Victoria

The name Victoria was bestowed in 1841 to honor the reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria. This was a quintessential 19th-century British colonial practice intended to assert sovereignty over the islands. Prior to British rule, the settlement was founded by the French in 1778 as L'Établissement du Roi ('The King's Establishment'). The city is located on Mahé Island, which itself was named after the French Governor of Mauritius, Mahé de La Bourdonnais.

The Seychelles were uninhabited until French colonization in the 1770s, which introduced enslaved laborers from Africa and Madagascar to work on spice plantations (cinnamon, vanilla, and cloves). Britain captured the islands in 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars. Despite the subsequent renaming of the capital to Victoria, the city remains a bastion of French cultural influence, with French-based Seychellois Creole serving as the common vernacular and Catholic Christianity remaining the predominant faith.

Since gaining independence on June 29, 1976, Victoria has transformed from a quiet colonial port into a modern tropical hub. It is one of the smallest capital cities in the world but serves as the political, economic, and cultural heart of the nation. The city's economy has pivoted from agriculture to high-end tourism and tuna fishing/processing, leveraging the archipelago's status as a global biodiversity hotspot.

Today, Victoria is known for its vibrant Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market, its colonial-era architecture, and its unique blend of African, European, and Asian heritages. It remains a gateway to the islands' unique flora and fauna, including the coco de mer palm and the Aldabra giant tortoise, while maintaining one of the highest standards of living in Africa.