Rodriguez

RODRIGUEZ (officially RODRIGUES), an island in the Indian ocean in 19° 41' S., 63° 23' E.; a dependency of the British colony of Mauritius, from which it is 400 m. distant. It is a station on the "all-British" cable route between South Africa and Australia. With a length from east to west of 13 m. it is from 3 to 6 m. wide. It is surrounded by a fringing reef of coral, studded with islets. This reef, only zoo yd. wide on the east, extends 3 m. west, and both north and south forms a flat area partly dry at low water.

Two passages through the reef are available for large vessels— these passages leading respectively to Port Mathurin on the north coast and to Port South-East.

The island is a mass of volcanic rock, mainly a doleritic lava, rich in olivine. The land is hilly and the main ridge rises abruptly on the east, but more gradually on the west, where there is a wide plain of coral limestone, studded with caves. Of several peaks on the main ridge the highest is Mt. Limon (1,3oo ft.). The ridge is deeply cut by ravines, the upper parts of which show successive belts of lava separated by thin beds of ashes, agglomerate and ochre-coloured clays. In places the cliffs rise 30o ft. and exhibit 12 distinct lava flows. The climate is like that of Mauritius, but Rodriguez is more subject than Mauritius to hurricanes during the north-west monsoon (November to April).

Flora and Fauna.

When discovered, Rodriguez was clothed with fine timber trees ; but goats, cattle and bush-fires have com bined to destroy the greater bulk, and the indigenous plants have in many cases been ousted by intrusive foreigners. Parts are still well wooded, and elsewhere there is excellent pasturage. The sweet potato, manioc, maize, millet, the sugar-cane, cotton, coffee, rice and tobacco are cultivated. Wheat is seldom seen, but beans (Phaseolus lunatus), lentils, gram (Cicer arietinum), dholl (Ca janus indices) and ground-nuts are all grown. Mangoes, bananas, guavas, pineapples, custard-apples, and especially oranges, citrons and limes flourish.

At present the only indigenous mammal is a species of fruit eating bat (Pteropus rodericensis), and the introduced species are familiar creatures as deer, pig, rabbit, rat, mouse, etc., but until recently there occurred a very large land-tortoise (Testudo vos maeri), and its limestone caves have yielded a large number of skeletons of the now extinct bird, the solitaire (q.v., Pezophaps solitarius). Of indigenous birds 13 species have been registered. The guinea-fowl (introduced) has become exceedingly abundant, partly owing to a protective game-law ; and a francolin (Franco linus ponticerianus), is also common. The marine fish-fauna does not differ from that of Mauritius, and the fresh-water species, with the exception of Mugu rodericensis and Myxus caecuticus, are common to all the Mascarenes. The insects comprise at least

6o species of Coleoptera, 15 Hymenoptera, 21 Lepidoptera, 15 Orthoptera, and 20 Hemiptera. Forty-nine species of coral have been collected, showing a close affinity to those of Mauritius, Madagascar and the Seychelles.

History.

Rodriguez or Diego Ruy's island was discovered by the Portuguese in 1645. In 1690 Duquesne prevailed on the Dutch Government to send a body of French Huguenots to the Island of Bourbon, at that time, he believed, abandoned by the French authorities. The refugees, however, found the French in posses sion and therefore proceeded to Rodriguez where eight of their number were landed on April 3o, 1691, with a promise that they should be visited by their compatriots within two years. The two years were spent without misadventure but, instead of waiting for the arrival of their friends, the colonists left the island on May 8, 1693, and made their way to Mauritius, where they were treated with great cruelty by the governor. From the Dutch the island passed to the French, who colonized it from Mauritius. Large estates were cultivated, and the islanders enjoyed considerable prosperity. In 1809-10 Rodriguez was seized by the British, in whose possession it has since remained. The abolition of slavery proved disastrous to the prosperity of the island, and in 1843 the population had sunk to about 25o. Since that time there has been a gradual recovery in the economic condition and a steady increase in population. The inhabitants are mainly of African origin, being descendants of slaves introduced by the French, and negro immigrants direct from Africa. There are a few families of European descent (besides the comparatively large staff main tained by the Eastern Telegraph Company) and a small colony of Indians and Chinese. The bulk of the people are French-speak ing and Roman Catholics. There are two small settlements, Port Mathurin, the capital, and Gabriel, in the centre of the island. The island is administered by a magistrate appointed by the gov ernor of Mauritius, and the laws are regulations issued by the governor in executive council.

See F. Leguat, Voyages et aventures (1708), edit. by Capt. P. Oliver, in vols. lxxxii. and lxxxiii. of the Hakluyt Soc. publications (1891). See also C. Grant, Hist. of Mauritius and the Neighbouring Islands (18o1) ; Higgin, in Journ. R.G. Soc. (1849) ; the Reports of the Transit of Venus Expedition, published as an extra volume of the Philosophical Transactions, clxviii. (Botany, by I. B. Balfour ; Petrology, by N. S. Maskelyne, etc. 1879) ; Behm, in Petermann's Mittheilungen (188o) A. J. Bertuchi, The Island of Rodriguez (1923) ; and the annual reports on Mauritius.