Even after the decline of Ancient Athens, History is full of extraordinary people and events that can act as dire warnings or guide us to emulate past virtue. The other day, as one does, I ambled back into the eighteenth century, known as the Age of Enlightenment – not a term applicable to present times. It made a change from murders, robberies, road deaths and the carping and crowing of politicos, and was a period when Reason flourished, at least in high society, and when the powers-that-be, both Church and State, were increasingly challenged.

 It led in France to the Revolution and was far from a period of status quo, at least not of the kind that Mauritius has known since Independence. Once the MMM was born and gradually became part of the establishment, little has changed here, with decades of the same old faces and static religious ideas. It was also a time when many leading figures were interested in more than just politics – enjoying intellectual pursuits such as hunting and literature, collecting art and even travelling (but without per diems).

 A key figure in Britain was Robert Walpole, perhaps of local interest as, like SSR before Independence, he was the first Prime Minister in all but name. A member of the landed gentry, he entered parliament, like his father before him, in a rotten borough. They were districts with only a few voters but the same voting power as other more populous seats. Similarities with Port Louis seats may come to mind, although here landowners have abandoned politics and, in any case, are rather less aristocratic. Incidentally, Walpole’s son, Horace – a notable man of letters – followed him into parliament. The past is full of political families, one aspect of history Mauritius has happily emulated.

It was the period when the South Sea Company was set up, designed to reap enormous profits through international trade in cloth, agricultural goods and slaves, and assume the national debt in exchange for lucrative bonds. In fact, it crashed (the South Sea Bubble) and several members of the then Cabinet were charged with corruption. At least the scheme was imaginative, like the idea of selling passports, although the latter has a chance of bringing in some money without so many side-effects – if sticky fingers are kept at a safe distance.

 During his premiership, Walpole made use of what is known as a sinking fund, which received whatever surplus occurred in the national budget each year. However, the problem was that the fund was rarely given any priority in Government strategy. How little things change – although a budget surplus here seems a rather distant prospect. Indeed, these isles may sink like Modern Greece, perhaps as part of a wider collapse in bond markets and too many countries being deeply indebted.

 What, you might ask, has this to do with the Ministry of Education? As well as learning about Ancient Greece, a basic knowledge of Chinese, Indian, African and French history might do much to help youngsters understand their various backgrounds and even bring them closer together. But what hope is there when local history is tainted by racial and political slants and is anyway barely touched on in schools? The lack of perspective that History provides may explain why Admirables have memories like a sieve and disgraced politicos can be rehabilitated within a year or two, or even in a matter of weeks. Still, no doubt your reforms will eventually lead to a more roundly educated and informed next generation, even if the teaching system still seems remarkably like the status quo ante, except for a change in name