Mauritius: Did You Know?

Got a party coming up? Well, now you can "Wow!" the other guests with your arcane knowledge of this remote, tropical isle...

For instance, did you know that Mauritius is actually part of the Mascarene Islands, which also include Rodrigues, Reunion, Cargaods Carajos and other island banks?

The flag of Mauritius, created following its independence from the British, is made of four colored stripes: red, blue, yellow and green, from top to bottom. The stripes represent bloodshed, the Indian Ocean, the new light that shone on the country, and the island's vegetation.

Mauritius got its current moniker from the Dutch. Explorers named it after Maurice of Nassau, the Prince of Orange from 1618 to 1625. The country already had a name, however. Early Arabs traders had called it Dina Arobi (or Harobi), which translates to either "Desert Isle" or "Square Isle."

One bit of info I was surprised to learn: Mauritius actually has its own little "colony." It governs the tiny Agalega Islands, situated about 700 miles to the north. The Agalegas cover just 27 square miles with a population of about 300. The economy there is based almost entirely on its primary export, coconuts and coconut oil.