[MAURITIUS IMPRINT]

Assemblée Coloniale de l'Isle de France. Séance du 17 Brumaire au Matin, 3me. Année de la Republique...rapport fair a l'assemblée coloniale de l'Isle de Fance, au Sujet de St. Félix, Duplessis, Tyrol, Tessan, Fayol, Marcenay, Grangier, Tous Arretés a l'Isle de la Réunion, par les commissaires de la chaumière, & détenus és prisons de la place [caption title]

Port de la Montagne [i.e. Port Louis]: Chez F.N. Bolle, [1794]. Small quarto. 28pp. Stitched as issued. Contemporary notation on first page, some contemporary underlining in text. Minor soiling. Very good.

A remarkable early imprint from the colonial press at the French colony of Mauritius, also known as the Ile de France, in the south Indian Ocean. The text contains a report of the French Revolutionary Committee of Public Safety regarding prisoners arrested on the island of Réunion being held as enemies of the Revolution. The document was printed in the capital, Port Louis, which was called Port de la Montagne from 1792 to 1795. The Dutch were the first Europeans to become interested in the island, taking possession in 1598. After exploiting the island's dense forests for a century and introducing the cultivation of sugar cane and cotton, in 1710 the Dutch abandoned the colony. The French soon claimed it as "Ile de France," and the island remained under the control of the French East India Company until 1767. During the long war between France and England at the beginning of the 19th century, Mauritius proved to be an important strategic naval base, and as a result the British took charge of the island in 1810, and the Treaty of Paris confirmed official British possession in 1814. It remained an important sugar producing colony, and in the 20th century agricultural production was expanded to include tea, rice, and other produce. Printing began on Mauritius in 1768. During the French period, until 1810, only about 400 imprints were produced, mostly in the form of official documents and newspapers, though there are also almanacs and a few other items. All are quite rare. No copies located in OCLC; Toussaint locates a copy at the Archives Nationales in Paris.

Toussaint A247.

Item #28425

Price: $8,500.00