Day 4 Port Louis and Grand Baie

'India will never be British while Mauritius remains French'', so said Pitt and before long it was British. We were to find this out on our tour of the 'history of sugar'
We had set off on another travel day, this time to see the capital. We passed through Bamboo again and called in at the church where Granpere and Grandmere were married in 1921. The church is still run by Mme Eclezio, a famous name in Mauritius. Her son has been awarded a Nobel prize for French literature. When we all emigrated to England one of dad's cousins is said to have remarked about the loss of status that comes with emigration, that 'even Mme Eclezio will be sweeping the streets of London.
We also learnt that my grand mothers' father, David Davis had done as my Granpere did and changed his name from Ducachan (not sure of correct spelling). It seems our family comes from Hyderabad, although this far from certain
It seems that after the abolition of slavery in 1807, the British continue to import 'indentured' Indians. These, though technically not slaves were treated as such, with poor wages and conditions until 1824. This is the origin of my family in Mauritius.
Today we are proud to explore this past, but it must have been very different in those days for Indians are regarded as lower class, as opposed to the more aristocratic French. They had fled the French revolution and set themselves up in Mauritius, safe from the revolutionaries.
So we had a brief stay in Port Louis and set off for Pamplemose, a botanical garden established during the French period. It covers 26 hectares, so we took a guide who should us the best bits. He was funny too. I have some great photos of rare plants.
After that lunch and off to Grand Baie. A quick swim and home.
I'll tell you the story of how Mauritius passed from the Dutch to the french and then to the English another time.