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Regions with significant populations | |
---|---|
Mauritius, Australia, France, United Kingdom | |
Languages | |
Mauritian Creole, French | |
Religion | |
Christianity, Rastafari, African Folk Religion (To a lesser extent Hinduism and Islam) |
Mauritian Creoles are the people on the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agaléga and the Chagos Archipelago and in the wider overseas Mauritian diaspora who trace their roots to continental Africans who were brought to Mauritius under slavery from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century.[1][2] The majority of these enslaved people came from the region in and around modern day Mozambique and Madagascar (with significant minorities from other parts of Africa and even some from Asia).[3] Creole peoples (a grouping which Mauritian Creoles are a part of) can be found on other islands in the Mascarene Islands (including Reunion island and the Seychelles) and these groups all share cultural and linguistic connections with one another stemming from the common heritage of their African ancestors. It can also refer to and include members of the islands' mixed race or Métis community who identify as creoles, especially if they are also Christian.[4][5] In government records, creoles along with Franco-Mauritians form part of the broader group known as Population Générale.[6]