Port Louis

Port Louis (French: Port-Louis) is the capital city of Mauritius, located in the Port Louis District, the western part also lies in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's economic, cultural, political centre and most populous city. It is administered by the Municipal City Council of Port Louis. According to the 2012 census conducted by Statistics Mauritius, the population was 148,001.

History

Port Louis was already in use as a harbor in 1638. In 1735, under French government, it became the administrative center of Mauritius and a major reprovisioning halt for French ships during their passage between Asia and Europe, around the Cape of Good Hope. The Port is named in honor of King Louis XV. During this period of French colonization, Mauritius was known as Ile de France. The French governor at that time, Bertrand-François Mahé de Labourdonnais, contributed to the development of the city. Since Port Louis was relatively well-protected from strong winds during cyclones by the Moka Mountain Range, Port Louis was selected to house both the main harbor and fort for the island. Value of the port continued during the British occupation of the island during the Napoleonic Wars (1800–15), and helped Britain control the Indian Ocean. However, port calls of ships fell drastically following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Activity in the port increased during the seven-year closure of the Suez Canal (starting in 1967). Modernization of the port in the late 1970s has helped it maintain its role as the central point for all imports and exports from Mauritius. While Port Louis continues to be the business and administrative capital of Mauritius, expansion of the tourism industry in the late 1990s led to considerable development in Port Louis, with many shops, hotels, and restaurants being built in the Caudan Waterfront area.

Port Louis District

Port Louis is a district of Mauritius, located in the north west of the island, it is the smallest district and has the highest population density. The district is wholly covered by Port Louis, the capital of the country. Port Louis district has an area of 42.7 km² and the population estimate was at 127,454 as at 31 December 2012.

Places of interest

The district hosts the Aapravasi Ghat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006.

References

Port Louis (disambiguation)

Port Louis is the capital of Mauritius.

Port Louis may also refer to:

Aapravasi Ghat

The Immigration Depot (Hindi: आप्रवासी घाट Aapravasi Ghat) is a building complex located in Port Louis on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, the first British colony to receive indentured, or contracted, labor workforce from India. From 1849 to 1923, half a million Indian indentured labourers passed through the Immigration Depot, to be transported to plantations throughout the British Empire. The large-scale migration of the laborers left an indelible mark on the societies of many former British colonies, with Indians constituting a substantial proportion of their national populations. In Mauritius alone, 68 percent of the current total population is of Indian ancestry. The Immigration Depot has thus become an important reference point in the history and cultural identity of Mauritius.

Unchecked infrastructural development in the mid-20th century means that only the partial remains of three stone buildings from the entire complex have survived. These are now protected as a national monument, under the Mauritian national heritage legislation. The Immigration Depot's role in social history was recognized by UNESCO when it was declared a World Heritage Site in 2006. The site is under the management of the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund. Conservation efforts are underway to restore the fragile buildings back to their 1860s state.

Rotary International

Rotary International is an international service organization whose stated human rights purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and to advance goodwill and peace around the world. It is a secular organization open to all people regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, or political preference. There are 34,282 member clubs worldwide. 1.2 million individuals called Rotarians have joined these clubs.

Rotarians usually gather weekly for breakfast, lunch, or dinner to fulfill their first guiding principle to develop friendships as an opportunity for service. "It is the duty of all Rotarians," states their Manual of Procedure "outside their clubs, to be active as individuals in as many legally constituted groups and organizations as possible to promote, not only in words but through exemplary dedication, awareness of the dignity of all people and the respect of the consequent human rights of the individual." The Rotarian's primary motto is "Service Above Self"; its secondary motto is "One profits most who serves best."

Louis

Louis may refer to:

See also

Louis (parrot)

Louis was a well-known parrot from Victoria, British Columbia. From the time of his reclusive owner's death in 1949 until 1966 he continued to on his owner's estate, well-provided for in her will, and preventing development of the prime real estate.

History

Victoria Jane Wilson (1878-1949) was born in Victoria and raised very privately by her parents. At age five she received Louis as a pet, and later obtained many other birds. The top floor of her house became an aviary. Around 1911, Victoria bought an electric car, reportedly in order to take Louis on rides.

Victoria led a reclusive life, entirely at the mansion on Courtney Street where she had been raised, until her death in 1949. Her will included a large amount of funds to take care of her birds (53 at the time), and Victoria's former servant Wah Wong was paid to be a caretaker, staying at the house to do so. Louis was well known for enjoying brandy, two bottles per year, though news reports at the time liked to refer to him as a lush. Eventually all the birds died except for Louis, whose presence still kept the property from being sold.