Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Mauritius, history'

This thesis examines the process of the literization of the vernacular, and seeks to establish the island of Mauritius as a case study of this process. The concept of literization equates standardization of the vernacular with its use as a written language. Four issues are established as central to this process: ideological, educational, sociocultural and technical. The thesis investigates the particular sociolinguistic situation of Mauritius, and examines each of these issues in relation to Mauritian Creole. It demonstrates the role that Mauritian Creole plays in Mauritian society, and how, since independence, issues relating to ideology, education, and the cultural and technical aspects of standardization, have been involved in the promotion of the language. The interaction between these issues is apparent throughout the thesis, and manifested in the work of Ledikasyon pu Travayer (LPT), the only organization in Mauritius to provide literacy tuition in Mauritian Creole. The thesis seeks to show that their unified approach to literacy, standardization, and the promotion of Mauritian Creole exemplifies the issues involved, and provides the best basis for the establishment of Mauritian Creole as a standard language. The analysis of the situation in Mauritius within the framework of wider issues of the literization of the vernacular permits a comparison to other former colonies facing problems of language choice, and places these issues within the wider sociolinguistic context of standardization.

The approach adopted in this thesis is essentially chronological. The first chapter aims to provide a fairly superficial survey of the development of European perceptions of the environment in the early phases of mercantilist expansion, before much in the way of colonial settlement was undertaken. It highlights the connections between expansion and changes in perception with regard to the symbolic importance of islands, botanic gardens and early state responses to timber shortage. It also draws attention to the importance of medical perceptions of the extra-European environment. In the second chapter a comparison is drawn between Dutch and English approaches to the tropical environment in the early years of expansion. Considerable space is devoted to the case of St Helena. This is because it was the first location in which European colonists first acquired a notion of the full environmental implications of their rule and for which detailed documentary evidence is available. The story of the developing ecological crisis on St Helena emphasises how inadequate European precedents were in the encounter between the early colonial state and the tropical environment. It demonstrates, too, the early divergence in perceptions between colonists and the metropolitan power. Early attempts at counteracting the process of ecological deterioration on St Helena underlined the contradictions between the European image of the tropical island and the reality of capital investment in plantation agriculture and 'improvement'. The experience of St Helena was also important in a longer-term way. Many scientists important in the later development of conservation ideas in other parts of the world were specifically influenced by their knowledge of the problematic history of land-use on St Helena and the attempts made there to impede ecological degradation. These included Alexander Beatson, J.R. Forster, Joseph Hooker, F.A. Dalzell and G.P. Marsh. In the third chapter much attention is devoted to the history of eighteenth century Mauritius, partly for comparative purposes and partly to emphasise the attitude of the French state to scientific information and its greater readiness to intervene in environmental matters. The development of an environmental consciousness on Mauritius was significant both as a phenomenon on its own and because of the example which it set. The role of the colonial government naturalist was pioneered there. Concepts of species extinction also emerged clearly, for the first time, on Mauritius and the island also saw the emergence of a legislative conservation policy rooted in a desiccation theory which linked deforestation and soil erosion to hydrological and climatic conditions. Notions of environmental moral economy and the significance of the tropical island are also explored in the chapter, in the context of the emergence of pre-Revolutionary radicalism, Physiocracy and early Romantic thinking. Chapter Four attempts to deal in some depth with the intellectual background to the early nineteenth century response of the British to ecological change in India. The importance of German science and a German 'romanticist' critique of ecological change is outlined and some emphasis is given to the emergence of a 'global' approach to the interactions between people (especially Europeans) and the environment. In particular the significance of the intellectual links between the Cook Voyages and the careers of J.R. Forster, Sir Joseph Banks and Alexander Von Humboldt is stressed. A beginning is also made in the task of surveying the way in which German professional naturalists and doctors deliberately sought out British colonial employ, a phenomenon that was to be important in the emergence of state conservation in India, the Cape, Australia and in other colonies. The chapter makes clear the continuing importance of small island environments during the nineteenth century in stimulating an awareness of environmental vulnerability, particularly for Alexander Beatson, William Burchell and J.B. Boussingault.

At the global level, a noticeable rise has been observed in the adverse impact of an increasing number of hazards, in particular floods, on society. This condition has brought into greater focus the issues of vulnerability, environmental justice and resilience in the recovery of community groups. In Mauritius, economic development, growth in population and intensive land use have resulted in greater human use-environment interaction with accompanying increase in flood conditions and the vulnerability of inhabitants exposed to flood risk. Traditional top-down hazard risk reduction strategies have not been very effective in reducing vulnerability or in promoting resilience of affected communities as they are often left to fend for themselves immediately after the emergency and relief stage of the recovery process. Using three case studies, this thesis explored the perception of the affected communities in building resilience to recover in the aftermath of flood hazards. Mixed methods of collecting and analysing data using both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. They provided a comprehensive way of gathering information from households, agency stakeholders and secondary sources. The data were analysed and the results assessed through the lens of the overarching concept of community resilience that encompasses six types of resilience. This new approach provided a holistic perspective in exploring factors that influence the building of community resilience and the realisation of long-term recovery and rehabilitation. Findings from this study showed evidence of social inequity and environmental injustice mostly among the low income groups in all the three case studies. Evaluation of results revealed a number of factors that were gradually increasing their level of vulnerability and adversely impacting on their resilience. In order to achieve recovery and community resilience, the various types of resilience needed to be reinforced. It was found that social networking and a combination of local knowledge with that of experts, through community participation in decision making, were crucial in reinforcing community resilience. Based on the research findings, an integrated framework for disaster risk reduction management (IFDRRM) was developed. The framework could be applicable in defining policy options and implementation strategies in Mauritius and possibly in other Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) with similar challenges.

This study explores the opportunities and challenges surrounding the institutionalization of Impact Evaluation as a policy instrument in Mauritius’ Civil Service. Although there has been continuous expansion of evaluation practice around the world since the 1920s, in many countries, particularly in the developing world, not much progress have been made by developing countries to adopt evaluation into their approach to governance and policy-making. Thus, this study examines the role that evaluation and impact evaluation might play in the wider context and processes of government using the Civil Service of Mauritius as a case study. The research examines the perceived importance of evaluation to the policy-making process within the Mauritian Civil Service, the role ‘impact evaluation’ plays in practice within the Mauritian Civil Service, and the challenges that present themselves while seeking to institutionalize impact evaluation within this context. Data were collected using a triangulated approach: interviews provided the main sources of evidence and were conducted with Ministers, former Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Senior Chief Executives, Heads of Departments from the public, private sector, academic and Research Institutions Trade Unions and Consumer Associations, Development partners based in Mauritius. This data was supplemented with informal discussions and a document analysis. The findings were analysed using a conceptual framework blending policy Evaluation performance cycle, the Advocacy Coalition Framework and the demand and supply framework as a theoretical lens. The key findings are that policy evaluation including impact evaluation, is indeed potentially valuable and important at any stage of a policy’s life cycle. However, political economy of a country, insufficient technical capacity, the limitations of public officials, and funding are potential constraints. The thesis has implications for developing countries, in particular small island developing states. The findings raise several issues to assist policy makers and practitioners and could contribute to future developments of the Advocacy Coalition Framework.

Les îles indépendantes de la Caraïbe et l'île Maurice dans le sud-ouest de l'océan Indien se sont lancées dans le développement pour réduire les risques liés à l'économie de plantation. Notre interrogation porte sur l'industrialisation. Quelles grandes politiques ont été mises en œuvre pour l'industrialisation ? Quels types d'industries trouvons-nous ? Dans quelles conditions peuvent-elles s'implanter ? Quels sont les impacts sur le développement socio-spatial ? La réflexion porte sur l'industrialisation : d'abord de substitution aux importations puis extravertie. Dans le cadre de cette dernière politique se sont développées les zones franches industrielles d'exportation. Ce qui explique l'analyse sur le concept de zone franche et les conditions de leur émergence dans un environnement économique protégé (1ère partie). L'étude comparée de l'île Maurice et de la République dominicaine met en exergue les dynamiques spatiales des zones franches, dynamiques largement dépendantes des possibilités d'implantation des unités d'assemblage. L'arrivée des industries délocalisées a un impact sur les organisations sociales, économiques et spatiales. De nouvelles classes sociales ont vu le jour. La zone franche mauricienne est devenue un district industriel tandis que les zones franches dominicaines - des enclaves économiques - ont des dynamismes fondamentalement différents. La multiplication des unités d'assemblage sur le territoire mauricien et des enclaves en République dominicaine aboutit à des modèles de l'expansion spatiale de l'espace industriel dont le moteur est la synergie générée par le système des acteurs (2ème partie). Le démantèlement des accords commerciaux sur le textile et l'habillement - principaux secteurs opérant dans ces zones - amène de nouvelles réponses locales comme la prise en compte du rôle des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises dans le développement territorial. L'impact des zones franches dans les sociétés conduit à l'étude de la culture ouvrière. Qu'en est-il de la culture ouvrière ? Enfin, rendre moins vulnérable un système économique spécialisé passe par la promotion des trois piliers du développement durable et la diversification des activités (3ème partie).

Cette thèse étudiera la franc-maçonnerie de traditions européennes qui se transforma au cœur des périodes colonisatrices française et britannique de 1778 à 1915. Les loges du Grand Orient de France qui s’implantèrent, sous la colonisation française de l’Isle de France, à la fin du XVIIIe siècle furent des pionnières de la maçonnerie dans un pays qui vécut, simultanément, une nouvelle période de colonisation britannique, à partir de 1810, et des changements drastiques aux niveaux démographique, socio-économique, ethnique et politique. Le fait maçonnique ne put que changer intrinsèquement dans le contexte insulaire multiculturel alors que la colonie, n’ayant pas de peuples autochtones, devint le terreau d’une multitude de traditions européennes, africaines et asiatiques. La maçonnerie locale acquit, grâce aux échanges entre les loges françaises et les nouvelles obédiences qui s’implantèrent (la Grande Loge Unie d’Angleterre, la Grande Loge d’Ecosse, la Grande Loge d’Irlande et le Suprême Conseil de France), une identité insulaire et mauricienne. Cette thèse montrera comment l’institution maçonnique mit en exergue la possibilité de construire une cohésion et un espace de partage à certains moments-clés de l’histoire du pays. Cependant, les loges françaises et britanniques eurent à faire face aux grands défis socio-politiques, économiques et religieux du XIXe siècle et du début du XXe siècle. En effet, les maçons furent aussi en proie aux divisions et conflits liés au multiculturalisme et à la pluriethnicité de la société coloniale. Cette thèse démontrera, en l’occurrence, comment la franc-maçonnerie de plusieurs obédiences développa des fonctionnements et des traditions influencés par le contexte et put maintenir un œcuménisme malgré les difficultés. Pourtant, la fin du XXe siècle entraîna les loges dans des divergences religieuses, idéologiques et institutionnelles et certains éléments, qui firent du laboratoire maçonnique mauricien un exemple des valeurs universelles et de la fraternité internationale, devinrent les sources mêmes de divisions
This thesis will study freemasonry coming from European cultures which was transformed in the midst of French and British colonising periods from 1778 to 1915. The Grand Orient de France lodges, which settled under the French colonising regime of Isle de France at the end of the 18th century, introduced freemasonry in a country which underwent, simultaneously, a new British colonising era, as from 1810, and deep changes on the demographic, socio-economic, ethnic and political levels. Freemasonry could not but profoundly change in this insular multicultural context as the colony, which did not have any indigenous population, became the melting pot of various European, African and Asian traditions. Local freemasonry acquired, owing to the relations of the French lodges with the different lodges which were created (of the United Grand Lodge of England, the Grand Lodge of Scotland, the Grand Lodge of Ireland and the Suprême Conseil de France), an insular and Mauritian identity. This thesis will show how the Craft enabled cohesion and provided a place for sharing at some milestones in the history of the country. However, the French and British lodges had to face the grand socio-political, economic and religious challenges of the 19th century. In fact, the freemasons had also to experience the divisions and conflicts induced by the multicultural and multi-ethnic colonial society. Therefore, this thesis will to show how freemasonry from different grand lodges developed practices and traditions influenced by the context and were able to uphold ecumenism in spite of the obstacles. However, the lodges got caught into religious, ideological and institutional conflicts at the end of the 19th century and some components, which made of the Mauritian masonic laboratory an example of universal values and international fraternalism, eroded

Orientador: John Manuel Monteiro
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-14T14:35:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Francozo_MarianadeCampos_D.pdf: 5174065 bytes, checksum: eb8f4dcfb94f8dc979d760f8f875af65 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009
Resumo: Esta tese trata da circulação de pessoas, objetos e saberes entre a América Portuguesa e os Países Baixos durante o século XVII. O problema que se procura entender é o processo de formação de um conjunto de conhecimento sobre o Novo Mundo na Holanda seiscentista. Iniciado já no século XVI, quando mercadores flamengos e holandeses faziam comércio nas costas da América Portuguesa, este processo ganhou enorme impulso a partir do estabelecimento da colônia holandesa no nordeste do Brasil em 1630. Para entender como os encontros coloniais e as trocas de objetos naquele período geraram um conjunto de saberes coloniais, tomamos como objeto de estudo a coleção de curiosidades do conde Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen (1604-1679), que foi governador do Brasil holandês entre 1637 e 1644. Neste período, Nassau montou uma coleção particular que incluía espécies naturais, artefatos e representações visuais da natureza, paisagem e dos habitantes da colônia. Buscou-se, desta forma, identificar quais objetos faziam parte da coleção, descobrir como Nassau os adquiriu e, mais importante, entender qual sentido e quais usos ele dava a ela. As fontes utilizadas foram os próprios objetos que fizeram parte da coleção nassoviana e que hoje ainda existem e estão dispersos por museus e bibliotecas européias, bem como livros publicados na Holanda sobre o Novo Mundo; diários e relatos de pessoas que estiveram no Brasil a serviço de Nassau ou da Companhia das Índias Ocidentais; correspondência e relatos de membros da corte holandesa. As conclusões desta tese dizem respeito à maneira como o conde de Nassau construiu sua carreira política na Europa depois e a partir de sua experiência no Brasil, assim como à natureza dinâmica da construção dos saberes coloniais, compostos por camadas de experiências dos mais diversos sujeitos.
Abstract: The theme of this dissertation is the circulation of people, objects and knowledge between Portuguese America and The Netherlands in the seventeenth century. Its aim is to understand how knowledge about the New World was assembled in seventeenth century Holland. This process of assembling colonial knowledge had already begun in the sixteenth century, when Flemish and Dutch merchants traded sugar and other goods in South American coasts. It gained momentum, however, after the establishment of a Dutch colony in the northeastern coast of Brazil in 1630. In order to understand how the colonial encounters and the exchange of objects helped to create and shape Dutch knowledge about the New World, this dissertation presents an analysis of the collection of curiosities owned by count Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen (1604-1679), who was governor-general to the Dutch colony in Brazil between 1637 and 1644. In that period, Nassau assembled a private collection that included natural species, artifacts, and visual representations of the colony's natural world, landscape, and inhabitants. Therefore, in this dissertation we attempted to identify, as far as possible, which objects composed the collection, how Nassau acquired them and, more importantly, the meanings and usages ascribed to the count's collection. This research relied on the remaining objects that comprised Nassau's collection, which are today scattered in European museums and libraries. Likewise, books about the New World published in Holland; journals and reports written by people who were in Brazil in the service of Nassau or of the Dutch West India Company; and correspondence and narratives by members of the Dutch court were used as sources. The conclusions presented in this dissertation refer to the way through which Nassau conducted his political carrier in Europe after and because of his experience in Brazil, as well as to the dynamic nature of the construction of colonial knowledge, composed of layers of experiences.
Doutorado
Antropologia
Doutor em Ciências Sociais

Cette thèse porte sur la littérature mauricienne (contes et nouvelles) d'expression française dès son début jusqu’à l'indépendance. L'île Maurice a connu une double colonisation importante : la colonisation française de 1715 à 1810 et la colonisation britannique de 1810 à 1968. Ces bouleversements politiques, en particulier, la reprise de l'île par les Anglais, ont donné un essor à la littérature mauricienne. Cependant, de nos jours, cette littérature est souvent oubliée ou perçue comme une suite d'imitation. En effet, à l'époque, les écrivains puisaient souvent leurs idées des oeuvres et des mouvements littéraires européens. Toutefois, vers les années 1940, une innovation est notée dans l'écriture et la thématique des oeuvres mauriciennes. Notre étude examine ainsi l'évolution dans les nouvelles et contes mauriciens, car l'invention y est
This thesis analyses short stories of Mauritius in the French language during the colonial period. In fact, Mauritius has been colonised by the French from 1715 till 1810, and by the British from 1810 till 1968, in which year it gained its independence. These political upheavals had an impact on the literary works of that time, works which are nowadays forgotten and have often been accused of being a literature of imitation. However, in the 1940s, innovative ideas started to crop up and changes in the writings and themes are observed. This study therefore illustrates the evolution and invention in Mauritian writings especially in its short stories

Cette thèse porte sur l'histoire et les formes de la poésie en langue créole à La Réunion et à Maurice. Elle propose de faire le point sur l'émergence, l'élaboration, la circulation et la réception d'un genre littéraire polymorphe qui occupe une place essentielle dans les productions artistiques des territoires créoles. L'objectif est de caractériser les rapports qu'entretiennent des poèmes considérés comme novateurs avec les sociétés, fondamentalement travaillées par des processus de créolisations (linguistique, littéraire, culturelle), qui les produisent. Afin d'observer le passage à l'écriture littéraire en langue créole, des origines à aujourd'hui, les formes poétiques – qu'elles soient thématiques, énonciatives, formelles, discursives ou encore intertextuelles – sont systématiquement replacées dans leurs mouvements historiques et dans leurs contextes d'énonciation. Face à des productions qui manipulent des références et des filiations en prise directe sur leurs espaces insulaires et sur leurs pratiques anthropologiques, les notions, ailleurs courantes, de poème, de poète, d'écriture et de lecteur demandent, parce qu'elles sont chargées, dans les faits, d'autres dynamiques, à être redéfinies
This thesis examines the history and types of creole poetry in La Reunion and Mauritius. It proposes to summarise the emergence, elaboration, circulation and reception of a type of a polymorphous literary type which plays a vital role in the artistic creativity of the creole islands. The objective is to establish a link between those poems, regarded as innovative, and the nations (La Reunion and Mauritius) in which they are written. These nations are fundamentally shaped by this process of ‘Creolization’. In order to observe the transition to literary writing in creole, from its origins to today, the poetic forms whether thematic, enunciatively, formal, discursive or intertextual, are systematically placed in their historical and enunciative context. With works that manipulate references and links to their own island and their anthropological practice, the concepts, otherwise common, of poem, poet, writing and reader need other dynamics to be redefined

Ce travail de thèse étudie la patrimonialisation dans le contexte mauricien afin d’examiner les enjeux liés à la constitution de l’identité nationale dans un cadre institutionnel qui privilégie une logique communautaire. Le cadre mauricien voit différents groupes coexister et interagir dans la tolérance, le respect et la paix tout en distinguant diverses unités sociales en fonction de leurs origines géographiques, culturelles, religieuses et ethniques. L’Etat met en œuvre une politique culturelle basée sur la reconnaissance officielle des unités culturelles dont l’union formerait la représentation nationale mauricienne. Au sein de cette diversité, le patrimoine est devenu un instrument de marquage de la différence et un moyen de symboliser la contribution de chacun à la fondation de la nation arc-en-ciel dans l’espace national. Dans ce cadre mémoriel fragmenté, notre approche est d’examiner l’émergence et la constitution du patrimoine à l’île Maurice de l’époque coloniale (1721-1968) à l’époque contemporaine afin d’en étudier les processus de reconnaissance et les usages comme instrument de la construction nationale. En cela, mon travail considère que l’étude de la patrimonialisation constitue un champ d’investigation sur la manière dont le passé est utilisé dans le présent pour légitimer et positionner les identités. Dans cette perspective, cette étude considère que le patrimoine est un instrument qui nourrit l’adhésion collective nécessaire à l’établissement d’une entité nationale
This PhD thesis focuses on the heritage processes in the Mauritian context in order to examine the issues related to nation- building resulting from an institutional framework that recognizes communal identities. The Mauritian context comprises diverse groups coexisting and interacting in tolerance, respect and peace while distinguishing multiple communities based on their geographical, cultural, religious and ethnic origins. The state developed a cultural policy that officially recognizes the diverse cultural entities and considers that their combination would form the Mauritian national identity. Within this diversity, heritage is used to mark cultural differences and the contribution of each group to the foundation of the rainbow nation in the national space. In this fragmented memorial framework, our approach is to examine the emergence and the constitution of heritage in Mauritius from the colonial period (1721-1968) to nowadays in order to study the processes of recognition and the uses of heritage as an instrument for nation building. This study considers that heritage processes constitute a field of investigation on the way the past is used in the present to legitimate and position identities. In this perspective, this study considers that heritage is an instrument that supports collective adhesion required for the establishment of the national identity

Dans un contexte qualifié d’ « économie du savoir », où la croissance de l’économie mondiale repose de plus en plus sur les activités intensives en connaissance, la thèse s’interroge sur la capacité de deux petits États insulaires en développement – Maurice et Trinidad – à s’adapter pour s'intégrer à cette dynamique. Ces anciennes colonies britanniques, membres du Commonwealth depuis leur accession à l'indépendance dans les années soixante, font état d’indicateurs de développement en constante progression et sont souvent considérées comme des modèles de réussite économique. La thèse étudie la mise en place des institutions dans ces pays et cherche à évaluer dans quelle mesure l’héritage de la période coloniale, à travers la trace qu'ils en conservent dans la période contemporaine, peut faciliter la transition de leurs économies vers les secteurs intensifs en savoir. Pour ce faire, elle retrace leur trajectoire de développement institutionnel et économique des origines jusqu’à nos jours et elle s’intéresse notamment aux mesures prises aujourd’hui pour doter le pays du cadre nécessaire à l’économie de la connaissance, en particulier à travers le rôle de l’enseignement supérieur en tant qu’outil fondamental pour former le capital humain. Tout en reconnaissant que certains des atouts dont disposent les deux pays pour s’engager dans ce processus avec succès peuvent être mis en relation avec leur passé colonial, la thèse approfondit l’hypothèse que leur transformation en économies de la connaissance risque aussi d'être entravée par des caractéristiques héritées de cette période et qui, des décennies après l'accession à l'indépendance, freinent une large diffusion de la connaissance au sein de leur population
At a time when economic growth is thought to be driven primarily by knowledge, the purpose of this research is to analyse to what extent two Small Island Developing States – Mauritius and Trinidad – are adequately equipped for this new economic context. As former British colonies, they both joined the Commonwealth upon gaining independence in the nineteen-sixties and they have since largely succeeded in overcoming their initially unfavourable conditions. Today, their good political, economic and social development is widely acknowledged. The main focus of this research is to evaluate how far colonial legacy, which is still visible in the contemporary institutions of both these states, can favour the transition they wish to undertake towards knowledge-intensive activities as drivers of economic growth. For this purpose, the research analyses the development trajectory followed by their institutions and their economy spanning the whole period of their colonial and post-independence history; additionally, this research considers the steps which are undertaken nowadays to build the framework required to foster a knowledge economy by studying more specifically the role of higher education as an essential tool for human capital formation. While upholding that some of the assets which could help them achieve their objectives can be linked to their colonial past, the research contends that the transformation of these two countries into knowledge-based economies could be hindered by the legacy of colonisation on some of their current features and which, decades after gaining independence, impedes the widespread diffusion of knowledge amongst their population

Le sentiment d'appartenance nationale au sein de la population réunionnaise semble une constante dans l'histoire de la colonie et n'a jamais été durablement remis en cause. Le travail proposé confirme pour la période étudiée sa vigueur, particulièrement à l'occasion des conflits coloniaux et mondiaux. Mais il montre aussi que cette adhésion inclut la conscience d'une singularité qui n'est pas seulement la conséquence de la géographie mais aussi le fruit de l'histoire. Le sujet permet de croiser une approche d'histoire sociale et d'histoire des représentations sur une séquence coloniale cohérente qui englobe les prémices de la Troisième République jusqu'au processus de départementalisation. En proposant de « dénationaliser le national » par le biais d'une étude se penchant sur les principes identitaires en situation coloniale, il s'agit de mettre en évidence la spécificité des processus d'acculturation en situation coloniale et l'interconnexion des territoires coloniaux (île Maurice et Madagascar) dans la définition d'un sentiment d'appartenance en cours de construction. La première partie sur le sentiment d'appartenance en situation coloniale cherche à poser les enjeux et la méthode de la recherche. La deuxième partie se penche sur les liens entre le colonialisme et le sentiment d'appartenance nationale en focalisant l'analyse sur l'impérialisme réunionnais comme vecteur d'une reconnaissance commune au reste de la Nation. La troisième partie prend en compte les différentes manifestations de patriotisme et leur influence sur la définition d'un sentiment d'appartenance nationale. Enfin, la quatrième partie se focalise sur les vecteurs de l'acculturation nationale en tenant compte du rôle de l'école, de l'église et de l'armée dans la construction d'un sentiment d'appartenance nationale spécifique à La Réunion, sentiment auquel les élites ont apporté leur concours tout en étant les principales bénéficiaires de la quête d'une reconnaissance de la Nation
The feeling of national membership among the Reunionese population seems to be a regular fact in the colony history and has never been really questioned. This work confirms its strength in the period in study, and more particularly during the colonial and world conflicts. But it also shows that this support includes the conscience of a singular feeling, which is not only the consequence of geography, but also of history. This subject allows us to mix a social historical approach with a historical representation approach on a coherent colonial period, which goes from the beginning of the Third Republic up to the region establishment. By suggesting to « denationalise the national » through a study dealing with the identity principles in a colonial situation, we mean to focus on the particular acculturation processes in a colonial period and the interconnection of colonial territories (Mauritius, Madagascar) in defining a constructing feeling of membership. The first part deals with the feeling of membership in a colonial period and tries to analyse what is at stake in the research methods. The second part studies the links between colonialism and the feeling of national membership and focuses on Reunionese imperialism as a trigger to a recognition shared by the rest of the Nation. The third part takes into account the different signs of patriotism and their influence on the definition of what a feeling of national membership is about. Finally, the fourth part focuses on the triggers of national acculturation while taking into account the role of school, church, and the army in the building up of a typical Reunionese national membership feeling, shared by the elite which mainly benefited from the quest of a recognition from the Nation

The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius is an intensely multicultural island space. A history of settlement arising out of colonisation, slavery, indentured labour and trade has resulted in a contemporary nation-state that is ethnically and cultural diverse. Mauritius has been characterised by a significant measure of success in the management of this diversity, in that there has been a marked lack of any kind of overt, persistent ethnic violence. By focussing on the particularly quotidian experiences and situations of Mauritius’ cultural diversity where the experiences of ethnic lives lived within the contained multi-ethnic island space are arguably at their most frequent, their most banal and, simultaneously, at their most meaningful, this thesis argues that Mauritius’ seeming multi-ethnic success is by no means guaranteed. I argue for two conceptualisations of Mauritius’ cultural diversity. Firstly, I argue for a concept of an ethnic imaginary. Drawing on Charles Taylor’s concept of the ‘social imaginary’ (2002, 2004) which focuses on how people understand their everyday worlds, my adaptation of the ethnic imaginary contains a particular emphasis on culture, multiculture and diversity. This includes a recognition of the shifting, nuanced expressions of ethnic identities which can be played out, suppressed or sidestepped in multiple, self-conscious and arbitrary ways throughout the course of a day. As such, there is an associated focus on the ceaseless articulations of, and negotiations between, Self and Others. This is added to by a further focus on the constant movements ‘in-between’ categories that can be simultaneously reified and fluid. I argue that the ethnic imaginary provides an insight into the complex dynamics of living in Mauritius’ everyday cultural diversity. It not only offers a way of exploring how individuals situate themselves and others in their daily multi-ethnic worlds, but also the extent to which ethnicity is considered important. The place and importance of the nation in the face of such intense multi-ethnicity is equally part of the focus of this thesis. Rather than being subsumed in the face of the pervasive influences of the ethnic imaginary, I argue that the importance of the nation and a sense of national awareness are emphasised in a variety of ways that I have termed ‘Mauritianité’. Mauritianité conceptualises the multiple instances where the national is crosswoven into the multi-ethnic (and vice versa). Mauritianité offers a balance between the demands of the national and the competing tensions and accommodations of the ethnic imaginary, with the balance remaining open to constant re-negotiation and without any kind of permanent resolution. The dynamics that Mauritianité encapsulates also incorporate a daily, informal component, as well as the more formal, top-down governance-level focus. These two notions – of the ethnic imaginary and of Mauritianité – form the two interrelated conceptualisations which serve as the basis for analysis of Mauritius as a multi-ethnic society.

This dissertation examines the acquisition and dissemination of the famous Brazilian collection of Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen (1604-1679), the governor-general of Dutch Brazil from 1637 to 1644. Maurits amassed an extraordinary collection of ethnographic images and objects while governing the Dutch colony, which he then distributed as a series of diplomatic gifts to the Elector of Brandenburg Frederik Wilhelm I, Danish King Frederik III, and French King Louis XIV. I argue that Maurits's Brazilian gifts--which traveled from Brazil to The Hague, Berlin, Copenhagen, Cleves, Paris, Malta, and St. Petersburg--acted as temporal registers of alterity, responding to and initiating nuanced narrative shifts when they changed hands. It is a fundamental argument of this dissertation that the cross-cultural circulation of people, objects, and ideologies in the early modern period yielded dynamic shifts in meaning resulting from disparate geographic and temporal trajectories. My approach, therefore, situates Maurits's gifts within a broad spectrum of exchange that extends from Brazil to Western Europe. First, I examine the significance of Maurits's role as governor-general, arguing that he carefully constructed an identity as a colonial ruler based on his experiences and education in both Europe and Brazil, which provided the foundation for his participation in an exchange culture in both contexts. Then, I examine the practice of exchange in The Netherlands and Brazil, demonstrating that gift-giving became a vehicle for articulating fluctuating narratives of social order that could neutralize political tensions or amplify the appearance of authority. I also contend that visual representations of exchange encounters, which were underwritten by European notions of imperialism and dominance, played an essential role in imagining complex systems of social negotiation. Finally, I closely examine Maurits's gifts to Frederik Wilhelm, Frederik III and Louis XIV, arguing that these presentations initiated alternate modes of display and reception, which underscores the importance of geographic and temporal distance as meaningful factors in exchange.