Historic Background Of Seychelles

The islands that constitute present Seychelles remained blissfully unknown to the human world before the 16th century, when the Portuguese mariner Joao de Nova and his compatriot Vasco da Gama sighted different islands belonging to the archipelago. It took another couple of centuries before they were settled, this time by French plantation owners, who arrived here in the 1770s with slaves. There was a prolonged conflict between the French and the British over possession of the islands, which finally ended with the British gaining taking control in 1810.
Political organizations emerged only as late as 1964, with the Seychelles People’s United Party (SPUP) led by France Albert Rene and the Seychelles Democratic Party (SDP) led by James Mancham. The SPUP stood for independence from the British while the SDP wanted to retain ties with Britain. Curiously enough, Britain declined and granted Seychelles full independence in 1976. The first government of Seychelles was a coalition between SPUP and SDP, with Mancham as President and Rene as Prime Minister. Rene staged a coup and became President in 1977. There was a counter coup in 1981 that nearly succeeded but was repressed by Rene’s government. In 1982, it was the turn of the army to revolt; however, this was put down too.

There was growing domestic and international opposition to Rene’s one-party rule, so in the face of this pressure, opposition parties were legalized in 1991. In 1993 a new multiparty politics Constitution was adopted and elections were held. For better or worse, Rene is still in power.