Baie Beau Vallon - Tropical Beach On Island Mahe In Seychelles Stock Photo

Seychelles was uninhabited until the 18th century when Europeans arrived with Indians, and enslaved Africans. It remained a British colony from 1814 until its independence in 1976. Seychelles has never been inhabited by indigenous people, but its islanders maintain their own Creole heritage.Seychelles was uninhabited throughout most of recorded history, although simulations of Austronesian migration patterns indicate a good probability that Asians visited the islands. Tombs visible until 1910 at Anse Lascars on Silhouette Island have been conjectured to belong to later Maldivian and Arab traders visiting the archipelago. Vasco da Gama and his 4th Portuguese India Armada discovered the Seychelles on 15 March 1503 the first sighting was made by Thomé Lopes aboard Rui Mendes de Brito. Da Gama's ships passed close to an elevated island, probably Silhouette Island, and the following day Desroches Island. Later, the Portuguese mapped a group of seven islands and named them The Seven Sisters. The earliest recorded landing was in January 1609, by the crew of the Ascension under Captain Alexander Sharpeigh during the fourth voyage of the British East India Company.