1968 Mauritian religious and race riots | |
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Date | 22 January 1968 |
Location | Bell Village ('Venus' Cinema where there were early disturbances), Plaine Verte, Roche Bois, St. Croix & Cité Martial/ , [Western suburbs of Port Louis, Mauritius]. 20°09′37″S 57°30′54″E / 20.16028°S 57.51500°E |
Caused by | Gangs supported by politicians, namely Gaëtan Duval and Alex Rima of the PMSD, attacked, provoked and killed Creoles and Indo-Mauritian Muslims. |
Methods | Race riots, looting, protests, street fights. |
Resulted in | Unconfirmed number of dead Hundreds injured Thousands driven from their homes. |
History of Mauritius |
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Portuguese |
Dutch |
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French (1710–1810) |
British (1810–1968) |
Independence (1968) |
Specific themes |
The 1968 Mauritian riots or Bagarre raciale Plaine Verte refers to a number of violent clashes that occurred in the Port Louis neighbourhoods of Cité Martial, Bell Village, Roche Bois, St. Croix, Cité Martial and Plaine Verte as well as in the village of Madame Azor near Goodlands in Mauritius over a period of ten days, six weeks before the country's declaration of independence on 12 March 1968.
The riot manifested as an open communal conflict between Creoles and Indo-Mauritian Muslims, and had its roots in gang rivalry, communal tensions caused by politicians, and uncertainties about the country's future given the imminence of independence from Britain.[1][2][3]