History of Réunion

Réunion (French: La Réunion, pronounced [la.ʁe.y.njɔ̃] (About this sound listen); previously Île Bourbon) is an island and region of France in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar and 175 kilometres (109 mi) southwest of Mauritius. As of January 2018, it had a population of 865,826.[1] It is the most prosperous island in the Indian Ocean, having the highest GDP per capita in the region.

The island has been inhabited since the 17th century when people from France and Madagascar settled there. Slavery was abolished on 20 December 1848 (a date celebrated yearly on the island), after which indentured workers were brought from Tamil Nadu, Southern India, among other places. The island became an overseas department of France in 1946.

As elsewhere in France, the official language is French. In addition, the majority of the region's population speaks Réunion Creole.

Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France. Like the other four overseas departments, it is also one of the 18 regions of France, with the modified status of overseas region, and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as Metropolitan France. Réunion is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, part of the Eurozone.[3]