Réunion
Région Réunion | ||
---|---|---|
|
Logo of Reunion | |
(Region flag) | (Region logo) | |
Location | ||
| ||
Administration | ||
Capital | Saint-Denis | |
Regional President | Paul Vergès (PCR) (since 1998) | |
Departments | Réunion | |
Arrondissements | 4 | |
Cantons | 49 | |
Communes | 24 | |
Statistics | ||
Land area1 | 2,512 km² | |
Population | (Ranked 21st) | |
- January 1, 2006 est. | 784,000 | |
- March 8, 1999 census | 706,300 | |
- Density (2006) | 312/km² | |
1 French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers | ||
Réunion is an island, located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, about 130 miles (200 km) southwest of Mauritius, the nearest island. Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas départements of France. Like the others, Réunion is also one of the twenty-six regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland. As an outer region of the European Union, the currency used is the euro.
Geography
The island is 39 miles (63 km) long; 28 miles (45 km) wide; and covers 970 square miles (2512 sq km). It is similar to the island Hawaii insofar as both are located above hotspots in Earth's crust.
The Piton de la Fournaise, a shield volcano on the eastern end of Réunion Island, rises more than 8,565 feet (2611 m) above sea level and is sometimes called a sister to Hawaiian volcanoes because of the similarity of climate and volcanic nature. It has erupted more than 100 times since 1640 and is under constant monitoring. It most recently erupted on April 4, 2007. The lava flow from this eruption was estimated at 3 million m3 (about 4 million cubic yards) per day. The Piton de la Fournaise is created by a hotspot volcano, which also created the Piton des Neiges and the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues.
The Piton des Neiges volcano, the highest point on the island at 10,069 feet (3070 m) above sea level, is northwest of the Piton de la Fournaise. Collapsed calderas and canyons are southwest of the mountain. Like Mauna Kea on the big island of Hawaii, Piton des Neiges is extinct. Despite its name, snow (French: neige) practically never falls on the summit.
The slopes of both volcanoes are heavily forested. Cultivated land and cities like the capital city of Saint-Denis are concentrated on the surrounding coastal lowlands.
Réunion also has three calderas: the Cirque de Salazie, the Cirque de Cilaos, and the Cirque de Mafate. The latter is accessible only by foot or helicopter.
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Rhode Island
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 207 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles (370 km) territorial sea: 12 nautical miles (22 km)
Climate: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April
Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m
Natural resources: fish, arable land, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 17% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 35% other: 41% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 60 km² (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise (2,631 m) on the southeastern coast is an active volcano
Climate
he climate is tropical and humid. The seasons are the opposite to the UK but the sea temperature rarely drops below 23°C! The summer from December to March with an average temperature of 26°C on the coast. Winter is from April to November with an average temperature of 20°C on the coast. However, as one moves inland, and up, the temperature drops progressively - so, do not forget some warm clothing if you intend to trek the cirques. It actually snowed in the 'heights' in August 2003 and for once the "Piton des Neiges" at 3072 metres lived up to its name.
The cyclone season is usually between December and February. Between March 15 and 16, 1952, Cilaos at the center of Réunion received 73.6 inches (1,869.9 mm) of rainfall. This is the greatest 24-hour precipitation total ever recorded on Earth. The island also holds the record for most rainfall in 72 hours, 154.7 inches (3,929 mm) at Commerson's Crater in March 2007.
History
Arab sailors formerly called the island Adna Al Maghribain (“Western Island”). The Portuguese were the first Europeans to visit, finding it uninhabited in 1513 and naming it Santa Apollonia, after Saint Apollonia.
The island was occupied by France and administered from Port Louis, Mauritius. Although the French flag was hoisted in 1638, Santa Apollonia was officially claimed by Jacques Pronis of France in 1642, when he deported a dozen French mutineers to the island from Madagascar. The convicts were returned to France several years later, and in 1649, the island was named Île Bourbon after the royal house.
“Réunion” was the name given to the island in 1793 with the fall of the House of Bourbon in France; the name commemorates the union of revolutionaries from Marseille with the National Guard in Paris, which took place on August 10, 1792. In 1801, the island was renamed "Île Bonaparte," after Napoleon Bonaparte. The island was taken by the British navy in 1810, which used the old name of “Bourbon.” When it was restored to France by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the island retained the name of "Bourbon" until 1848, when the fall of the restored Bourbons during the revolutions during that year meant that the island became “Réunion” once again.
From the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route.
Réunion became an overseas department of France on March 19, 1946.
In 2005 and 2006 Réunion was hit by a crippling epidemic of chikungunya, a disease spread by mosquitoes. About 255,000 people on Réunion reportedly contracted the disease, which also spread to Madagascar and to mainland France through airline travel. The disease led to more than 200 deaths on Réunion. There is no known cure.
Politics
Réunion sends five deputies to the French National Assembly and three senators to the French Senate. National holiday: July 14, Bastille Day, commemorating the fete del la federation in 1789
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Sarkozy, represented by Prefect Laurent CAYREL (since NA June 2005) head of government: President of the General Council Nassimah DINDAR (since NA March 2004) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council (47 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve six-year terms) and unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: General Council - last held NA March 1994 (next to be held NA 2000); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PCR 12, PS 12, UDF 11, RPR 5, others 7; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PCR 7, UDF 8, PS 6, RPR 4, various right-wing candidates 15, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held 14 April 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1, PCR 2; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May and 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PCR 3, PS 1, and RPR-UDF 1
Judicial branch: Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel
Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; France-Reunion Future or FRA [Andre THIEN AH KOON]; Mouvement des Radicaux de Gauche or MRG [Jean-Marie FINCK]; National Front or FN [Alix MOREL]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for France or UPF (includes RPR and UDF) [leader NA]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]
International organization participation: FZ, InOC, WFTU
Administrative divisions
Administratively, Réunion is divided into 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons. It is a French overseas département as well as a French region. The low number of communes, compared to French metropolitan departments of similar size and population, is unique; most Réunionnaises communes encompass several localities, sometimes separated by significant distances.
Réunion is part of the Indian Ocean Commission.
Major communities
- Le Port
- Le Tampon
- Saint-André
- Saint-Denis
- Saint-Louis
- Saint-Paul
- Saint-Pierre
Economy
Sugar is the chief agricultural product and export. Tourism is also an important source of income. As of 2005, the people earned a per capita annual GDP of some $6,200. While this is exceptionally high compared with its neighbors in Madagascar and the African continent, it is only 20 percent of the $29,600 per capita GDP of France as a whole. The island is highly dependent on aid from continental France.
Economy - overview: The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to more than 40% of the labor force. The gap in Réunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrated the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. However, this gap has been closing in the last 15 years. The economic well-being of Réunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France.
Demographics
Réunion contains most of the same ethnic populations as Mauritius: Indian (including Tamil), Vietnamese, African, Malagasy, Chinese and ethnic French - but in different proportions. Creoles, of mixed origins, make up the majority of the population. Whites make up approximately one-quarter of the population, Indians make up 21 percent and people of Chinese or Vietnamese ancestry most of the remainder.
While Gujarati and Tamil people make up the majority of the Indo-Réunionnaise people, people of Hindi, Urdu, Bhojpuri and other origins form the remainder of the population
Reunion is very similar in culture, ethnic makeup, language, and traditions to Mauritius and the Seychelles.
Historical population
1671 estimate |
1696 estimate |
1704 estimate |
1713 estimate |
1717 estimate |
1724 estimate |
1764 estimate |
1777 estimate |
1789 estimate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
90 | 269 | 734 | 1,171 | 2,000 | 12,550 | 25,000 | 35,100 | 61,300 |
1826 estimate |
1830 estimate |
1848 estimate |
1849 estimate |
1860 estimate |
1870 estimate |
1887 census |
1897 census |
1926 census |
87,100 | 101,300 | 110,300 | 120,900 | 200,000 | 212,000 | 163,881 | 173,192 | 182,637 |
1946 census |
1954 census |
1961 census |
1967 census |
1974 census |
1982 census |
1990 census |
1999 census |
2006 estimate |
241,708 | 274,370 | 349,282 | 416,525 | 476,675 | 515,814 | 597,823 | 706,300 | 784,000 |
Official figures from past censuses and INSEE estimates. |
Religion
The predominant religion is Roman Catholicism (86 percent of the population in 1995), with Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism also represented.
Culture
Réunionese culture is a blend (métissage) of European, African, Tamil, Indian, Chinese and insular traditions.
The most widely spoken language, Réunion Creole, derives from French, with many idiosyncrasies. Réunion Creole is now taught in some schools. However, an official orthography has yet to be agreed upon.
Local food and music blend influences from Africa, India, China and Europe.
Music
its population is mostly Francophone blacks, with some Indians and French minorities. Cultural traditions akin to Caribbean vodun are practiced, though discouraged by local authorities, including maloya music, which is strongly associated with Firmin Viry and Granmoun Lélé. Réunion is also, along with neighbor Mauritius, home to sega music. Taarab from Tanzania is popular as well. Other popular singers include Maxime Laope, Léon Céleste, Henri Madoré and Mapou, named after a kind of perfumed sugarcane candy.
Séga is a popular style that mixes African rhythms with European instrumentation. Maloya is a similar fusion, but with a strong African element reflected in the use of slave chants and work songs.
The song "Madina" deserves special mention. It was frequently played on the island's only radio station in the 1950s and 60s. The song was written by Maxime Laope, one of the island's most popular singers, and performed by another renowned singer, Henri Madoré.
Nowadays Reunion Island is a fish pond of talented bands such as ziskakan or Baster (band). In Réunion there is a very strong jazz community and rock culture is also becoming strong on the island. But whatever is the style of music played, Réunionnais music is defined by its cultural richness.
Wildlife
External links
Government
- General Council web site French
- Régional council web site French
Overviews
Tourism
- Walks Online - Portal About the Reunion Island (Czech-French-English)
- Official Tourism web site French
- Portal about the reunion island French
- Images of Reunion
- WillGoTo - Réunion Travel Guide and Directory
- Comprehensive online guide to Reunion Island French
- Lonely Planet - World Guide: Reunion
- Pearl Island probably the only English website from the island about the island
- Photogallery: waterfalls, rain forest, pedestrian excursion, volcano "La Fournaise," coast, river, beaches...
Fauna and flora
- Scientific research application on the nature reserve of Mare-Longue (THERESIEN project)
- Flora - Botanic garden - Rain forest (Photogallery)
Other
- Weather forecast
- Daniel Lacouture's site
- Map of Reunion island
- Tamil Accommodation in Reunion
- Aerial photo of the Gorges of the Bras de Caverne
- Weather on Reunion island
- Google Maps Imagery of Reunion
- Foreign perspective on Réunion from a British resident
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.