While going over his business ledgers, Daniel Chan, the third-generation owner of Hong Kongโs Koon Chun sauce factory, made an interesting discovery. One of his biggest groups of clients came from Rรฉunion Island, a French department in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, with a population just shy of 900,000.
โWe were sending two containers of soy, oyster and chilli sauce there every month,โ Chan says. โI was so curious why they would like our sauce so much.โ
Chan took the 36-hour journey to Rรฉunion, with stops in Mauritius and South Africa along the way, to find out.
Rรฉunion Island was discovered by Arab and Portuguese sailors before the French claimed it in 1642, naming it รle Bourbon. It was initially used as a supply stop for ships, before the French East India Company began developing plantations, using slave labour from Africa and Madagascar to grow coffee, spices and later sugar.
The island was renamed Rรฉunion during the French Revolution in 1793 but reverted to Bourbon under Napoleon before finally becoming Rรฉunion again in 1848, when France abolished slavery. The 19th century saw the arrival of indentured labourers from India, China and Southeast Asia, shaping its multicultural society.
In 1946, Rรฉunion became an overseas French department. Today, its history of colonisation, slavery and immigration is reflected in its Creole culture, blending African, European, Indian and Chinese influences.