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Seychelles (pronounced /seɪˈʃɛl/ or /seɪˈʃɛlz/ in English and IPA: [seʃɛl] in French), officially the Republic of Seychelles (French: République des Seychelles; Creole: Repiblik Sesel), is an archipelago nation of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar. Other nearby island countries and territories include Zanzibar to the west, Mauritius and Réunion to the south, Comoros and Mayotte to the southwest, and the Suvadives of the Maldives to the northeast. Seychelles has the smallest population of any sovereign state of Africa.
History
Colonial Governor of the Seychelles inspecting police guard of honour in 1972
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While Austronesian seafarers or Arab traders may have been the first to visit the uninhabited Seychelles, the first recorded sighting of them took place in 1502, by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco da Gama, who passed through the Amirantes
and named them after himself (islands of the Admiral). The first
recorded landing and first written account was by the crew of the
English East Indiaman Ascension in 1609. As a transit point for trading between Africa and Asia, they were occasionally used by pirates until the French began to take control of the islands starting in 1756 when a Stone of Possession was laid by Captain Nicholas Morphey. The islands were named after Jean Moreau de Séchelles, Louis XV’s Minister of Finance. [1]
The British contested control over the islands with the French between 1794 and 1812.
Jean Baptiste Quéau de Quincy, French administrator of Seychelles
during the years of war with the United Kingdom, declined to resist
when armed enemy warships arrived. Instead, he successfully negotiated
the status of capitulation to Britain, which gave the settlers a privileged position of neutrality.
Britain eventually assumed full control upon the surrender of Mauritius in 1812 and this was formalised in 1814 at the Treaty of Paris. The Seychelles became a crown colony separate from Mauritius in 1903 and independence was granted in 1976, as a republic within the Commonwealth. In 1977, a coup d'état ousted the first president of the republic, James Mancham, replacing him with France Albert René. The 1979 constitution declared a socialist one-party state, which lasted until 1991. The first draft of a new constitution failed to receive the requisite 60 percent of voters in 1992, but in 1993 an amended version was approved.
Politics
State House,
Victoria - the seat of the President
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The Seychelles president, who is both head of state and head of government, is elected by popular vote for a five-year term of office. The previous president, France Albert René, first came to power in a coup d'état in 1977, one year after independence. He was democratically elected after the constitutional reforms of 1992. He stood down in 2004 in favour of his vice-president, James Michel, who was re-elected in 2006. The cabinet is presided over and appointed by the president, subject to the approval of a majority of the legislature.
The unicameral Seychellois parliament, the National Assembly or Assemblée Nationale,
consists of 34 members, of whom 25 are elected directly by popular
vote, while the remaining 9 seats are appointed proportionally
according to the percentage of votes received by each party. All
members serve five-year terms.
Politics is a topic of hot debate in the country - The main rival
parties are the Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF) and the
Seychelles National Party (SNP). Since the inception of politics in the
early sixties, politics has been an integral part of the Seychellois
lives. The range of opinion spans socialist and liberal democrat
ideology.
The Seychelles are part of the Indian Ocean Commission(IOC), La Francophonie (the union of French Speaking countries) SADEC and Commonwealth organisation.
Administrative divisions
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The famous clock tower in the centre of Victoria, capital of Seychelles.
Seychelles is divided into twenty-five administrative regions, called districts:
Geography
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An island nation, the Seychelles is located in the Indian Ocean northeast of Madagascar and about 1,600 km (1,000 mi) east of Kenya.
The number of islands in the archipelago is often given as 115 but the
Constitution of the Republic of Seychelles lists 155. The islands as
per the Constitution are divided into various groups as follows.
There are 42 granitic islands, in descending order of size: Mahé, Praslin,
Silhouette, La Digue, Curieuse, Félicité, Frégate, St. Anne, North,
Cerf, Marianne, Grand Sœur,Thérèse, Aride, Conception,Petite Sœur,
Cousin, Cousine, Long, Récif, Round (Praslin), Anonyme, Mamelles,
Moyenne, Ile aux Vaches Marines, L'Islette, Beacon (Ile Sèche), Cachée,
Cocos, Round (Mahé), L'Ilot Frégate, Booby, Chauve Souris (Mahé),Chauve
Souris (Praslin), Ile La Fouche, Hodoul, L'Ilot, Rat, Souris, St.
Pierre (Praslin),Zavé, Harrison Rocks (Grand Rocher).
There are two coral sand cays north of the granitics: Denis, Bird.
There are two coral islands south of the granitics: Coëtivy, Platte.
There are 29 coral islands in the Amirantes group,
west of the granitics: Desroches, Poivre Atoll (comprising 3 islands :
Poivre, Florentin and South Island), Alphonse, D'Arros, St. Joseph
Atoll (comprising 14 islands: St. Joseph Ile aux Fouquets, Ressource,
Petit Carcassaye, Grand Carcassaye, Benjamin, Bancs Ferrari, Chiens,
Pélicans, Vars, Ile Paul, Banc de Sable, Banc aux Cocos and Ile aux
Poules), Marie Louise, Desnoeufs, African Banks (comprising 2 islands:
African Banks and South Island), Rémire, St. François, Boudeuse,
Etoile, Bijoutier.
There are 13 coral islands in the Farquhar Group, south-south west of the Amirantes: Farquhar Atoll
(comprising 10 islands: Bancs de Sable Déposés Ile aux Goëlettes Lapins
Ile du Milieu North Manaha South Manaha Middle Manaha North Island and
South Island), Providence Atoll (comprising two islands: Providence and
Bancs Providence) and St Pierre.
There are 67 raised coral islands in the Aldabra Group, west of the Farquhar Group: Aldabra Atoll
(comprising 46 islands: Grande Terre, Picard, Polymnie, Malabar, Ile
Michel, Ile Esprit, Ile aux Moustiques, Ilot Parc, Ilot Emile, Ilot
Yangue, Ilot Magnan, Ile Lanier, Champignon des Os, Euphrate, Grand
Mentor, Grand Ilot, Gros Ilot Gionnet, Gros Ilot Sésame, Heron Rock,
Hide Island, Ile aux Aigrettes, Ile aux Cèdres, Iles Chalands, Ile
Fangame, Ile Héron, Ile Michel, Ile Squacco, Ile Sylvestre, Ile Verte,
Ilot Déder, Ilot du Sud, Ilot du Milieu, Ilot du Nord, Ilot Dubois,
Ilot Macoa, Ilot Marquoix, Ilots Niçois, Ilot Salade, Middle Row
Island, Noddy Rock, North Row Island, Petit Mentor, Petit Mentor
Endans, Petits Ilots, Pink Rock and Table Ronde), Assumption, Astove
and Cosmoledo Atoll
(comprising 19 islands: Menai, Ile du Nord (West North), Ile Nord-Est
(East North), Ile du Trou, Goëlettes, Grand Polyte, Petit Polyte, Grand
Ile (Wizard), Pagode, Ile du Sud-Ouest (South), Ile aux Moustiques, Ile
Baleine, Ile aux Chauve-Souris, Ile aux Macaques, Ile aux Rats, Ile du
Nord-Ouest, Ile Observation, Ile Sud-Est and Ilot la Croix).
Economy
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Since independence in 1976, per capita output has expanded to roughly seven times the old near-subsistence level. Growth has been led by the tourist sector, which employs about 30% of the labour force and provides more than 70% of hard currency earnings, and by tuna
fishing. In recent years the government has encouraged foreign
investment in order to upgrade hotels and other services. These
incentives have given rise to an enormous amount of investment in real
estate projects and new (mostly 5 star) resort properties. Hilton, Four
Seasons and Banyan Tree are all new entrants to Seychelles. Development
projects projected in the hundreds of millions of dollars each are in
the beginning stages for Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airlines, Raffles,
Shangri-La, etc. Other private developments such as Ile Aurore, Per
Aquam and Eden Island are projected at over $2 billion.
Coconut oil making in the early 1970s
At the same time, the government has moved to reduce the dependence on tourism by promoting the development of farming, fishing, small-scale manufacturing and most recently the offshore sector. The vulnerability of the tourist sector was illustrated by the sharp drop in 1991-1992 due largely to the country's significantly overvalued exchange rate and the Gulf War, and once again following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Other issues facing the government are the curbing of the budget deficit, including the containment of social welfare costs, and further privatisation
of public enterprises. The government has a pervasive presence in
economic activity, with public enterprises active in petroleum product
distribution, insurance (has now been privatized), banking (is being
privatized very soon), imports of basic products (now being
privatized), telecommunications (4 private ISP/telecom companies), and
a wide range of other businesses. Beginning at the turn of the
millennium the Seychelles Petroleum Company (SEPEC) started to develop
the first fleet of modern Petroleum double-hull tankers (five vessels),
which was completed by late 2007/early 2008 with the possibility to
build more in the near future. The Seychelles President claims that
this has opened the door to a new industry for his country and
encourage economic growth by further removing over-reliance on
traditional trades like fisheries and tourism which is now falling
rapidly as the country's main income but nevertheless, has experienced
significant growth in recent years.
Growth slowed in 1998–2001,
due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors. Also, tight controls on
exchange rates and the scarcity of foreign exchange have impaired
short-term economic prospects. The black market value of the Seychellois rupee
is anywhere from two thirds to one half the official exchange rate. The
next few years were also a bit slow due to the worldwide economic
downturn and the fear of flying brought on by September 11, 2001. More
recently though, tourism has roared back at a record pace setting
successive records in 2006 and again in 2007 for number of visitors.
The increased availability of flights to and from the archipelego due
in part to new entrants Emirates and Qatar airlines is also beginning
to show. New 5 star properties and the devaluation of the currency by
nearly 33% by the Seychelles Government is having a positive influence
on the tourism sector as well.
Both at official exchange rates and at purchasing power parity (PPP), Seychelles remains the second-richest territory in Africa in terms of GDP per capita (US$8,551 at real exchange rates and US$13,887 at PPP as of 2005),[2] behind Réunion (US$19,233 at real exchange rates).[3].
However, in real terms it can be considered the richest independent
African/Indian Ocean country as Reunion is a French dependent territory
which is part of the EU and uses the Euro currency. Because of economic
contraction (the economy declined by about 2% in 2004 and 2005 and lost
another 1.4% in 2006 according to the IMF) the country was moving
downwards in terms of per capita income; however, the economy came
roaring back in 2007 growing by 5.3% due in part to the record tourism
numbers, but also the booming building and offshore industries which
also continue to set records.
It is important to note that Seychelles is, per capita, the most highly indebted country in the world according to the World Bank,
with total public debt around 122.8% of GDP. Approximately two thirds
of this debt is owed domestically, with the balance due to multilaterals, bilaterals, and commercial banks.
Current external debt is estimated at 35.5% according to the IMF
(2007). The country is in arrears to most of its international
creditors and has had to resort to pledged commercial debt to continue
to be able to borrow. This high debt burden is a direct consequence of
the overvalued exchange rate — in essence, the country is living beyond
its means, and financing its lifestyle by borrowing domestically and
internationally.
New detailed studies and exploration show that the Seychelles
potentially have large off-shore petroleum reservoirs which is yet to
be discovered.
Seychelles is the smallest nation in the world issuing its own currency (i.e., not pegged to a foreign currency and not shared with any other country).
Demographics
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- See also: Indo-Seychellois, Sino-Seychellois, Seychellois Creole People, Seychellois Creole, and Franco-Seychellois
As the islands of the Seychelles had no indigenous population, the
current Seychellois are composed of people who have immigrated to the
island. The largest ethnic groups are those of French, African, Indian, and Chinese descent. French and English are official languages along with Seychellois Creole, which is primarily based upon French. Most Seychellois are Christians; the Roman Catholic Church is the main denomination.
Culture
- See also: Religion in Seychelles, Women in Seychelles, and Music of Seychelles
Seychellois society is essentially matriarchal.[4][5]
Mothers tend to be dominant in the household, controlling most current
expenditures and looking after the interests of the children.[4] Unwed mothers are the societal norm, and the law requires fathers to support their children.[5] Men are important for their earning ability, but their domestic role is relatively peripheral.[4]
Older women can usually count on financial support from family members
living at home or contributions from the earnings of grown children.[4]
The state however, provides one of the best pension schemes in the
developing world, which can rival many advanced nations and the country
provides an unconditional social care for its most vulnerables (i.e.
orphans, ageing and disabled population).[citation needed]
The music of Seychelles is diverse. The folk music of the islands incorporates multiple influences in a syncretic fashion, including English contredanse, polka and mazurka, French folk and pop, sega from Mauritius and Réunion, taarab, soukous and other pan-African genres, and Polynesian, Indian and Arcadian music. A complex form of percussion music called contombley is popular, as is Moutya, a fusion of native folk rhythms with Kenyan benga developed by Patrick Victor.
As of 1992, some ninety percent of the population was Roman Catholic and approximately seven percent Anglican.
Other religions have been introduced with Islam being one of the
fastest growing. Traditionally, despite a greater connection with Great
Britain ( i.e. in Education, which follows the GCSE and 'A' (advanced)
Level curriculum and have a branch of The University of Manchester as
one of its highest Educational Institutions and on many aspects of the
Law) a British 'Sunday telegraph' travel journalist and many other
notable foreign observers has stated that "the culture remains
emphatically French" and about 70% of the population have a French
sounding Family name, compared with only about 20% English sounding
family names, the two are often mixed with the First name, such that
you get an English first name and a French family name or vice-versa
e.g. Jean-pierre Kingsmith. Most people are of mixed origins often of
White Europeans with Black Africans, where the whites are mainly French
and the Blacks are mainly East Africans.
Flora and fauna
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In common with many fragile island ecosysytems, the early human
history of Seychelles saw the loss of biodiversity including the
disappearance of most of the giant tortoises
from the granitic islands, felling of coastal and mid-level forests and
extinction of species such as the chestnut flanked white eye, the Seychelles Parakeet and the saltwater crocodile. However, extinctions were far fewer than on other islands such as Mauritius or Hawaii,
partly due to a shorter period of human occupation (since 1770). The
Seychelles today is known for success stories in protecting its flora
and fauna.
The granitic islands of Seychelles are home to about 75 endemic
plant species, with a further 25 or so species in the Aldabra group.
Particularly well-known is the Coco de mer, a species of palm that grows only on the islands of Praslin and neighbouring Curieuse. Sometimes nicknamed the 'love nut' because of its suggestive shape, the coco-de-mer is the world's largest seed. The jellyfish tree
is to be found in only a few locations today. This strange and ancient
plant has resisted all efforts to propagate it. Other unique plant
species include the Wrights Gardenia found only on Aride Island Special Reserve.
The giant tortoises from Aldabra
now populate many of the islands of the Seychelles. The Aldabra
population is the largest in the world. These unique reptiles can be
found even in captive herds. It has been reported that the granitic
islands of Seychelles supported distinct species of Seychelles giant tortoises, the status of the different populations is currently unclear.
Seychelles hosts some of the largest seabird colonies in the world. Islands such as Bird, Aride Island, Cousin, Aldabra and Cosmoledo host many species of seabirds including the sooty tern, fairy tern, white-tailed tropicbird, noddies and frigatebirds. Aride Island
has more species of seabird and greater numbers than the other 40
granite islands combined including the world's largest colony of
Audubon's Shearwater and Lesser Noddy.
The marine life around the islands, especially the more remote coral
islands, can be spectacular. More than 1000 species of fish have been
recorded. Since the use of spearguns and dynamite
for fishing was banned through efforts of local conservationists in the
1960s, the wildlife is unafraid of snorkelers and divers. Coral bleaching in 1998 has unfortunately damaged most reefs, but some reefs show healthy recovery (e.g. Silhouette Island.
The reefs comprise a vast selection of soft corals and hard corals
alike. There is great diving and snorkeling opportunity. The taking of
marine turtles was completely stopped in 1994, turtle populations are
now recovering on several protected islands, most notably Cousin Island, Aride Island, Silhouette Island and Aldabra.
However, they continue to decline at unprotected sites. The use of gill
nets for shark fishing as well as the practice of shark finning are now
banned.
Media and telecommunications
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See also
Further reading
- Aldabra Adrian Skerrett (Editor)
- Berlitz Pocket Guide Adrian & Judith Skerrett
- [1]Birds of the Seychelles Adrian Skerrett, Ian Bullock, Tony Disley
- Bradt travel Guide: Seychelles Lynnath Beckleya and Lyn Mair
- The History of Slavery in Mauritius and the Seychelles, 1810-1875 Moses D. E., Nwulia
- Insight Guide: Mauritius, Réunion and Seychelles Emily Hatchwell
- Insight Pocket Guide: Seychelles Judith & Adrian Skerrett
- Journey through Seychelles Mohamed Amin, Duncan Willets, Adrian Skerrett, Judith Skerrett
- Lonely Planet World Guide: Mauritius, Réunion and Seychelles Jan Dodd, Madeleine Philippe
- Political Castaways Christopher Lee
- The Seychelles Michael Friedel
- Seychelles Vincenzo Paolillo
- Seychelles: Garden of Eden in the Indian Ocean Sarah Carpin
- Paradise Raped James R. Mancham
- Seychelles: The New Era France Albert René
- Seychelles, What Next? Alain St.Ange
- Seychelles Since 1770: History of a Slave and Post-Slavery Society Deryck Scarr
- Seychelles, In Search of Democracy Alain St.Ange & Bernard Georges
- 'Rivals in Eden' and 'Hard Times in Paradise' Bill McAteer
- Seychelles, The Cry of A People Alain St.Ange
References
External links
Government
News
Tourism
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