RÉunion Island
(1999 est. pop. 706,000). Réunion Island, in the Indian Ocean, was known as Bourbon during the nineteenth century. Elliptic in shape, it is 2,512 square kilometers in area. It is a French Overseas Territory, and its president is, consequently, the president of France. The capital is St. Denis (est. pop. 125,000). The status of Réunion was changed in 1946 from a colony to a department of France. It is administered by the prefect of St. Denis.
There is a locally elected general council and four district councils covering twenty-four communes. The educational curriculum is the same as in France.
The island was first colonized by the Compagnie des Indes in the seventeenth century. The major industry is sugar growing; minor products include coffee, potatoes, maize, and cocoa. One fifth of the population is descended from indentured laborers— Malabars—brought in from South India in the nineteenth century to work on the plantations. The rest of the population is Chinese, Indian, and European.
The island has 2,709 kilometers of roads but no railroads. There is an anthropology institute, and a university (with 3,340 students in 1989). There are a number of sugar factories and rum distilleries.
Further Reading
Benoist, Jean. (1978) "La Réunion." In Ethnologie régionale, edited by Jean Poirier. Paris: Gallimard (Encyclopédie de la Pléiade), 2: 1882–1899.
Government of France. (1983) Réunion, the Perfume Island. New York: Ambassade de France.
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