[1][2] The majority of these enslaved people came from the region in and around modern day Mozambique and Madagascar (with significant minorities from other parts of Africa and even some from Asia).
[6] The African ancestors of this community were captured by slave traders and brought in as part of the original failed attempts of the Dutch to colonise Mauritius, Agaléga, Rodrigues and the Chagos Islands.
The Creole population also encompasses those who are a product of the admixture of African and non-African communities and who retained or adopted Christianity.
For this reason individual identification as a 'Mauritian Creole' is generally based on person's choice to identify and belong to the community or recognition of their origins as being 'creole'.
Mauritian Creoles have retained elements of Afro-Malagasy cultural practices in areas such as music, dress, cuisine, spirituality and religion which point to their roots among those peoples.
[13] Mauritian Creoles have faced racial discrimination on account of their real or perceived African heritage and features.