Mauritius. It is located 560 km east of Mauritius, in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is 109 km² in size, and surrounded by a coral reef. The capital of the island is Port Mathurin.
As of 1996, the island's population was about 35,000. The main language is French and the main religion is Roman Catholic. Most of the inhabitants are of African descent, and the main industries are farming, fishing and tourism.
Political history
Rodrigues was discovered in 1645 by the Portuguese, and from 1691-93 it was occupied by the Dutch. It was then colonized in the 18th century by the French. Britain took over the island in 1810 and administered it as part of Mauritius, which became independent in 1968.
On February 4, 2003, Serge Clair became the Chief Commissioner of Rodrigues, and the Chief Executive of the newly established island council when the island obtained its autonomy. Today, Rodrigues has its own regional assembly which participates in the general assembly of Mauritius.
Natural history
Acropora_rodriguensis.JPG
Rodrigues is a volcanic island arising from a ridge along the edge of the Mascarene Plateau. Estimated to be from 1-4 million years old, in this time Rodrigues has developed a unique environment including many endemic species: 42 species of trees; the Rodriguan or golden bat (Pteropus rodricensis); 2 species of bird, the Rodrigues fody (Foudia flavicans) and the Rodrigues warbler (Acrocephalus rodericana); and a species of coral (Acropora rodriguensis).
The coral reef of Rodrigues is of particular interest due to it having to self-seed. That is it recieves no coral zooplankton from elsewhere. This has lead to the development of the above mentioned coral and a small number of species being present.
External link
- Images of Rodrigues (http://www.travel-images.com/rodrigues.html)
- Map of Mauritius (http://mauritius.africa-atlas.com/)
- Shoals Rodrigues (http://www.shoals-rodrigues.org/index.html)
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