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Reunion Island

In the heart of the Mascareignes archipelago, where Mauritius and Rodrigue are also located, the intense island or more commonly Reunion Island needs no introduction. Located in the Indian Ocean, east of Africa, Reunion Island is a French overseas department and region whose capital is Saint-Denis. It was first mapped in the 12th century by the Arab geographer Al Idrissi who gave it the name of Dina Morgabin. But it was not until the 16th century that the Portuguese landed there. The navigator Pedro de Mascarenhas gave it the name of Santa Apolonia because he landed there on the day of Saint Apolline. In the 17th century, the island became a stopover on the route to India. The English, Dutch and French stayed there. The latter took possession of it in 1642 and named it Bourbon Island in homage to the royal family. The island then took an economic boom becoming notably an exporter of coffee. It was during the French Revolution in 1793 that the island took on its current name: Reunion Island in homage to the meeting of the federates of Marseille and the Parisian National Guards during the march on the Tuileries Palace. Napoleon renamed it Bonaparte Island. It is only after the abolition of slavery in 1848 that the island definitively takes back its name of Reunion Island. During all these different periods, the island developed thanks to the cultivation of sugarcane and then sugar beet, vanilla, becoming the first exporter in the world, and the cultivation of geranium used in perfumery. The tropical climate on this magnificent volcanic island, the Piton de la Fournaise being still very active, allows for an absolutely extraordinary fauna and flora in its biodiversity. As a proof, in 2010, the national park of Reunion Island entered the UNESCO world heritage.