Heritage with Related Tags
Aapravasi Ghat
In the Port Louis district sits a 1,640 square meter site where the modern indentured diaspora began. In 1834, the British government chose the island of Mauritius as the first site for its so-called “great experiment” to replace slaves with “free” labor. Between 1834 and 1920, nearly half a million indentured laborers arrived at Aapravasi Ghat from India to work on Mauritius’ sugar plantations or were transferred to Réunion Island, Australia, South and East Africa, or the Caribbean. The architecture of Aapravasi Ghat is one of the earliest explicit manifestations of what would become a global economic system and one of the largest migrations in history.
Le Morne Cultural Landscape
Le Morne Cultural Landscape is a rugged mountain range jutting into the Indian Ocean in southwestern Mauritius, which was used as a refuge by escaped slaves, the Maroons, in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Protected by the mountain’s isolated, wooded and almost inaccessible cliffs, escaped slaves established small settlements in caves and on the summit of Le Morne. Oral traditions associated with the Maroons have made Le Morne a symbol of the slaves’ struggle for freedom, suffering and sacrifice, all of which are linked to the countries from which they came - mainland Africa, Madagascar, India and Southeast Asia. In fact, Mauritius was an important stopover in the eastern slave trade and is known as the “Republic of the Maroons” because of the large number of escaped slaves who lived in Le Morne.
Tipasa
Located on the Mediterranean coast, Tipasa was an ancient Punic trading post that was conquered by Rome and became a strategic base for the conquest of the Kingdom of Mauritania. It includes a unique set of Phoenician, Roman, Paleo-Christian and Byzantine sites, as well as indigenous monuments such as Kbor er Roumia, the great royal tombs of Mauritania.
Tongariro National Park
In 1993, Tongariro became the first site to be inscribed on the World Heritage List under the revised criteria for cultural landscapes. The mountains at the heart of the park are of cultural and religious significance to the Maori people, symbolising the spiritual connection between the community and its environment. The park contains active and extinct volcanoes, diverse ecosystems and some spectacular landscapes.
Archaeological Site of Volubilis
Founded in the 3rd century BC, the capital of Mauritania became an important outpost of the Roman Empire and features many fine buildings. The archaeological site is located in a fertile agricultural area, where a large number of architectural remains still exist. Later, Volubilis briefly became the capital of Idrisid dynasty founder Idris I, who is buried in nearby Moulay Idriss.