Seychelles

Seychelles, African republic consisting of about 85 islands in the Indian Ocean 1000 mi (1600 km) east of Kenya. Part of the British Commonwealth. Seychelles's total area is 175 sq mi (454 sq km) scattered over 400,000 sq mi (1 million sq km) of ocean. The climate is tropical. Victoria, on Mahé Island, is the capital and only city. Most of the population is Roman Catholic, of African and French descent, and speaks Creole, a French patois. Tourism, construction, agriculture, and fishing are the primary occupations. Cinnamon, coconuts and copra, vanilla, livestock, and poultry are the chief products. Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered Seychelles (1502), and French planters began colonizing the area in 1768. Britain controlled the islands from 1794 to 1976, when they achieved independence. The one party government established in 1979, was replaced by a multi party government in 1993, which was overthrown by a military coup in 1995.