Reunion Island, People, Economy

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Reunion Island Latest News

At least four people died after cyclone Garance struck the French overseas territory of La Reunion recently.

It is a French island in the Western Indian Ocean.
It lies about 680 km east of Madagascar and 180 km southwest of Mauritius.
It covers an area of 2,511 sq. km.
With Mauritius and Rodrigues Islands, they form the Mascarene Archipelago.
The island is entirely volcanic and originates on the ocean floor at a depth of 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).
It consists mainly of rugged mountains dissected by torrential rivers.
It is home to the highest peak in the Indian Ocean, the Piton des Neiges, and one of the most active volcanoes on the planet, the Piton de la Fournaise.
The capital is Saint-Denis, on the northern coast.
People:
Réunion was first settled in the 17th century by colonists from France.
Slave labourers were brought in from East Africa to work on plantations, and later Malays, Annamites, Chinese, and Malabar Indians were imported as indentured labourers.
Today the greatest proportion of the population is of mixed descent (African, European, and South Asian).
Its economy is based largely on the export of sugar. Other products include meat and milk products, rum, molasses, tobacco, geranium essence, and vanilla.