Culture

The islanders are mainly descended from African slaves bought here by the French and later freed by the British. Chinese merchants and traders also started arriving around 150 years ago, contributing to the Creole mix, along with Europeans and Indians before them. The people live a relatively simple life and tourism here is both young (the international airport only opened in 1971) and carefully controlled, in order to protect Seychelles’ charm. Its music is rooted in African, Malagasy and European cultures, while the hip-swaying, foot-shuffling Sega dance is still popular.