About Seychelles. The Seychelles Island. Where is Seychelles
Seychelles is situated northeast of Madagascar and has an archipelago of 115 islands, housing approximately 98,000 inhabitants. Seychelles is a confluence of diverse civilisations that have amalgamated and coexisted since the initial settlement of the islands in 1770. The principal populated islands are Mahé, Praslin, and La Digue, with English, French, and Seychellois Creole being the official languages.
Seychelles Culture
The Seychellois represent a diverse and harmonious amalgamation of various nations worldwide, each contributing unique customs and cultures, resulting in a well-integrated, lively modern island state with a distinct culture enhanced by other continents. While other nations exist in trepidation of their neighbours, Seychelles has adeptly integrated diverse influences into a philosophy of coexistence, where harmony is a fundamental aspect of life.
In Victoria, the world’s smallest capital, a Roman Catholic cathedral is located adjacent to an Anglican cathedral, a Seventh-day Adventist Church, a mosque, a Hindu temple, and places of worship for several other denominations.
French Catholicism has been the most influential religious orientation, enduring British control, with popular Mass and parish feasts serving as vibrant occasions for Seychellois to don their Sunday best and engage socially.
The Creole Language, a modification of 17th Century French incorporating elements from African and Malagasy languages, serves as the lingua franca and has attained national language status, receiving equal respect to that of English and French. Currently, Creole functions as both a written and spoken language, leading to a surge of creativity in drama, poetry, and prose. The Creole culture currently serves as a significant draw for global tourists seeking to immerse themselves in a distinctive lifestyle, prominently featured annually in the vibrant Festival Creole, a lively homage to the diverse expressions of Creole music, dance, literature, and poetry.
Creole architecture is a significant cultural element of the islands, characterised by the designs of historic houses featuring steep roofs, which exemplify an architectural adaptation for comfortable living in tropical climates. Residences feature numerous apertures to capture the island zephyrs. Contemporary architecture seeks to integrate traditional styles.
Another gem of the cultural heritage is cuisine, with Creole gastronomy emerging from this remarkable amalgamation of cultures. It presents the refinement and creativity of French culinary art alongside the zesty flavours and exotic combinations of Eastern cuisine, encompassing a captivating array of textures, tastes, colours, and ingredients.
Seychelles Climate
Despite the numerous uncertainties related to the current global climate, Seychelles benefits from a consistently splendid tropical environment and approximately 12 hours of sunlight daily, owing to its location just south of the Equator. Except for its most distant southern islands, the region is situated well outside the cyclone belt, and the climate is characterised by a lack of weather extremes, with temperatures rarely falling below 24°C or exceeding 32°C.
The north-west trade winds occur from October to March, characterised by relatively calm seas and warm, humid weather, with average wind speeds of 8-12 knots.
Historically, the islands experience their essential rains in January and February, temporarily replenishing the rivers and streams and invigorating the lush vegetation into a spectrum of colours. Despite being acknowledged as Seychelles’ traditional rainy season, the precipitation is often lighter than that experienced on the Indian subcontinent and may, in certain years, be rather minimal.
From May to September, the southeast trade winds typically deliver drier, cooler conditions and more turbulent waves, especially near the southeastern beaches of the islands, with wind speeds ranging from 10 to 20 knots.
As a tropical island, it is subject to sporadic, brief tropical downpours throughout the year.
Seychelles Geography
Seychelles is an archipelago with 115 islands spread over 530,000 square miles (1,374,000 square kilometres) in the western Indian Ocean.
The 41 elevated, granitic Inner Islands collectively encompass an area of 247.2 km². The islands encompass 54% of Seychelles’ total land area, housing over 99% of the population. This includes Mahé, the principal and largest island, which contains the majority of government infrastructure, services, retail, and tourism facilities, followed by Praslin, the second largest island, and La Digue.
The remaining 74 islands constitute the Outer Islands, primarily comprising low-lying reef islands, sand cays, and, in certain instances, remarkable atolls, categorised into five distinct island groups: Amirantes Group, Southern Coral Group, Alphonse Group, Farquhar Group, and Aldabra Group, extending into the ocean in a general south-westerly direction and forming a splendid arc towards the east coast of Africa.
These islands are located four to ten degrees south of the equator and between 480 km and 1,600 km off the east coast of Africa.
Seychelles Island History
The Seychelles Archipelago comprises 115 islands situated in the Indian Ocean, approximately 1000 miles from the eastern coast of Africa, northeast of Madagascar.
The initial records of these islands date back to the 8th century CE, when Arab mariners commenced navigation in the Indian Ocean, establishing the inaugural and very profitable trading routes with the eastern coast of Africa and beyond. Numerous names of Seychelles’ islands, such Aldabra (Arabic for ‘the rock’), reflect an early Arab association with the archipelago, as do engravings on certain rocks on islands like Silhouette and Frégate.
While the existence of Arabs is indisputable, it is plausible that naval endeavours around the African continent, dating back about 3000 years BCE, may have brought intrepid Egyptian voyages within view of the more distant Seychelles islands. Similarly, the Indonesian mariners who traversed the Indian Ocean to ultimately inhabit Madagascar between 200 and 500 CE, as well as the extensive Chinese Treasure fleet of 1421, undoubtedly included the Seychelles Islands in their navigational charts.
Pirates evading European navies utilised the islands as a base as early as the 17th century CE. After a series of French expeditions, a settlement was established in 1770, and the islands remained under French control until Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. From these modest origins, the population grew to 3,500 by the time Seychelles was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Paris in 1814.
Under British rule, Seychelles remained dormant for 161 years as an obscure colony, with a population of approximately 7,000 by 1825. Seychelles attained independence from Britain in 1976, thereafter establishing itself as a republic within the Commonwealth. The governance of contemporary Seychelles operates within a presidential republic framework, where the President serves as both head of state and head of government, alongside a multi-party system.
Seychelles Society
The residents of the Seychelles archipelago are referred to as Seychellois, a society formed by the gradual amalgamation of many populations from across the world, commencing with the initial French expedition that settled the islands in 1770.
The initial settlers were a French contingent comprising a diverse group of European colonists, accompanied by their enslaved individuals and attendants. Following a tumultuous beginning characterised by significant internal conflict and political machinations, this settlement ultimately became established. The abolition of slavery in 1865 resulted in a labour vacuum, subsequently filled in the mid-nineteenth century by groups of Indian and Chinese labourers, many of whom established themselves on the islands as the merchant class.
The British occupation of the islands following Napoleon’s defeat significantly shaped both the islands and their inhabitants until their independence in 1976. In 1977, a coup d’état occurred, leading to a prolonged era of communist, single-party governance, with multi-party politics reemerging in 1991.
Seychelles, with a population above 100,000 mostly Catholic residents, is a republic within the Commonwealth, controlled by a president who serves as both head of state and government, elected by popular vote for a five-year term.
The characteristics of Seychellois society and its systematic development have fostered a commendable level of ethnic integration, social cohesion, and political stability over the years, all of which have collectively established a robust foundation for the social and economic advancement observed in recent years, especially following the inauguration of its international airport in 1972.
The Seychellois, historically isolated from the global community, have evolved into an industrious, adaptable, and innovative populace, receptive to change and eager to engage in mainstream human endeavours.
The levels of religious and ethnic tolerance in society have elevated, and the sociable disposition of the Seychellois has guaranteed their legitimate position within the community of nations.
