Seychelles
29 June 1976
- Sovereignty from
- the United Kingdom
- Marked as
- Independence Day
- Years sovereign
- 50
The struggle
Settled by the French in 1770 with enslaved Africans and taken by Britain in 1814, the Seychelles were a plantation colony and a place of exile for figures Britain wanted far away. Party politics only began in the 1960s, split between Mancham's pro-British democrats and René's socialists. Independence came on 29 June 1976 under a coalition.
Key people
James Mancham
1939–2017
First president
France-Albert René
1935–2019
Led the independence-first SPUP
Guy Sinon
1933–2011
Trade unionist and independence campaigner
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