Reunion Island: a piece of France in the Indian Ocean

Reunion Island is a special world, unlike any other region of the globe. This is not a colony in the traditional sense of the word, since the island was first inhabited by Europeans, and the indigenous peoples of this region did not live on it until the arrival of the sailors. Throughout history, the island changed its name 7 times, and the modern population speaks a unique language - a mixture of French, Malagasy and African dialects.

This picturesque island of 2500 square meters. km is part of the Mascarene group and is of volcanic origin. In addition to the extinct volcano, the island also has an active, regularly erupting volcano - Piton de la Furnes, and about 20% of the island's territory is occupied by lifeless lava fields. The rest of Reunion is covered in rainforests and agricultural fields, where sugarcane is mainly grown.

The modern population of Reunion is an unimaginable mixture of cultures and peoples. The first inhabitants of the island were the Portuguese, then the French settled here, and later slaves from Africa and neighboring Madagascar were brought to Reunion. In the XIX century, after the abolition of slavery, workers from India and China began to arrive on the island, who also supplemented the national picture of the island. As a result, more than 820,000 people currently live in Reunion, of which only 25% are French. More than half of the population is Creoles, descendants of mixed marriages of the French, Africans and residents of Madagascar. In this regard, the language on the island is very peculiar. Despite the fact that the official language is French, the majority of the population speaks Creole - a mixture of French, Malagasy and African dialects. The island also has quite a lot of immigrants from India, about 20% of the population.

The capital of the island is the city of Saint-Denis with a population of about 130,000 people. The main occupation of the Reunion population is the cultivation and processing of coffee and sugarcane. In addition to traditional sugar, rum is obtained from it, which is also exported along with vanilla, geranium extract and other exotic flavors. Part of the population is engaged in fishing, sheep breeding and the tourism sector.

In recent years, the tourism business has been actively developing on the island. Favorable climate with year-round even temperature, natural attractions and European service attract fans of beach vacations and active travel from all over the world. There is something to see here: an active volcano, beaches with black volcanic sand and picturesque waterfalls will not leave anyone indifferent.