The Courier

Creoles: ‘Gros Blancs’, ‘Petits Blancs’ and ‘Cafres’. Gros Blancs: white landowners (descendants of rich plantation owners). Petits Blancs: poor rural (whites living in the highlands). Cafres (Creoles with African ancestry): Réunion black people (from the Arabic kafir: infidel). They are distinct from the non-Creole blacks of Comores and Mahorais. Between blacks and whites, there is a range of skin tones which reduces tension considerably between the two groups. The Creoles make up two-thirds of the population.

Malbars: Indians (Hindu) who arrived in the middle of the 19th century as ‘workers’ on the sugar cane plantations. They make up 20 per cent of the population. They are mainly Tamils from the Madras region and are principally plantation workers. Some have acquired significant wealth.

Zarabes: Around 5  per cent of the population. Muslim Indians, mainly from the Gujarat region (north of Bombay). They arrived at the beginning of the 20th century. They control almost half of the island’s economy: businesses, textiles and the automotive industry

Chinese: They arrived between 1860 and 1870, and again in the second decade of the 20th century. They mainly originate from the Canton region. Small businesses, groceries and increasingly mass-market goods. They make up just 3 per cent of the population. Catholics and other faiths.

Zorèys: Executives and officials from mainland France, experts and specialists usually on short or medium-term assignments. Around 6 per cent of the population.

The ‘Gros Blancs’ and the Zarabes are at the top of the social pyramid. The ‘Petits Blancs’ and non-Creole blacks are at the bottom.