Agaléga – Remote islands first settled in 1808
Agaléga, two remote islands about 1,050 km north of Mauritius, may have been known to Arab and Malay sailors long ago, but the first settlement was founded only in August 1808 by M. de Rosemond. On arrival, he found the bodies of two castaways and a bottle with notes by one of them, the privateer Robert Dufour; the islands' only hill, Montagne d'Emmerez, is named after the other sailor. From 1827, coconut oil and copra production began, and monuments built by enslaved people – such as the village Vingt-Cinq and the Slave Dungeons – recall a painful past.
Today around 330 people live on Agaléga. Share your Agaléga stories and photos with our community!