History of Madagascar
By the 15th century, Europeans had wrested control of the spice trade from the Muslims. They did this by bypassing the Middle East and sending their cargo-ships around the Cape of Good Hope to India. The Portuguese mariner Diogo Dias became the first European to set foot on Madagascar when his ship, bound for India, blew off course in 1500. In the ensuing two-hundred years, the English and French tried (and failed) to establish settlements on the island.
Linguistic variety in Mauritius
Mauritius was first discovered by Arab sailors during the 5th century. The island was rediscovered by the Portuguese during the 16th century. At the same time, the latter also noticed the existence of other territories located in the Pacific Ocean, near Madagascar. Nevertheless, this new territorial awareness did not urge the Portuguese to settle in the newly discovered islands so that this geographical area will only be exploited later on to become a series of international centres where different ethnic groups will meet and therefore create a new heterogeneous culture. In the 17th century, the Dutch and the French began to develop an interest for these new territories. This interest was motivated by strategic and commercial reasons though they failed in their attempt to colonize the previously mentioned area. Indeed, the Dutch left the island in 1710 after having honoured their Prince, Maurice of Nassau, by naming the island "Mauritius". With the arrival of the French, this denomination will be replaced by "Île de France".