Since 1983, the Outer Islands Development Corporation (OIDC) is responsible for the
management and development of the Outer Islands namely Agalega and St Brandon. The administration and control of the affairs of the Corporation
are vested in the Outer Islands Development Board.
Agalega
The twin islands of Agalega may have been known to the Malays and to the Arabs. They may also have been perceived by the Portuguese, those
indefatigable sailors who scoured the Indian Ocean in the XVIth century. It may equally be true that, when in 1512 Don Pedro de Masceranhas
visited the already known Archipelago of Mauritius and Bourbon and called them by the collective name of the Mascarenes, he also gave the names
of Agalega and Ste. Marie (off the East coast of Madagascar) in honour of two of his ships, "Le Galega" and "Santa Maria".
Saint Brandon
The Cargados Carajos Group of Islands or St. Brandon is a group of 28 islets situated at approximately 450 kms to the North
North East of Mauritius at 16030S and 59035 E.
According to a publication by France Staub and Joseph Gueho contained in the proceedings of the Royal Society of Arts
and Sciences of Mauritius, in 1546, the Portuguese chartered two groups of islets, Sao Brandao and Cargados Carajos, placing
them close together on the map. These are the groups now known to comprise a single cluster of reefs and islets known as the
Cargados Carajos shoals, or by the name most commonly used in Mauritius, St. Brandon.