Emmanuel Anquetil

Jean Baptiste Emmanuel Anquetil was born on August 18, 1885, in Plaines Wilhems. Joining the British merchant navy at age sixteen, he lived in Britain for thirty-four years, becoming an active trade unionist with the British National Union of Seamen and marrying a British suffragette.

Returning to Mauritius in 1936 with profound organizing experience, Anquetil co-founded the Mauritius Labour Party. Following the 1938 dockers strike, colonial authorities deported him to the remote dependency of Rodrigues island for a year. Upon his return, he reorganized industrial trade unions, campaigned for universal adult suffrage, and established May Day as a national celebration before his death in December 1946.