GB 0101 PP.MF - Mauritius: Political Parties Material

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0101 PP.MF

Title

Mauritius: Political Parties Material

Date(s)

  • 1963- (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

1 box

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Mauritius was a British colony from its capture from the French 1810 until its independence in 1968, but it maintained both its Napoleonic institutions and its Franco-Mauritian business elite. Other ethnic groups on the island include a Creole population descended from the French plantation owners and their slaves and both Muslim and Hindu Indo-Mauritians who arrived as indentured labourers from 1835 after the abolition of slavery. Since the country's first elections in 1947 Hindu-led parties have monopolised power, with the Parti travailliste (Mauritius) ruling the country until 1982 before being supplanted by an alliance of the Mouvement militant mauricien (MMM) and the Mouvement socialiste mauricien (MSM).

Archival history

The Commonwealth Political Parties Materials collection was begun in 1960-61, with special emphasis being placed then, as now, on "primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos." (ICS, Twelfth Annual Report 1960-1961). Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant. More recently material has been collected by means of downloading documents from the websites of the major parties.
GB 0101 PP.MF 1963- Collection (Fonds) 1 box Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Mauritius was a British colony from its capture from the French 1810 until its independence in 1968, but it maintained both its Napoleonic institutions and its Franco-Mauritian business elite. Other ethnic groups on the island include a Creole population descended from the French plantation owners and their slaves and both Muslim and Hindu Indo-Mauritians who arrived as indentured labourers from 1835 after the abolition of slavery. Since the country's first elections in 1947 Hindu-led parties have monopolised power, with the Parti travailliste (Mauritius) ruling the country until 1982 before being supplanted by an alliance of the Mouvement militant mauricien (MMM) and the Mouvement socialiste mauricien (MSM).

The Commonwealth Political Parties Materials collection was begun in 1960-61, with special emphasis being placed then, as now, on "primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos." (ICS, Twelfth Annual Report 1960-1961). Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant. More recently material has been collected by means of downloading documents from the websites of the major parties.

Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Programs, platforms, manifestos and histories from 1963 issued by Groupe "Progrès et liberté", Independent Forward Bloc (Mauritius), Mouvement militant mauricien, Mouvement socialiste mauricien, MSM/travailliste, Parti de l'independance (Mauritius), Parti LALIT, Parti mauricien social democrat, Parti socialiste mauricien, Parti travailliste (Mauritius). The materials reflect the activities of the three main political parties. Other parties represented include the Parti mauricien social democrat (PMSD), generally seen as the party of the Franco-Mauritians and Creoles, as well as the Parti LALIT, of which the collection holds a number of pamphlets concerned with health issues.

Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.

Alphabetically by group, and then in rough chronological order.

Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.

Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.
French, English and Creoles & Pidgins, French

Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)

See also Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.

Description compiled by Daniel Millum, Political Archives Project Officer at the Institutes of Commonwealth and Latin American Studies.  Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.  Created 26/05/2004 AIM25 African history Birth control Colonial countries Decolonization East Africa Elections Electoral systems Family planning Groupe "Progrès et liberté" Independent Forward Bloc (Mauritius) Internal politics Mauritius Mouvement militant mauricien (Mauritius) Mouvement socialiste mauricien (Mauritius) National history Parti de l'independance (Mauritius) Parti LALIT (Mauritius) Parti mauricien social democrat (Mauritius) Parti socialiste mauricien (Mauritius) Parti travailliste (Mauritius) Political parties Political science Political systems Politics

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Programs, platforms, manifestos and histories from 1963 issued by Groupe "Progrès et liberté", Independent Forward Bloc (Mauritius), Mouvement militant mauricien, Mouvement socialiste mauricien, MSM/travailliste, Parti de l'independance (Mauritius), Parti LALIT, Parti mauricien social democrat, Parti socialiste mauricien, Parti travailliste (Mauritius). The materials reflect the activities of the three main political parties. Other parties represented include the Parti mauricien social democrat (PMSD), generally seen as the party of the Franco-Mauritians and Creoles, as well as the Parti LALIT, of which the collection holds a number of pamphlets concerned with health issues.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.

System of arrangement

Alphabetically by group, and then in rough chronological order.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

French, English and Creoles & Pidgins, French

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

See also Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.

Finding aids

Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area