History
According to modern historians, La Digue was first sighted by the French navigator Lazare Picault in 1742, but it was not until 1768 when it gained its name. The first people settled on the island in 1789, when French colonists arrived with their African slaves. Most of them went back to France, but some people were left and quite a few of today's inhabitants still carry their names. Later, more French deportees arrived, followed by a large number of liberated slaves and Asian immigrants. In 1854, the first Catholic chapel was built on La Digue by Father Theophile and presently, most inhabitants of the island are of the Catholic faith. French colonists on La Digue manufactured coral lime and they are believed to be responsible for the declining of the island's coral reefs. They also made cupra out of coconuts and they planted vanilla on their plantations, which still carry on with the tradition.
Read more about this topic: La Digue
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The basic idea which runs right through modern history and modern liberalism is that the public has got to be marginalized. The general public are viewed as no more than ignorant and meddlesome outsiders, a bewildered herd.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“The history of a soldier’s wound beguiles the pain of it.”
—Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)
“It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.”
—Henry James (1843–1916)