History, Reunion

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Until the middle of the 17th century the island was visited by Arab, Portuguese, English and Dutch navigators but it was still inhabited. In 1642 the French settled the island when La Compagnie des Indes Orientales (the French East India Company) sent its ship, the St-Louis, and the King of France named it Île Bourbon – it became a place of deportation for a dozen French mutineers from Madagascar. "Réunion" was the name given to the island in 1793; it commemorates the union of revolutionaries from Marseille with the National Guard in Paris. From the 18th century, sugar and vanilla are the chief agricultural products and exports. On 19 March 1946, the island obtained the status of an overseas French Department and became fully French. Today the more important source of income to the Reunion is tourism.

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General Tips about Reunion

» Required travel documents for Reunion
» Electric power
» Area code to Reunion
» Activities and leisure: In water
» Activities and leisure: In the airs
» Activities and leisure: On ground
» Cuisine
» Air connections from Europe
» Local craft
» Taxis
» Car rentals
» Connections airport / city center
» The mountain house
» Local customs services
» Weather forecast
» Foreign consulates
» Port Reunion's passenger terminal
» Goods allowances for travellers
» Saint-Pierre Pierrefonds Airport
» Roland Garros Airport
» Special requirements - Wild flora and fauna
» Special requirements - Cats and Dogs
» Special requirements - Health
» Entry requirements
» Population - A metisse culture
» Population - A population rainbow
» Flora and Fauna
» Climate
» Saint-Leu
» Saint-Gilles
» Saint-Paul
» Geography - West
» Sainte-Suzanne
» Saint-André
» Bras-Panon
» Saint-Benoît
» Sainte-Rose
» Geography - East
» Saint-Philippe
» Saint-Joseph
» Saint-Pierre
» Saint-Louis
» L'Etang-Salé
» Geography - South
» Saint-Denis
» Geography - North
» Geography - A green jewel in the blue ocean
» Geography - A volcano that loomed up from the ocean
» History
» Piton des Neiges
» Piton de la Fournaise
» History
» Culture and language
» Climate and weather
» Geography

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