Editing Seychelles (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Seychelles}}

[[File:Gama_armada_of_1502_(Livro_de_Lisuarte_de_Abreu).jpg|thumb|left|The first Europeans to discover the Seychelles were the [[4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)|4th Portuguese India Armada]], led by [[Vasco da Gama]].]]

Seychelles was uninhabited until the 18th century when Europeans arrived with Indians, and [[Slavery in Africa|enslaved Africans]]. It remained a British colony from 1814 until its independence in 1976. Seychelles has never been inhabited by [[indigenous people]], but its islanders maintain their own [[Seychellois Creole people|Creole heritage]].

===Early history===
Seychelles was uninhabited throughout most of recorded history, although simulations of [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] migration patterns indicate a good probability that they visited the islands.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fitzpatrick |first1=Scott M. |last2=Callaghan |first2=Richard |chapter=Seafaring simulations and the Origin of Prehistoric Settlers to Madagascar |page=52 |title=Islands of Inquiry: Colonisation, Seafaring and the Archaeology of Maritime Landscapes |editor1-last=O'Connor |editor1-first=Sue |editor2-last=Clark |editor2-first=Geoffrey |editor3-last=Leach |editor3-first=Foss |series=Terra Australis |issue=29 |publisher=ANU E Press |location=Canberra, ACT, Australia |url=https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/33708/1/459300.pdf |date=2008 |isbn=9781921313905}}</ref> Tombs visible until 1910 at Anse Lascars on Silhouette Island have also been conjectured to belong to later [[Maldivians|Maldivian]] and [[Arabs|Arab]] traders visiting the archipelago.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Guébourg |first=Jean-Louis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lsfav10mYCMC |title=Les Seychelles |date=2004 |publisher=Ed. Karthala |isbn=2-84586-358-6 |location=Paris |language=fr |oclc=419931142 |pages=27–28 |via=Google Books}}</ref> [[Vasco da Gama]] and his [[4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)|4th Portuguese India Armada]] discovered the Seychelles on 15 March 1503; the first sighting was made by [[Thomé Lopes]] aboard ''Rui Mendes de Brito''. Da Gama's ships passed close to an elevated island, probably [[Silhouette Island]], and the following day [[Desroches Island]]. Later, the Portuguese mapped a group of seven islands and named them ''The Seven Sisters.''<ref>{{cite web |title= Seychelles: Settlement and the development of the plantation economy (1770–1944)|publisher=Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa |url=https://www.eisa.org/wep/seyoverview1.htm }}</ref> The earliest recorded landing was in January 1609, by the crew of the ''Ascension'' under Captain [[Alexander Sharpeigh]] during the fourth voyage of the British [[East India Company]].

A transit point for trade between Africa and Asia, the islands were said to be occasionally used by pirates until the French began to take control in 1756 when a Stone of Possession was laid on [[Mahé, Seychelles|Mahé]] by Captain [[Corneille Nicholas Morphey]]. The islands were named after French politician [[Jean Moreau de Séchelles]], and were formally part of the colony of [[Isle de France (Mauritius)|Isle de France]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher=National Assembly of Seychelles |title=Our History |url=http://www.nationalassembly.sc/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=16&Itemid=53 |access-date=12 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628122148/http://www.nationalassembly.sc/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=16&Itemid=53 |archive-date=28 June 2012 |url-status=live  }}</ref> In August 1770, the French ship ''Thélémaque'' under Captain [[Leblanc Lécore]] landed 15 white settlers and 13 African and Indian slaves on [[Ste. Anne Island]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Govinden |first=Gerard |date=2020-08-27 |title=250th Anniversary of First Settlement |url=https://nation.sc/articles/5891/250th-anniversary-of-first-settlement |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=Seychelles Nation |language=en}}</ref>

During the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], the [[Royal Navy]] frigate [[HMS Orpheus (1780)|HMS ''Orpheus'']] under Captain [[Henry Newcombe (Royal Navy officer)|Henry Newcombe]] arrived at Mahé on 16 May 1794. [[Jean Baptiste Quéau de Quincy]], the senior administrator in the Seychelles, refused to resist ''Orpheus'' and instead successfully negotiated with the British, resulting the islands remaining under French control as "neutral" territory. After British forces completed their [[invasion of Isle de France]] in December 1810, they assumed control over the Seychelles, which was formalised in the 1814 [[Treaty of Paris (1814)|Treaty of Paris]] that ended the [[War of the Sixth Coalition]]. Seychelles became a separate [[crown colony]] from Mauritius in 1903. [[Elections in Seychelles]] were held in 1966 and 1970.

{{multiple image
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| image1   = Seychelles 1953 coronation stamp.JPG
| image2   = Queen Elizabeth Seychelles stamp 1977.jpg
| footer   = Seychellois stamps with portrait of [[Queen Elizabeth II]]
}}

[[File:Victoria Seychelles 1900s.jpg|thumb|left|Victoria, Seychelles 1900s]]

=== Independence ===
In 1976, Seychelles gained independence from the [[United Kingdom]] as a republic. It has since become a member of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]].<ref name="History of Seychelles">{{cite web |url=http://www.seychelles.com/en/about_seychelles/history.php |title=History of Seychelles |publisher=seychelles.com |year=2009 |access-date=9 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608091646/http://www.seychelles.com/en/about_seychelles/history.php |archive-date=8 June 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the 1970s Seychelles was "the place to be seen, a playground for film stars and the international jet set".<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">Joanna Symons (21 March 2005). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/africaandindianocean/seychelles/732553/Seychelles-Lifes-a-breeze-near-the-equator.html "Seychelles: Life's a breeze near the equator"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504225308/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/africaandindianocean/seychelles/732553/Seychelles-Lifes-a-breeze-near-the-equator.html |date=4 May 2018 }}. ''Telegraph.co.uk''.</ref> In 1977, a [[1977 Seychelles coup d'état|coup d'état]] by [[France Albert René]] ousted the first president of the republic, [[James Mancham]].<ref name="africanhistory.about.com">{{cite web |url=http://africanhistory.about.com/od/seychelles/p/SeychellesHist1.htm |title=africanhistory.about.com |publisher=africanhistory.about.com |access-date=23 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314184227/http://africanhistory.about.com/od/seychelles/p/SeychellesHist1.htm |archive-date=14 March 2012 |url-status=live  }}</ref> René discouraged over-dependence on tourism and declared that he wanted "to keep Seychelles for the Seychellois".<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/>

The 1979 constitution declared a [[One party rule in Seychelles|socialist one-party state]], which lasted until 1991.<ref>{{cite web |title=Seychelles – Return to a Multiparty System |url=https://countrystudies.us/seychelles/26.htm |website=countrystudies.us}}</ref>

In the 1980s there were a series of coup attempts against President René, some of which were supported by South Africa. In 1981, [[Mike Hoare]] led a team of 43 South African mercenaries masquerading as holidaying rugby players in the [[1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt]].<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> There was a gun battle at the airport, and most of the mercenaries later escaped in a hijacked [[Air India]] plane.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> The leader of this hijacking was German mercenary D. Clodo, a former member of the [[Rhodesian Special Air Service|Rhodesian SAS]].<ref>Hoare, Mike The Seychelles Affair (Transworld, London, 1986; {{ISBN|0-593-01122-8}})</ref> Clodo later stood trial in South Africa (where he was acquitted) as well as in his home country Germany for air piracy.<ref>Bartus László: Maffiaregény {{ISBN|9634405967}}, Budapest 2001</ref>

In 1986, an attempted coup led by the Seychelles Minister of Defence, Ogilvy Berlouis, caused President René to request assistance from India. In [[Operation Flowers are Blooming]], the Indian Navy's [[Nilgiri-class frigate (1972)|Nilgiri-class frigate]] [[INS Vindhyagiri (F42)|''Vindhyagiri'']] arrived in Port Victoria to help avert the coup.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Brewster |first1=David |last2=Rai |first2=Ranjit |date=10 August 2014 |title=Flowers Are Blooming: the story of the India Navy's secret operation in the Seychelles. |url=https://www.academia.edu/7698363 |url-status=live |journal=[[Academia]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607235023/http://www.academia.edu/7698363/Flowers_Are_Blooming_the_story_of_the_India_Navys_secret_operation_in_the_Seychelles |archive-date=7 June 2015 |access-date=11 August 2014 }}</ref>

The first draft of a new constitution failed to receive the requisite 60% of voters in 1992, but an amended version was approved in 1993.<ref>{{cite web |title=FAO.org |url=https://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC132619/ |website=www.fao.org}}</ref>

In June 2012, during a conference at the [[United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]], a commitment was made by the Seychelles government to protect 30% of its 1.35 million square kilometre marine waters within the country's marine protected areas.

In January 2013, Seychelles declared a state of emergency when the tropical [[cyclone Felleng]] caused torrential rain, and flooding and landslides destroyed hundreds of houses.<ref name="UN">{{cite web|url=http://www.un-spider.org/about-us/news/en/6428/2013-02-01t161200/international-chapter-activated-flooding-republic-seychelles|title=International Chapter activated for flooding in the Republic of Seychelles|publisher=United Nation|access-date=1 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203214223/http://www.un-spider.org/about-us/news/en/6428/2013-02-01t161200/international-chapter-activated-flooding-republic-seychelles|archive-date=3 February 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AL">{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/weather/2013/01/201312993838165255.html|title=State of Emergency declared in the Seychelles|publisher=Aljazeera|access-date=1 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130060303/http://www.aljazeera.com/weather/2013/01/201312993838165255.html|archive-date=30 January 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the coup in 1977, the president always represented the same political party until the October [[2020 Seychellois general election]], which was historic in that the opposition party won. [[Wavel Ramkalawan]] was the first president who did not represent United Seychelles (the current name of the former Seychelles People's Progressive Front).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/25/seychelles-election-marks-first-opposition-victory-in-44-years|title=Seychelles election marks first opposition victory in 44 years|website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=25 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54692210|title=Seychelles elections: How a priest rose to become president|work=BBC News|date=28 October 2020}}</ref>

In January 2023, Seychelles announced its final stages of completing its marine spatial plan. It would become the second largest ocean area at {{convert|1.35|e6km2|sqmi|abbr=unit}} behind [[Norway]], in support of its [[blue economy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Ocean conservation: Seychelles' marine spatial plan in final stages of completion |url=http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/18023/Ocean+conservation+Seychelles+marine+spatial+plan+in+final+stages+of+completion |website=www.seychellesnewsagency.com}}</ref>