The islands of the Seychelles were claimed by France in 1756 although sailors had known about them since the early 16th century. Towards the end of the 18th century, French planters and their slaves began settling in the Seychelles.
In 1794, Britain annexed the Seychelles, which were then administered from Mauritius.
In 1888 separate nominated administrative and executive councils were established for Mauritius and Seychelles. Thus, for the first time, some landed white Seychellois were allowed to serve in official advisory positions. In 1897 the administrator of Seychelles was given the powers of a colonial governor, although it was not until 1903 that the islands were separated from Mauritius. When Seychelles became a separate colony, the other islands of the archipelago, except for Coetivy and the Farquhar Islands, were added to the original group acquired by Britain in 1814.
Bismarck Daily Tribune, May 20, 1890
Bismarck, North Dakota, U.S.A.
Gordon Locates Eden.
The General was very talkative one evening,
explaining to us his pet theory, viz., that
the Seychelles islands, which are situated to the northeast of Madagascar, are the site of the garden of Eden! He gave many reasons
for thinking so--one being that there was a tree found there that is not to be found in any other part of the world. 
This, he is confident, is the "forbidden tree." It is called the Coco-de-Mer , or "nut of the sea," and has many peculiarities. The nut is shaped like a heart, but with its husk taken off it is like a man's body from the chest to the knees. To
raise a tree, he explained, a nut is laid on the
ground and covered with leaves. By and by
a shoot comes out and runs along the ground
and when about twelve feet long it takes root. The root is in the form of a bulb four feet in
diameter. The tree itself grows to the height
of 100 feet, and is only about nine inches thick. It is 47 years old before it bears fruit, and its nuts grow seven in a bunch, from the end of the extended arm, each weighing perhaps forty pounds. They take seven years to
ripen. The leaves are twenty-four feet long
and fourteen feet broad, and can bear a
man's weight! It must indeed be a wonderful
tree.
— Contemporary Review.
Colonies and India, August 8, 1891
London, United Kingdom
NEWS FROM THE SEYCHELLES.
(From Our Correspondent.)
MAHÉ, July 16, 1891
The German cruiser Schawalbe (Captain Rudiger) left for Zanzibar on June 27, after a stay of three weeks. Festivities were frequently exchanged between the ship and the shore. About June 2 a boat of some eight tons, the property of a Seychelles resident, left Mahé with a crew of seven men to visit the Amirantes, a group of islands about 120 miles from the Seychelles (and part of the outer islands of the Seychelles), for the purpose of fishing. It appears that a person named Rot, in command of the boat, a shoemaker by trade, though possessing a certificate of competency for navigation, utterly failed to find the islands, the boat meeting with bad weather, and after drifting about in a hopeless manner for over a month, at last sighted Iles Au Vache, near Dennis Island, about 60 miles in an opposite direction, where, thoroughly weakened from want of food and exposure, the boatmen were fortunately rescued by a boat visiting this island. Mr. Rot, however, died from exhaustion a few days after. The crew were taken to Fraslin Island, where they slowly recovered, and were brought to Mahé just as the mail was leaving.
The Norwegian barque Chipman, with coals from Cardiff, arrived on July 6.
Dr. Evariste Esnouf, Government Medical Officer of Seychelles, was departing by the mail for Mauritius, on three months' leave of absence, being temporarily replaced by Dr. Jules Monnier. The Hon. R. M. Brown, judge, was also taking three months' leave of absence to Réunion, his duties being performed in the interim by Mr. Adolphe Rolando, the Registrar of the Courts.
The Vice-Consul for France and Madame Cheyron held a numerously attended-reception on July 14, the anniversary of the fete nationale.
It was expected that the vanilla crop would be the largest ever known. Public health was good.
