Tel 243 7900 Fax 243 9699
Tel 243 7900 Fax 243 9699
The Hall of History(Le Pavillon de l'Histoire)
Mauritius, a port-ofcall for the Dutch
40.
Here is your last test….. Now that you know more about sugar and how
it's produced, try and put these pictures into the correct order: Starting from the
cutting of the sugar cane right through to its exportation.
The Dutch discovered Mauritius in 1598 and
settled there in 1638
4.
Find the commemorative plaque marking
the introduction of sugar cane in
Mauritius. In what year did this
happen?...................................................
5.
The Dutch also introduced and cultivated other plants. Can you give two
examples of these?
i. ………………………… ii. ……………………………
6.
Put the pictures in the correct chronological order.
Join the dots from number 1 to 48 to discover what is hidden in this picture
. What is it?.................................
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A Taste of Sugar
Go to the first hall 'A Taste of Sugar' (Pour un Goût Sucré)
1.
What are the four tastes?
i. ………….. ii. ………….. iii. ………….. iv. …………..
Man has always found the sugar taste directly from nature.
2.
We hope you enjoyed your visit!
Now that you know our island better, its history and its sugar, we wish you all the
best in discovering the many other treasures found in Mauritius!
Find the pictures below on the wall and name the main sources of sugar.
……………..
………… from The……………. The
……………… syrup
……………… palm
Today sugar is found almost everywhere, but back in the Middle-Ages, it
was rare and very expensive. Right up until the 19th century it was considered
a delicacy. Since the start of the 20th century, a large quantity of sugar cane
and sugar beet has been cultivated.
See you soon on the sugar journey!
The Chimney
3.
In what year was this impressive chimney built?…………..
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The Hall of History
33.
Complete the diagram of the
sugar cane.
Also indicate where the sucrose (sugar)
reserves are found.
Beau Plan, a Sweet Blue Story
9.
Discover who was hidden in the lake at Beau Plan in 18____. Draw it by
following and joining the numbers.
Study the pieces of sugar
cane in the jars or in the
pictures. They are all
different.
34.
10.
What are the two main differences between them?
-…………………………
…………………………
Go beyond the two large open Crystallisers and examine the world map found in the
section 'The Country of Beets'
What does the picture below represent?
At Beau Plan in the
18th Century, Indigo
began to be cultivated
in order to extract a
precious blue dye from its leaves
and bark.
35.
Nowadays, which are the two main plants which produce sugar?
……………………………………………………………………
36.
Identify the geographical zones of the sugar cane and sugar beet plants, and
where they are grown together.
After the termination of the indigo business, a sugar factory was built in Beau Plan in 1797.
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The Hall of Sugar Cane (Le Pavillon de la Canne)
37.
Draw a sugar cane and sugar beet plant.
Now go and find our fine-looking Cane Field Locomotive and do a quiz with Raj and
Florise.
Mauritius becomes 'L'Isle de France' - the development of a colony.
Mahé de La Bourdonnais settled on 'L'Isle de France' in 1735. His
arrival was the beginning of the transformation of this colony which
had become French in 1715.
7.
What were La Bourdonnais' main
accomplishments on the island?
............................................................................
............................................................................
38.
Look at these mysterious photographs and have fun trying to discover which
part of the locomotive they come from.
............................................................................
............................................................................
Congratulations, your adventure is now over……..all aboard the barge.
8.
Find the picture of the Mynah bird, Raj, and work out why he and Florise, the
Mongoose were introduced to our island.
Now trace the path which leads Raj, and Florise, to their favourite lunch!
This boat was used to transport bags of sugar from the harbour to other
large shipping vessels. Today the sugar is no longer found in bags but in
loose bulks of sugar, as you can see in the film.
39.
In front of the barge, there seems to be a huge mountain of sugar. What is
it? ( tick the correct answer )

Pharaoh's pyramid

A climbing wall

A replica of a loose bulk of sugar
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The Hall of History
From Juice to Sugar (Du Jus au Sucre) (next floor)
Go forward until you get to the next hall where you will discover 'The English Period'
of our island… 'L'Ile au Sucre' 'The Sugar Island.'
Look at the Factory Model and find the
evaporators.
(They're actually right next to you).
The English landed on the shores of Mauritius with a fleet of 70 ships and
10 000 men. The French only had 4000 men to fight the battle against
England, so it was no surprise when they surrendered. L'Isle de France
became Mauritius.
13.
When was the Act of Capitulation, signed?.................................................
Once the English took control of Mauritius, they actively went about developing the
sugar industry and its exportation.
A New Organisation
14.
Slavery was abolished in Mauritius in ………….. . The slaves fled leaving
the owners of the sugar industry to face the challenge of rebuilding their lives.
After the juice has been
washed to remove all
impurities, it is sent to
these Evaporators. Here water is
drained from the juice via an evaporation process. The juice is then converted into syrup.
Walk all the way around the Evaporators, passed the heaters and mud filter until you get to
the Vacuum Pans. They're very impressive aren't they?
27.
In this machine, the syrup is heated and converted into small grains of sugar, called
'massecuite' this process is called………………………………….. .
The last stage is when the grains of sugar are separated from the syrup which enrobes them.
This takes place in a Centrifugal.
28. What colour does the sugar turn into? .......................................................
In the 19th Century, a new group of immigrants arrived in Mauritius drawn
by new work opportunities as a result of the increasing development on
the island. Most of them were small traders.
15. Look at these two female portraits. Find
their countries of origin by putting the letters in
the two anagrams below, into the correct order.
evaporators
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centrigugal
cleaned
juice
evaporation of water
HNCAI……………JUGATAR……………
vacuum pans
crystalisation
sugar
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Go further ahead and you will discover all the special sugars made in Mauritius!
Did you know that we produced so many different types of brown sugar in our
factories?
29.
Which one is your favourite?…………………………………….
How would you describe it?
Creamy coloured
Crystal like
Dry
Dark brown
Golden brown
Fine
Light brown
Granulated
Moist
The Slave Trade
The slave trade existed between the 16th and
19th Centuries, during which time millions of
Africans were taken by force from their homes
to new colonies like America, the West Indies and the Indian
Ocean.
The slave boats were loaded with men, women and children
captured in Africa. After weeks of sea travel under the
poorest, most inhumane conditions, the slaves were resold
like pieces of merchandise. They were then thrown into
forced labour for the rest of their lives.
Now go downstairs, turn left to enter the Hall of Sugar Cane (Le Pavillon de la Canne)
Find out more about the slave trade.
The Hall of Sugar Cane (Le Pavillon de la Canne)
31.
What does the picture, set in Mauritius, show us? ( tick the correct answer )
11.
How many people were sentenced to life long slavery between the 18th and 19th
Century alone?………………………………………………
The Corsairs

cloud movement
The activities of the Corsairs in the 18th Century were not considered to be acts

the rising sea level
of piracy.

advancing sugar cane and retreating forests

the increasing forest area
12.
What is the main difference between a normal pirate and a corsair?

The Corsairs were stronger than other pirates?
32.
What type of climate does Mauritius have?…………………………

The Corsairs carried a letter signed by the government authorising them to
carry out their adventures, unlike the pirates.

The pirates wore a patch over their left eye but the Corsairs didn't.

The pirates' boats were more striking than the Corsairs’
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The Hall of Machines
Indentured Labour
The increasing number of sugar factories at
the beginning of the 19th Century created a
huge demand for labourers. Therefore
thousands of migrant workers were recruited.
Look at the huge Wheels in the factory…… they are called gear wheels.
They are used to turn the grinding mills to crush the sugar cane.
23. Find the wooden barrow. Do you know what it was used for?
………………………..
16.
If you don't know, go further on to the wall called 'Before the Mills' and you will
find the answer in the film and the photograph.
From Sugar Cane to Juice (De La Canne au Jus)
24.The sugar cane is crushed to produce ………………………..
At the end of the process and after having removed all the juice from the
sugar cane, what is left is the 'bagasse' or 'pulp'.
25.
This bagasse is used to make ………………………………….to
light up the factory and the houses.
26.
Now that you know how sugar cane is converted into juice, try and fill in the
missing words in this diagram.
Which countries did these labourers come from?..............................................
Indentured Labour
Even though these workers were not slaves, their living and working
conditions were extremely hard, resembling a form of slavery. They had
very little comfort in their homes, which were actually camps made up of very basic
huts. Furthermore, their freedom to come and go was restricted by the owners of the
sugar estates. Indentured labour came to an end in 1909.
The Sugar Euphoria in the Mid-19th Century
In the middle of the 19th Century, the sugar industry developed rapidly. In
1820, there were already 100 sugar factories on the island, finally reaching
a total of 259 in 1858.
17.
How many Indian immigrants
were recruited as labourers during the
19th Century?
Before going up to the next level, don't forget to go and see the interesting moving
models in the little hall to the right, entitled the Hall of Technology (Le Pavillon des
Technologies)
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18. Draw a picture of a
sugar factory.
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The Hall of History
Go on to the little hall with The Brick Walls.
19. Discover the various trades from the early periods of the sugar
industry. Then find them hidden in this word search.
1)He
2)He
3)He
4)He
5)He
anvil
makes and repairs things made from iron.
repairs shoes.
melts ore in a factory
sells all kinds of things in a shop
makes and shapes metal over an
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You have now come to the end of the hall of History. Look at the photographs of
Mauritian people. Our diverse ancestors have made us into a 'rainbow nation'.
21.
Find the meaning behind each colour on the Mauritian flag.
Red............................................................................
Blue............................................................................
Yellow............................................................................
Green............................................................................
Above the 'Boiler' you will find a mini-model of a sugar estate from the 19th
Century.
20.
A Century of Ups and Downs
Fill in the names of the buildings found there:
22. Discover what historical event took place in 1968. It is illustrated in
the rebus. (Guess what the pictures represent. Each one corresponds to
either a sound or a word. When you have worked it out, you will have
the complete phrase).
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