The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Garden (sometimes shortened to the SSR Botanic Garden), commonly known as the Pamplemousses Botanic Garden, is a popular tourist attraction in Pamplemousses, near Port Louis, Mauritius, and the oldest botanical garden in the Southern Hemisphere. Famous for its long pond of giant water lilies ( Victoria amazonica ), the garden was first constructed by Pierre Poivre (1719 –1786) in 1770, and it covers an area of around 37 hectares (91 acres). [1]
The garden, for a long time was ranked third among all the gardens that could be admired over the surface of the globe', have been known successively as 'Jardin de Mon Plaisir', 'Jardin des Plantes', 'Le Jardin National de l’Ile de France', 'Jardin Royal', 'Jardin Botanique des Pamplemousses', and during the British colonisation, 'The Royal Botanical Gardens of Pamplemousses' and 'The Royal Botanic Gardens, Pamplemousses'. On 17 September 1988 the garden was formally named "Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Garden", [2] named after the first prime minister of Mauritius, as was the smaller SSR Botanical Garden of Curepipe.
In addition to its giant waterlilies, the garden also features spices, ebonies, sugar canes, and 85 varieties of palms from Central America, Asia, Africa and the islands around the Indian Ocean. Many trees have been planted by world leaders and royalty, including Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, Indira Gandhi, François Mitterrand and Robert Mugabe. [3]
These gardens are situated in the village of Pamplemousses which lies about seven miles northeast of the capital, Port Louis. Pamplemousse or pamplemoucier is the grapefruit tree (Citrus x paradisi), which grows in the region, possibly introduced by the Dutch from Java. [4]
The gardens, which now cover an area of about 25,110 hectares (62,040 acres), were set aside on 8 June 1729 for colonist P. Barmont 'barmond', who sold it on 3 January 1735 to Claude N. de Maupin, an overseer in the royal French East India Company. Subsequently, there were several other owners, and by 1805, the land had increased to about 49,000 ha (121,000 acres). By 1868, the gardens themselves occupied 19,248 ha (47,564 acres), with later additions to a total of 37,660 ha (93,060 acres). Only 25,110 ha (62,040 acres) of garden remain, the rest being an experimental station.
The origin of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Pamplemousses can be traced to the first and most famous French Governor of Mauritius, Mahé de La Bourdonnais at a time when the island was known as Isle de France. In 1735, Labourdonnais bought the property Château Mon Plaisir and created a vegetable garden to provide produce for his household, the young township of Port Louis, and the ships landing on the island. If this garden counts as precursor to the present garden, then Pamplemousses is the oldest botanical garden in the former British territories. On the other hand, its origin is often traced to 1768, when Pierre Poivre became director. Either way, it was one of the oldest and the most remarkable botanical collections in the tropics.
Pamplemousses was probably the earliest of the 'botanical gardens' in the tropics; an 18th-century garden maintained as a nursery for the acclimatization of potential crop plants from overseas – although its status as a botanic garden is disputed. [5] These gardens sometimes acquired botanical status under the directorship of a botanist who would establish a herbarium. Pamplemousses is still a beautiful and interesting garden but without either herbarium or glasshouses. [6]
The garden was also used as a nursery for the planting and acclimatization of plants of botanical and economic importance that were introduced mostly from Europe and the East. Chief among the first introductions was cassava (manioc), which Labourdonnais brought from Brazil to provide food for the island's slaves.
In 1739, the French East India Company took possession of Mon Plaisir and almost the entire estate was planted with mulberry trees in the hope of establishing a silkworm industry. Subsequently, the mulberries were replaced by a plantation of bois noir ( Albizia lebbeck ), the charcoal of which could be used in the manufacture of gunpowder. The French had taken possession of the island as a naval base and the administration was geared towards taking precautions against the island being involved in a war.
When Davis was appointed Governor in 1746, he built and resided at 'Le Réduit' and deserted the residence at Mon Plaisir, so that from 1746 until 1753, Mon Plaisir was virtually abandoned. Later, Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet, a horticulturist, was sent to establish a drug house and to create a botanical garden; he lived first at Mon Plaisir but was unhappy and transferred all his plant collections to Réduit. He was at loggerheads with 'M. Le Poivre p' ('Mister Pepper') — as he used to call Pierre Poivre — over the identification of nutmeg plants ( Myristica fragrans ).
After two visits to the Isle de France, Pierre Poivre was appointed Intendant of the island in 1767. The following year, he occupied Mon Plaisir in his official capacity and in 1770 he purchased the estate for himself. He was the creator of the present gardens, since in addition to a nursery for the acclimatisation of the nutmeg and clove plants, he also gathered together numerous plants from other areas with as many indigenous plant species as he could. It is thanks to Poivre and his successor Nicolas Céré, who devoted his life and most of his personal fortune to create the gardens, that Pamplemousses became well known to leading naturalists and acquired the worldwide fame it has since retained.
Between 1810 and 1849, the gardens went through an unsettled and difficult period. In 1849, James Duncan was appointed director of the much neglected gardens. He restored the abandoned gardens to something of their former beauty and introduced numerous species of plants including many of the palms now represented in the gardens.
By the middle of the last century, the sugar industry had been fast developing, and the gardens provided a suitable site for the introduction of new cane varieties from other parts of the world. Dr. Charles Meller, one of the directors of the garden, was sent to Australia and New Zealand to bring new varieties of canes; unfortunately, he died in the course of the journey.
When the malaria epidemic struck Mauritius in 1866, much of the gardens were used as a nursery for the production of thousands of Eucalyptus trees which were introduced in an attempt to control the disease by drying out the marshes of the country, the breeding places of mosquitoes.
The Director of the Botanic Gardens became in due course also the Conservator of forests. The gardens stayed under his care until the creation of the Department of Agriculture in 1913. The latter then took over the responsibility of the gardens and they have remained under its control ever since.
Following the death of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam in December 1985 part of the Botanical Garden became a crematorium as the former politician became the first person to be cremated within its grounds. [7] Since 1985 other politicians have used the crematorium, where a permanent concrete Samadhi has been erected, to commemorate the anniversary of Ramgoolam's death. [8]
In August 2016, it was reported that the deer on exhibit were suffering from scabies. [9]
The known history of Mauritius begins with its discovery by Arabs and Malays, followed by Europeans and its appearance on maps in the early 16th century. Mauritius was successively colonized by the Netherlands, France and Great Britain, and became independent in 1968.
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam was a Mauritian physician, politician, and statesman. He served as the island's only chief minister, first prime minister, and fifth governor-general.
Navinchandra Ramgoolam, GCSK, FRCP is a Mauritian politician who was former Prime Minister of Mauritius from 2005 to 2014 and leader of the Labour Party (Mauritius). He was Leader of the Opposition from 1991 to 1995. He served as Prime Minister for the first time from December 1995 until September 2000, and became Leader of the Opposition again from October 2000 to 4 July 2005. On 5 July 2005, he became prime minister for a second term after his Alliance Sociale won the general elections. He served again as Prime Minister from 2005 to 2014, when he was defeated afterwards.
Pierre Sonnerat was a French naturalist, colonial administrator, writer and explorer. He described numerous species of plants and animals on his travels and is honoured in the genus Sonneratia and in other specific names such as that of the grey junglefowl Gallus sonneratii.
Pamplemousses is a district of Mauritius, located in the north west of the island, and is one of the most densely populated parts of the island. The name of the district comes from the French word for grapefruits. The district has an area of 178.7 km2 and the population estimate was at 139,966 as of 31 December 2015.
The Prime Minister of Mauritius is the head of government of Mauritius. He presides over the Cabinet of Ministers which advises the President of the Country and is collectively responsible to the National Assembly for any advice given and for all action done by or under the authority of any Minister in the execution of his office.
Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet was a French pharmacist, botanist and one of the earliest botanical explorers in South America. He was one of the first botanists to study ethnobotany in the Neotropics.
Pierre Poivre was an 18th-century horticulturist and botanist. He was born in Lyon, France.
The Jardin de l'État, formerly known as the Jardin du Roy, is a historic botanical garden on the island of Réunion, found in the capital Saint-Denis.
Curepipe Botanic Gardens in Route des Jardins, Curepipe, is the second largest botanical garden in Mauritius.
The State House is the official residence of the President of Mauritius. Originally Le Réduit, it was built as a fortress for defence against attack by Pierre Félix Barthelemy David in 1749. The mansion is in Réduit, Moka, near of the University of Mauritius and the end of the Plaines Wilhems District. It used to serve as the residence for former governors of Mauritius, but now it is the residence of the President. It is built on 97 hectares of land. The château has a garden where a multitude of flowers grow, as well as exotic and native trees. The château is open to the public two days a year, in October and March. The house has persisted through history; it was destroyed by a cyclone, rebuilt, and has been renovated since. It is also used by the military.
Félix Delahaye was a French gardener who served on the Bruni d'Entrecasteaux voyage (1791–93) that was sent by the French National Assembly to search for the missing explorer Jean-François La Perouse. He was also one of the earliest European gardeners to work in Australia.
Jean-Nicolas Céré was a French botanist and agronomist born on the Indian Ocean Isle de France but educated in Brittany and Paris. On the Isle de France he was befriended by Pierre Poivre (1719–1786), administrator of the Isle de France and Ile Bourbon (Réunion), who he assisted in the cultivation of spices. When Poivre was recalled to France in 1773 Céré was appointed Director of the Royal Garden at Monplaisir, a position he held from 1775 to the time of his death in 1810.
Rajkeswur Purryag, GCSK is a former Mauritian politician who served as the fifth president of Mauritius from 2012 to May 2015. He was elected president of Mauritius by the National Assembly and took office on 21 July 2012. He succeeded Sir Anerood Jugnauth, who spent nine years as president from 2003 until resigning in March 2012. Kailash Purryag previously served as Member of Parliament, Minister and Speaker of the National Assembly; he made his debut in the political arena at an early age in 1976.
Joseph Martin was an Enlightenment gardener-botanist and plant collector who worked at the Jardin du Roi in Paris. He was sent on collecting expeditions to the Isle de France, Madagascar, Cape and Caribbean.
Sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago is disputed between Mauritius and the United Kingdom. Mauritius has repeatedly stated that the Chagos Archipelago is part of its territory and that the United Kingdom claim is a violation of United Nations resolutions banning the dismemberment of colonial territories before independence. The UK government has stated that it has "no doubt" about its sovereignty over the Chagos, yet has also said that the Chagos will be returned to Mauritius once the islands are no longer required for military purposes. Given the absence of any meaningful progress with the UK, Mauritius took up the matter at various legal and political forums.
Plaine Magnien is a village in southeast Mauritius located in the Grand Port District.
Monplaisir may refer to:
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Coordinates: 20°6′29.35″S57°34′38.11″E / 20.1081528°S 57.5772528°E