Réunion Island

The history of the island is reflected in its people. The Portuguese stumbled across the unoccupied island in 1513, but it was the French that dRéunion was hard hit with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, as it lost significance as a stopover on the +show all East Indies trade route, and today it relies heavily on mainland France for financial support. Its main industries are sugarcane, rum, vanilla, geranium oil for perfumes and not surprisingly, tourism. An interesting facet of the island's economy is the enormous gap between rich and poor; its high unemployment rate contrasting with an affluent elite. One's immediate impression of the place, however, is that the groups seem to live relatively equably side-by-side, with plenty of racial and religious mixing. That is not to say there has not been conflict caused by such socio-economic disparity, as seen in riots 15 years ago.escended in 1646 and stayed put. French exiles and colonists, Malagasy slaves, Chinese indentured laborers, Indians and Pakistanis have subsequently created a rich melting pot of culture, as well as the island's most widely spoken language, Réunion Creole. -show less