Sugar cane on Mauritius accounts for about 90% of agricultural land and when it is fully grown, the roads on low lying lands are like tunnels! The number of sugar factories has declined in recent years - back in the 19th century there were about 250 sugar factories. Now, some of the large estates are introducing luxury villas and golf courses, such as Bel Ombre in the south to bring in additional income.
The Dutch introduced sugar cane in the early 1600s from Jakarta. Mass production began about 100 years later when a French governor set up a factory. In 1810 with the arrival of the British, they instructed the settlers to grow more and more as this hardy crop could withstand the tropical cyclones. Early sugar mills relied on slave labour. Eventually machinery took over and an example of an old mill can still be seen at Domaine les Pailles.
The 'Sugar World' factory and museum to the north of Mauritius is well worth a visit, the museum is fascinating and gives an insight not just to the sugar production but the whole geology and history of the island and it's people. There is a great shop here too and it's worth spending a half day at this site.
