The Republic of Mauritius is an island nation in the South Indian Ocean roughly 1000 km (600 mi) east of Madagascar. The nation includes the major island of Mauritius itself as well as the smaller island of Rodrigues and several remote islets. Discovered by the Portuguese in 1505, the island was first settled by the Dutch in 1638 and still bears its Dutch name. The Dutch colony was abandoned in 1710. French settlers replaced the Dutch in 1715 and held the island until British forces seized it in 1810. After a century and a half of British rule the Republic of Mauritius became independent in 1968. The country has a population of about 1.25 million. In 1965 Britain removed the Chagos Archipelago from its Mauritius colony to establish it as the British Indian Ocean Territory. Mauritius continues to claim the Chagos. Despite the lengthy British connection a French-based Creole language is commonly spoken and most place names are French. In French phare is the word for a lighthouse, île is an island, cap is a cape, pointe is a promontory or point of land, roche is a rock, récife is a reef, baie is a bay, estuaire is an estuary or inlet, détroit is a strait, rivière is a river, and havre is a harbor. Lighthouses in Mauritius are maintained by the Mauritius Ports Authority. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume D of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
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![]() Île Plate (Flat Island) Light, September 2009 contributed photo copyright Dr. Andreas Schuldt; used by permission |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Seychelles | West: Réunion
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Posted November 15, 2005. Checked and revised April 23, 2025. Lighthouses: 11. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.