Seychelles
 

1794 - 1903                               1903 - Apr 1961                           Apr 1961 - 28 Jun 1976                       29 Jun 1976 - 29 Jun 1977                         29 Jun 1977 - 18 Jun 1996                            Adopted 18 Jun 1996   Map of Seychelles Hear National Anthem "Koste Seselwa" (Seychellois Unite) Adopted 18 Jun 1996 Hear Former Anthem "Fyer Seselwa"  (Be Proud Seychellois) 1978-18 Jun 1996 --------------------------------- 1976-1978 Anthem "En Avant" (Forward) Constitution (18 Jun 1993) Capital: Victoria (Établissement 1778-1814; Mahé 1770-1778) Currency: Seychelles Rupee (SCR)  National Holiday: 18 Jun (1993) Constitution Day Population: 89,188 (2011) GDP: $2.05 billion (2010)  Exports: $407 million (2010) Imports: $915 million (2010) Ethnic groups: Seychellois Creole (mixed African, Asian, European) 93.2%, British 3%, French 1.8%, Chinese 0.5%, Indian 0.3%, Arab and other 1.2% (2000) Total Active Armed Forces: 200 (2010) Merchant marine: 9 ships (2010) Religions: Roman Catholic 82.3%, Anglican 6.4%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.1%, other Christian 3.4%, Hindu 2.1%, Muslim 1.1%, other non-Christian 1.5%, unspecified 1.5%, none 0.6% (2002)  International Organizations: ACP, AfDB, AOSIS, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, ICSID, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, IRENA, ISA, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) Treaties: APM, BTWC, CTBT, KP, NPT, NTBT, UNCLOS, UNFCC, UNHCR Seychelles Chronology 1502                       Discovered by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. 1609                       First recorded landings take place (by the                              English East India Company); no settlement. 19 Nov 1742                Calimed for France by Lazare Picault, named                              Îles de La Bourdonnais.  1 Nov 1756                Annexed by France (Îles de Séchelles), not                              settled until 27 Aug 1770. 17 May 1794                Occupied by Britain (French administration                               continues to 17 May 1810).  3 Feb 1803 - 17 May 1810  Nominally part of French colony of Indes-                              Orientales (see Mauritius)(not effected due                              to British occupation). 17 May 1810                British colony (Seychelles)(subordinated                               to Mauritius). 21 Apr 1811                French administration ended. 30 May 1814                Formally ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris,                              colony of Seychelles.  31 Aug 1903                British crown colony  8 Nov 1965 - 28 Jun 1976  Aldabra Islands part of British Indian Ocean                               Territory. 12 Nov 1970                Autonomy  1 Oct 1975                Seychelles self-rule. 29 Jun 1976                Independence from Britain (Republic of                               Seychelles).

Commandants (subordinated to Île de France [Mauritius])
1744 - 1770                None
1770 - 1772                de Launay
1772 - 1775                Anselme
1775 - 1777                Le Roux de Kermeseven
1778 - 1781                Charles Routier de Romainville     (b. 1742 - d. 1792)
1781 - 1783                Berthelot de la Coste
1783 - 1786                François, vicomte de Souillac      (b. 1732 - d. 1803)
1786 - 1789                Augustin Motais de Narbonne        (b. 1747 - d. 1827)
1789 - 1792                Louis Jean Baptiste Philogène      (b. c.1757 - d. 1825)
                             de Malavois
1792 - 1793                Charles Joseph Esnouf
Governor
 9 Sep 1793 - 1810         Jean-Baptiste Quéau de Quincy      (b. 1748 - d. 1827)
                             (or de Quinssy)
Commissioners (subordinated to Mauritius)
1810 -  2 Jun 1811         Jean-Baptiste Quéau de Quincy      (s.a.)
                             (acting)
 2 Jun 1811 - 1812         Bartholomew Sullivan
1812 - 1815                Bibye Lasage
1815 - 1822                Edward Henry Madge                 (d. 1850)
1822 - 1837                George Harrison                    (d. 1841)
1837 - 1839                Arthur Wilson
1839 - 1850                Charles Augustus Etienne Mylius    (b. c.1795 - d. c.1860)
1850 - 1852                Robert William Keate               (b. 1814 - d. 1873)
1852 - 1862                George Thompson Wade
1862 - 1868                Swinburne Ward                     (b. 1830 - d. 1897)
1868 - 1874                William Hales Franklyn             (b. 1816? - d. 1874)
1874 - 1879                Charles Spencer Salmon             (b. 1832 - d. 1896)
1879 - 1880                Arthur Elibank Havelock            (b. 1844 - d. 1908)
1880 - 1882                Francis Theophilus Blunt           (b. 1837 - d. 1882)
1882 - 1888                Arthur Cecil Stuart Barkly         (b. 1843 - d. 1890)
Administrators
1889 - 1895                Thomas Risely Griffith
1895 - Aug 1899            Henry Cockburn Stewart             (b. 1844 - d. 1899)
Aug 1899 - Nov 1903        Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott        (b. 1857 - d. 1941)
Governors (1965-28 Jul 1976 also Commissioners of British Indian Ocean Territory)
Nov 1903 - 1904            Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott        (s.a.)
1904 - 1912                Walter Edward Davidson             (b. 1859 - d. 1923)
1912 - 1918                Charles Richard Mackey O'Brien     (b. 1859 - d. 1923)
1918 - 1922                Eustace Edward Twistleton-Wykeham- (b. 1864 - d. 1943)
                             Fiennes
1922 - 1927                Sir Joseph Aloysius Byrne          (b. 1874 - d. 1942)
1927 - 1928                Sir Malcolm Stevenson              (b. 1878 - d. 1927)
1928 - 1934                Sir de Symons Montagu George Honey (b. 1872 - d. 1945)
1934 - 1936                Sir Gordon James Lethem            (b. 1886 - d. 1962)
1936 -  5 Jan 1942         Arthur Francis Grimble             (b. 1888 - d. 1956)
                             (from 1 Jan 1938, Sir Arthur Francis Grimble)
 5 Jan 1942 - Jul 1947     William Marston Logan              (b. 1889 - d. 1968)
                             (from 8 Jun 1944, Sir William Marston Logan)
Jul 1947 - 14 May 1951     Sir Percy Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke     (b. 1893 - d. 1976)
14 May 1951 - 1953         Frederick Crawford                 (b. 1906 - d. 1978)
31 May 1953 - Jan 1958     William Addis                      (b. 1901 - d. 1978)
                             (from 9 Jun 1955, Sir William Addis)   
Jan 1958 - 13 Aug 1961     John Kingsmill Thorp               (b. 1912 - d. 1961)
                             (from 13 Jun 1959, Sir John Kingsmill Thorp) 
Jan 1962 - 1967            Julian Edward George Asquith,      (b. 1916 - d. 2011)
                             Earl of Oxford and Asquith 
1967 - 1969                Sir Hugh Selby Norman-Walker       (b. 1916 - d. 1985)
1969 - 1973                Sir Bruce Greatbatch               (b. 1917 - d. 1988)
1973 -  1 Oct 1975         Colin Hamilton Allen               (b. 1921 - d. 1993)
High Commissioner
 1 Oct 1975 - 28 Jun 1976  Colin Hamilton Allen               (s.a.)
Presidents
29 Jun 1976 -  5 Jun 1977  Sir James Richard Marie Mancham    (b. 1939)            SDP
 5 Jun 1977 - 14 Apr 2004  France-Albert René                 (b. 1935)            FPPS
14 Apr 2004 -              James Alix Michel                  (b. 1944)            FPPS

Chief minister
12 Nov 1970 -  1 Oct 1975  James Richard Marie Mancham        (s.a.)               SDP
Prime ministers 
 1 Oct 1975 - 28 Jun 1976  James Richard Marie Mancham        (s.a.)               SDP
29 Jun 1976 -  5 Jun 1977  France-Albert René                 (s.a.)               FPPS
 5 Jun 1977                Post abolished

Territorial Disputes: Together with Mauritius, the Seychelles claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory).

Party abbreviations: FPPS = Front Progressiste du Peuple Seychellois (Progressive Front of the Seychelles People, extreme left, only legal party 1979-91); SDP = Seychelles Democratic Party (conservative); SNP = Seychelles National Party (centrist)