In its natural habitat, it was a massive canopy tree - common in the dry and upland wet forests of the island.

Vice-Admiral Wybrandt van Warwijck landed on Mauritius on September 17, 1598, thus beginning Dutch involvement with the island.

In 1638, settlers from the Dutch East India Company (VOC) attempted to colonize the island and set up an organized ebony business to sell the rare black wood.

Not only was Mauritius used as a stopping point for ships traveling to British India and other parts of Asia, but now it was also used as a major exporter of goods back to London.

While the most popular good from Mauritius was sugar by far, the British did harvest a large portion of the ebony forests.