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You have learnt about Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. Now, let’s learn about Port
Mathurin, the capital of Rodrigues and the main harbour of the island.
The rst settlement in Port Mathurin was made by François Leguat
and his friends in 1691. Later, in the year 1722, the French sent a
group of people to start a settlement at the same site.
Port Mathurin is named after the French settler Mathurin Brehinier, who, along with his
family, was one of the early inhabitants of Port Mathurin. Philibert Marragon was the other
French settler who lived here about the same time as Mathurin Brehinier.
The place developed slowly as the settlers lived on their plantation or on the coast.
In the 19th century, during the British period, there were only 12 huts made of wood and
latanier leaves. Slowly, many more people began to build houses and in the late 19th century
there were about 280 people living in Port Mathurin. Some of the buildings found there
atthattimewerethemagistrate’sofce,acourtroom,aprison,acookhouseandastore
house.
The pictures below show Port Mathurin as it is today.
1. Observe the pictures above.
Write a few sentences to describe what you have observed in the pictures.
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1.9 port mathurin:The Capital of rodrigues
Do you remember ?
1.10 port mathurin today
Pic. 9 port mathurin today
ACTIVITY 1.10
ACTIVITY 1.10 continued
2. Find out about the life and work of people in Port Mathurin today.
You may inquire about the following:
• Important buildings
• The main occupation of the inhabitants
• Religious practices of the people
• Food habits, music and songs
• Leisure and other recreational activities of the people
Write down all the information collected in your copybook. With the help of your
teacher/parents, collect pictures from the internet, books and magazines.
(You may include pictures of people at work as well as pictures of houses and buildings
in Port Mathurin.)
Create a collage representing the people and their activities in Port Mathurin today.
Label the pictures and display in class.
At the end of this topic, I can
i check my progress
1 give reasons for making Port Louis the main harbour of Ile de France.
2 explain how Labourdonnais developed the harbour and town of Port Louis.
3 list a few buildings built by Labourdonnais.
4 describe the uses of the buildings.
5 show the importance of Port Louis as a:
• town
• trading port
• naval base
6 discuss changes in Port Louis from the beginning of settlement
to the present time.
7 describe the development in Port Mathurin from the beginning till now.