Generally speaking, a person who can be printed on a country's currency,
That's not the average person.
Our own country's renminbi, naturally do not need to say more,
Take Britain and the United States, for example, Queen Elizabeth on the British pound
is the spiritual totem of all Commonwealth countries,
Of the dollars, $1 is printed on george Washington, the first president of the United States
$5 is Lincoln, which abolished slavery.
And on the small island nation of Africa: Mauritius at 25 rupees,
But there was a Chinese named Zhu Meilin!
You know, the straight-line distance between China and Mauritius
It has exceeded 6,000 kilometers. Not to mention the waterways.
And today Mauritius also has the title of Little Switzerland in Africa.
So, what kind of country is Mauritius?
Why does Zhu Meilin appear on the currency of 25 rupees?
There are many interesting things about science, and listen to the brother ball.
Who is Mauritius?
Mauritius, a country that many people have never heard of since they were young,
It is a small island nation in the Indian Ocean.
About 2,000 kilometers from the African continent,
It is also not far from the Maldives, which is also a tourist destination.
It is about one-twentieth of the distance of Douyun.
The Republic of Mauritius covers an area of 2040 km²,
Among them, the island of Mauritius, which is the main island, accounted for 1864.8.
The remaining 170 square kilometers are the sum of 49 uninhabited islands!
Then pay attention to this bow-shaped area on the map.
Seychelles in the north, Mauritius in the south and Réunion in France
It is right on an underwater ridge formed by an undersea volcanic eruption.
This chart will be more obvious.
If one day the sea level drops significantly,
Then this area may be all connected together.
We then focused on the light blue area around the island of Mauritius.
They are coral reefs, which also gives the country the third largest coral reef population in the world!
The beautiful coral reefs and beaches are not beautiful to the extreme?
The great American writer Mark Twain once lamented:
Paradise is built according to the scene of Mauritius.
Well, today, due to the privatization of local land,
Nearly 300 kilometers of the 335 km long beach have been privately bought.
I think this may be the fly in the ointment.
Let's take a look at something fun.
Notice that there is a region in the north called Little Lafrey,
There's also a little Julie below! That sounds cute, doesn't it?
Look at this again, Goodlands! Its English name is: goodlands!
Translated as our Chinese, a good piece of land!
If you like football, this is called the English name of the town of Asenal,
It's actually the same as Premier League side Arsenal!
Come on, a little difficulty.
Mon Gout in the North translates to Chinese: My Taste!
Bel Ombre in the South: Beautiful Shadows!
Even this Nouvelle France in the middle is directly New France.
Of course, these names are under the cute and playful appearance,
There's actually another message lurking!
History of being colonized
Don't look at these English names and French names are cute and funny,
But it also means that Mauritius has been colonized by Britain and France for many years!
Of course, it was not Britain or France that first discovered the island.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the Arabs first discovered the island,
However, they, like the later Portuguese, were only short-lived,
It's not meant to be developed.
It was not until 1598 that the Dutch who landed on the island settled here.
And sugar cane was also introduced! In other words, this kind of sugarcane has been planted to this day.
By the way, Mauritius, is a transliteration of the name of the supreme leader of the Netherlands at that time.
Sugarcane is there, but it has to be planted.
Thus, the work of the slave trade was tossed.
However, although the Dutch, who have the title of sea coachman, are very good at business,
But after tossing and turning here for decades, I found that I still couldn't make ends meet.
As the saying goes: the landlord's family has no surplus grain.
In 1710, Mauritius was completely abandoned by the Dutch.
Five years later, the French first took control of the adjacent island of Reunion,
Of course, Mauritius is not immune.
As in other colonies, the colonists brought exploitation and slavery,
It will also bring advanced production tools and good infrastructure.
It was the French East India Company that was in charge of the place.
There were about forty thousand slaves from Africa on the island.
Because of the East India Company,
A large number of Indians flock to the island in search of opportunities.
Coupled with the change of ownership of The United Kingdom from 1810 onwards in Mauritius.
Unlike the French,
The Indians were deeply loved and trusted by the British colonists.
So after taking control of Mauritius, a large number of Indian laborers came here
Engaged in growing sugarcane, entering factories, running transportation, infrastructure construction and other work.
In addition to that, there were more than eight thousand Indian soldiers!
From this point of view: India is really a "good helper" for Britain.
At this time, there are already many people on the island.
For example, the Netherlands, Britain, France, the descendants of white Europeans,
There are also black people from the African continent who are sold here as slaves.
To the Indians and so on and so forth.
When the story says this, do you remember the time?
Yes, in the middle of the 19th century, in the 184 years.
So, at this moment, which group should appear?
The savior is coming
Speaking of the middle of the 19th century, that is, the 184 years,
The road to Daqing is almost at the end.
At this time, the Qing Dynasty can be said to have been ravaged by various Western powers.
Someone once said: I don't want a big country to rise, I just want the dignity of a small people.
In fact, this is a typical petty bourgeois mentality.
Because: the rise of great powers, your life will most likely be better and better,
But if the country is poor and weak, then we ordinary people,
Maybe you don't even have to eat the soil.
Therefore, after the Qing Dynasty was oppressed by the colonizers, coupled with the Balance of Heaven Movement,
Many Cantonese people choose to go to sea to find a new life.
From 1840 to 1843, about three thousand Chinese laborers arrived in Mauritius.
Like the Indians, they mainly grow sugar cane and do small business.
And among those who boarded the ship in 1887,
There was a 14-year-old man named Zhu Weiquan.
His idea at the time was simple and representative:
Earn money, be the boss, and then return home!
So, after coming to Mauritius,
Soon he was able to rely on his extraordinary business talent,
He opened a grocery store near a sugar cane factory.
Due to the great contact with sugarcane workers,
The young man gradually discovered: no matter where these workers came from before,
They are all poor peasants!
In addition, sugar cane plantations in Mauritius can only last for six months a year,
That is to say, workers only have half a year to be paid.
So, in the six months when there was no pay,
Zhu Weiquan often provides food for the workers for free!
If the father Zhu Weiquan is to let the Zhu family gain a firm foothold in Mauritius,
Then in 1911, the birth of the second son,
This makes zhujia one of the most successful enterprises in Mauritius.
Yes, these two sons are Zhu Meilin, who will be printed on Rs 25 in the future.
In 1925, Zhu Meilin's brother died tragically.
Still in school, he had to drop out of school to help his father run the business.
Six years later, at the age of 20, Zhu Meilin was in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius
The most prosperous area, opened their own convenience store.
Then in 1942, at the age of 31, Zhu Meilin became the Mauritius Chinese Chamber of Commerce
The youngest president.
It was also from this time that Zhu Meilin began his political career.
But at this point in time, it is actually not very good.
The Second World War left the whole world in a mess.
As an island country, Mauritius is mainly based on sugarcane.
Staple foods such as millet and flour are very dependent on external supplies.
But the ships that carried the industrial goods and commodities needed for life at that time,
They were basically intercepted by the Japanese army, which had lost all their conscience.
At this time, Zhu Meilin, who was the president of the Chamber of Commerce, stood up.
Because of the shortage of food, Mauritius entrusted Zhu Meilin
To preside over the distribution and distribution of grain.
Of course, Zhu Meilin's pattern is far more than that.
With its chinese identity and status,
He constantly called on overseas Chinese to raise funds to resist the Japanese invaders together.
A force was even organized to defend Mauritius.
And many of these people rushed back to China from Mauritius.
Participated in the War of Resistance Against Japan.
For example, this overseas Chinese veteran named Lan Binggang also appeared at the award ceremony for the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
In 1968, Mauritius became independent and Chu was appointed as the first local minister.
Thanks to his efforts, the Spring Festival has become an official holiday in Mauritius!
A few years later, the price of sugarcane in the international market plummeted,
Zhu Meilin also invited entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and Macao to invest in Wool.
This move allowed Mauritius to survive the economic crisis.
Today, the textile industry remains a pillar industry in Mauritius.
In recognition of Zhu Meilin's contribution to this country,
In January 1980, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom awarded Zhu Meilin
Knight of the Order of the British Empire!
Zhu Meilin's descendants have always been the ambassador of Mauritius to China.
Between such great contributions and influence,
In 1998, Zhu Meilin's portrait naturally appeared on the currency of Mauritius.
Well, let's talk about Mauritius today.
If you have anything you want to see and want to hear, you can leave a message below the video,
I'm a brother ball,
We'll see you next time!