Mauritius was first dicovered by the Arabs in 975 AD. Also Malay sailors knew of Mauritius as early as the 10th century. It was discovered by the Portuguese between 1507 and 1513. Then in 1598, the Dutch admiral Van Warwyck sailed across the land and decided to rename the island "Mauritius," after Prince Mauritius of the House of Nassau, the stadtholder of Holland.

The island was not inhabited until 1638 when it was colonized by the Dutch. In 1638, Cornelius Gooyer established the first permanent Dutch settlement in Mauritius. He became the first governor of the land. By 1622, hundreds of slaves were imported to Mauritius from Africa, Madagascar, and Batavia. After years of control, the Dutch abandoned the island in 1710.

In 1715, a Frenchman named Guillaume Dufresne d' Arsel took over possession of Mauritius. The French turned the island into a prominent sea port. It became a prosperous colony under the French East India Company. The French Government took control in 1767, and the island served as a naval and privateer base during the Napoleonic wars.

Despite the French naval victory of Battle of the Grand Port on 19 and 20 August 1810 by the fleet commanded by Pierre Bouvet, Mauritius was captured 3 December 1810 by the British under Commodore Josias Rowley. Their possession of the island was confirmed 4 years later by the Treaty of Paris (1814). French institutions, including the Napoleonic code of law, were maintained. The French language was at that moment still used more widely than English.

Mauritian Creoles trace their origins to the plantation owners and slaves who were brought to work the sugar fields. Indo-Mauritians are descended from Indian immigrants who arrived in the 19th century to work as indentured laborers after slavery was abolished in 1833. Included in the Indo-Mauritian community are Muslims (about 17% of the population) from the Indian subcontinent. The Franco-Mauritian elite controls nearly all of the large sugar estates and is active in business and banking. As the Indian population became numerically dominant and the voting franchise was extended, political power shifted from the Franco-Mauritians and their Creole allies to the Indo-Mauritians.

Conflicts arised between the Indian community (mostly sugarcan labourers) and the Franco-Mauritians in the 1920s, leading to several deaths mainly Indians. Following this the Mauritius Labour Party was founded in 1936 by Dr. Maurice Cure to safeguard the interest of the labourers. Dr. Cure was suceeded a year after by Emmanuel Anquetil who tried to get the support of the Port workers to the Party. After his death Guy Rozemond took over the leadership of the party.

Elections in 1947 for the newly created Legislative Assembly marked Mauritius' first steps toward self-rule. The Assembly was elected among adult knowing to write. It was won by the Labour Party Headed by Guy Rozemont. It is the first time the elite Franco wqas ousted out of power. An independence campaign gained momentum after 1961, when the British agreed to permit additional self-government and eventual independence. A coalition composed of the Mauritian Labour Party (MLP), the Muslim Committee of Action (CAM)of Sir Abdool Razack Mohamed, and the Independent Forward Bloc (IFB)--a traditionalist Hindu party--won a majority in the 1967 Legislative Assembly election, despite opposition from Franco-Mauritian ( and Creole supporters of Gaetan Duval's and Jules Keoing'sMauritian Social Democratic Party (PMSD). The contest was interpreted locally as a referendum on independence. The election was won by a small margin. The constituency No15 was capital to the winning of the pro-independence coalition.The MLP led alliance was able to win this constituency only due to the support of the C.A.M. oSir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, MLP leader and chief minister in the colonial government, became the first prime minister at independence, on March 12, 1968. This event was preceded by a period of communal strife, brought under control with assistance from British troops.

The 1970s saw the emergence of the Mouvement Militant Mauricien/Parti Socialiste Mauricien (MMM/PSM) led by Paul Bérenger. The MMM was founded in 1970 and had three initial leaders , Paul Berenger , Dev Virasawmy and Juneid Jeeroobarkhan. The MMM won its firat election in a by election of constituency No5 by electing Dev Virasawmy. Until 1982, Sir Seewoosagur was Prime Minister, his Labour Party in coalition with Duval's PMSD. In 1982, the coalition of Mouvement Militant Mauricien/Parti Socialiste Mauricien came to power in a landslide electoral victory, with Anerood Jugnauth as Prime Minister and Harish Boodhoo as the deputy Prime Minister. The coalition split in 1983, with Anerood Jugnauth forming the Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien (MSM), which became the governing party, with Jugnauth as Prime Minister. Sir Seewoosagur subsequently became Governor-General, although the MSM planned to make the country a republic within the Commonwealth, with him as President. An attempt to make the country a republic in 1990, with Bérenger as President, also failed, owing to political opposition.

Following Sir Seewoosagur's death, his son, Navin Ramgoolam succeeded him as leader of the MLP. However, the MLP and PMSD were defeated at the 1991 election, which saw Jugnauth re-elected. On March 12, 1992 Mauritius finally became a republic within the Commonwealth.

Ramgoolam formed a coalition with the MMM at the parliamentary elections in 1995, leaving the MSM in opposition, but at the next elections in 2001, Jugnauth was returned to power. He subsequently retired as Prime Minister, which was filled by Bérenger, and assumed the office of President.