# Aldabra Concession and Settlement (1888)

URL: https://allhistories.com/seychelles/timeline/1888-aldabra-concession-and-settlement
Location: Aldabra
Themes: main-event

Aldabra, the vast raised coral atoll at the far south-western edge of Seychelles, had long been visited by sailors, whalers and turtle hunters, but its rugged terrain and lack of fresh water had discouraged permanent settlement. Naval surveyors, including a party under Captain William Wharton in 1878, mapped the atoll's lagoon and channels. In 1888 the Seychelles authorities granted a concession to private lessees to exploit Aldabra's natural resources, and the first settlement was established on the atoll. Concessionaires cut mangrove and other timber, planted small areas of coconuts, collected turtles, fish and seabirds, and later harvested guano. Despite the scientific appeals of the 1870s, tortoises continued to be taken, and by 1900 they were close to extinction, with crews sometimes searching for days to find one. The settlement opened Aldabra to the outer-island plantation economy that also spread across Cosmoledo, Assumption, Astove and Farquhar. Its remoteness and harsh conditions, however, limited development, and in the twentieth century the atoll's ecological value came to be recognised. Proposals in the 1960s to build a military airbase there were defeated, and Aldabra became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. At this point in the timeline (1888), the Queen of the United Kingdom was Victoria (20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901). Local administration and government: the Commissioner of the Seychelles was Arthur Cecil Stuart Barkly (1882 – 1888).

## Why it matters
The concession began the commercial exploitation of Aldabra that later gave way to its protection as a World Heritage Site.

Ruler at the Time: [Victoria](https://allhistories.com/seychelles/rulers/queen-victoria)

Commissioner of the Seychelles: Arthur Cecil Stuart Barkly

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Aldabra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldabra)
- [Wikipedia — Aldabra giant tortoise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldabra_giant_tortoise)
- [UNESCO — Aldabra Atoll](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/185)
- [Wikipedia — British Dependency Of Mauritius (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Seychelles)