A Super Quick History of Seychelles

This is Africa, and here's Seychelles. Now let's go, shall we? Over a hundred islands glittering in the Indian Ocean, Seychelles spent most of recorded history without any people on it. No epic battles, no fiery revolutions, just a whole lot of brrrrrrrrrrrrr Eventually, human beings found out about the islands and sailed around them, and maybe stopped over for a bit, but no one really bothered settling on them until the mid-1700s, when the French claimed them. naming them after the government official Jean Moreau de Seychelles. In the year 1794, the islands were conquered by Britain, who rebranded them Seychelles. Maybe because it sounds like seashells. Settlers were compelled to relinquish their slaves after slavery was abolished in the 1830s, and crop growing switched from cotton to tastier things like vanilla and coconuts. All this time, Seychelles had been linked with Mauritius, but in 1903 it became a separate crown colony until 1976, when it gained independence. So James Manchum became the first president, but not for long. He was overthrown in a coup the following year by his Prime Minister, François-Albert René, who led the nation until 2004. Ruling as a benevolent dictator, Monsieur René oversaw the nation's development into one of Africa's top countries in terms of quality of life. In 2020, the opposition party won an election for the first time, and today Seychelles is a popular destination for tourists, and enjoys the second highest Human Development Index ranking in Africa, after Mauritius. So all the best to Seychelles, but as for me, it's bye for now. Buh-bye!