Seychelles Independence Day – June 29, 2024

History of Seychelles Independence Day

The Seychelles archipelago consists of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean at the eastern edge of the Somali Sea. The Islands were first sighted by Vasco da Gama in the year 1502 who named them the Admiral Islands in honor of himself. The islands were then visited by Arab traders and Madagascar settlers albeit evidence for their visit is still vague. The first recorded landing was that of British men, the British East India Company ship Ascension landed there in 1609 but did not settle there.

Then, 140 years later, France turned its attention to Seychelles, hoping to establish a speedier route from Mauritius to India. Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, the French administrator of Mauritius, dispatched the explorer Lazare Picault to locate the archipelago. Picault came to the island that bears the administrator’s name today, Mahé, in 1742.

As a result of the French Revolution, the settlers created a Colonial Assembly in 1790 and resolved to rule their colony. They thought that Seychelles’ land should be given to the children of current colonists, who have the right to lead the colony as they see fit, rather than as Mauritius dictates. In 1794, Jean-Baptiste Queau de Quincy gained authority over the colony. He utilized his cunning and prudence to navigate Seychelles through the years of war ahead.

The first civilian administrator of the British regime was Edward Madge. He had a bitter feud with Quincy, who remained in administration as Justice of the Peace. It wasn’t until 1964 that new political movements rose. The Seychelles People’s United Party (S.P.U.P.), later becoming Seychelles People’s Progressive Front (S.P.P.F.), was founded that year. Led by France-Albert René, they advocated for socialism and independence from Britain. After elections in 1974, when both political parties in Seychelles campaigned for independence, negotiations with the British resulted in an agreement under which Seychelles became an independent republic within the Commonwealth on June 29, 1976.