The History of The

Prior to this time, we have to rely

on early maps discovered over the

years and the many theories that

have emerged from their study.

These maps predate the recorded history

by many centuries and tell a tale that starts

in around 600 BC, when a Phoenician

expedition sent down the Red Sea by

pharaoh Necho II of Egypt circumnavigated

Africa and returned through the Pillars of

Hercules after three years. It’s an exciting

prospect that they made landfall in the

islands we now know as Seychelles, but

this of course is yet to be confirmed.

The first people to pass by the islands

and probably use them as temporary

shelters were the ancestors of the people

who eventually populated the nearby island

of Madagascar. They rode the oceans on

primitive but rugged outrigger canoes from

their home in the Sunda Islands of the Malay

Archipelago sometime between 200 and

500 AD and it is likely some of their craft,

blown off course during their spectacular

migration, used the islands as a base before

venturing on into the azure vastness to what

would eventually become their new home.

Some historians believe that the islands

of Seychelles were first discovered by

Arab sailors in the 12th century. Arab

manuscripts from this period record

‘high islands’ beyond the Maldives while

The documented history of Seychelles begins back in the 17th century, but the islands were

uninhabited and isolated from the outside world by a thousand-mile moat of ocean until

around 240 years ago. It’s perhaps this relatively recent settlement that could be contributed

to creating the Seychelles’ rich and gloriously colourful history and culture.

P

Persian manuscripts appear to refer to

them as the ‘golden isles’. Later in the 16th

century Portuguese navigators referred

vaguely to a group of islands as the ‘seven

sisters’. Vasco de Gama took a short cut

from Mozambique to India and, in so doing,

sailed past previously unrecorded islands.

These were later recorded on Portuguese

maps as ‘Almirante’ - the Admirals islands.

Today they are still called the Amirantes.

Fast forward a few years and we arrive

at our first recorded discovery and landing

of islands in the main Seychelles group

in 1609. An English expedition came

across an ‘earthy paradise’ consisting

of a mountainous group of islands they

mistook for the Amirantes, but were indeed

part of the main Seychelles group.

Around 130 years passed and then, in

the mid-18th century, the first settlers to

arrive in Seychelles landed on the island of

St Anne. Records note there were 27 men

and one woman. They included a doctor, a

carpenter and seven slaves. The aim of this

new colony was to exploit the resources of

timber and tortoises and to use the islands

as a staging post for shipping slaves between

Africa and Isle de France. Shortly afterwards

a second colony was established in the south

of Mahé with the aim of producing spices.

The colonies saw some very hard times

over the first few years, with harvests failing

Some historians

believe that the islands

of Seychelles were

first discovered by

Arab sailors in the

12th century. Arab

manuscripts from

this period record

‘high islands’ beyond

the Maldives while

Persian manuscripts

appear to refer to them

as the ‘golden isles’.

SEYCHELLES