Seychelles

The Seychelles are an archipelago of 115 islands scattered across the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar. With about 120,000 people, it is the least populated country in Africa, and its capital, Victoria, is one of the smallest in the world. Like other islands in the region, they were uninhabited before Europeans arrived, so the Seychellois nation was born entirely from the mixing of French settlers, enslaved Africans and Malagasy, and later Indians and Chinese. They are a deeply Creole people. Known for their beaches, the Seychelles are also one of the richest countries in Africa.

The Seychelles have unusual geography: the central islands, chief among them Mahé, are made of granite, which is very rare for islands in the open ocean, with forested mountains and beaches strewn with rounded boulders. Around them lie flat coral islands and atolls. The wildlife is unlike anywhere else: the Vallée de Mai, a primeval forest and UNESCO World Heritage site, is home to the coco de mer, the palm with the largest seed in the world, and Aldabra, one of the largest atolls on Earth, holds nearly 100,000 giant tortoises.

Uninhabited and long known only to sailors, the Seychelles were settled from 1770 by the French, who brought enslaved Africans and Malagasy to work the land. After the islands passed to the British, Africans freed from slave ships arrived following abolition, then Indians and Chinese. From this mixing came the Seychellois Creole people. Independent in 1976, the archipelago was a one-party state from 1977 to 1993 before becoming a democracy; in 2020 the opposition won the presidency for the first time. Tourism and fishing have made it one of the most prosperous countries in Africa.

The Seychelles have made Seychellois Creole, which is French-based, a full official language alongside English and French: Creole is taught and written there, which is rare. The country is overwhelmingly Catholic, a French legacy, with Anglican, Hindu and Muslim minorities that reflect its varied origins.

Seychellois culture is a Creole culture of the Indian Ocean, related to those of Mauritius and Réunion. Its best-known music is séga and above all moutya, a song and dance created by enslaved people to the beat of the drum, long banned and now on UNESCO's intangible heritage list. Creole cooking blends these heritages: fish curry in coconut milk, fruit-bat curry, tropical fruit, all fragrant with spices. Life is shared between the sea, fishing and family.