RODRIGUES ISLAND - MAURITIUS Autonomous outer island

Rodrigues (French: Île Rodrigues Creole: Rodrig) is a 108-square-kilometre (42 sq mi) autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about 560 kilometres (350 mi) east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands which include Mauritius and Réunion. It is of volcanic origin and is surrounded by coral reef, and just off its coast lie some tiny uninhabited islands. The island used to be the tenth District of Mauritius; it gained autonomous status on 10 December 2002, and it is governed by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. The capital of the island is Port Mathurin.Its inhabitants are Mauritian citizens. As of 2014, the island's population was about 41,669, according to Statistics Mauritius. Most of the inhabitants are of mixed African and European descent. Its economy is based mainly on fishing, farming, handicraft and a developing tourism sector. 

The island (together with Agaléga and Saint Brandon) forms part of the larger territory of the Republic of Mauritius with the President as head of state and the Chief Commissioner as head of government. In 1968, Rodrigues was joined with Mauritius when it attained independence; in 2002 when it became an autonomous region of Mauritius, the island was made the seat of the Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Rodrigues. Rodrigues is the only Mascarene island with extensive limestone deposits and caves. A large fringing reef surrounds the island forming a lagoon within which lie eighteen small islets. The coral reef of Rodrigues is of particular interest as it is self-seeding – it receives no coral zooplankton from elsewhere. This has led to an overall species-poor but highly adapted ecosystem. A species of coral, two species of Pomacentrus damselfish and many species of crustaceans are only found on Rodrigues' reefs. Rodrigues was characterised by endemic plant and animal species in abundance, but since the seventeenth century much of its biodiversity has been eradicated. The island was home to a now extinct endemic species of flightless bird, the Rodrigues solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria). An endemic species of bat, the Rodrigues flying fox, is currently listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. There are two remaining endemic bird species: the Rodrigues fody and the Rodrigues warbler, both are listed as near threatened.

Rodrigues is divided into 14 municipalities or zones. For statistical purposes, the zones are further subdivided into a total of 182 localities. The zones have between a minimum of six localities (La Ferme) and maximum of 22 (the capital Port Mathurin). The main language is Rodriguan Creole, but English and French are most used as the languages of government administration, the courts and business.  Rodriguan Creole is very similar to Mauritian Creole, though some words are pronounced differently. People born in Rodrigues island are called Rodriguans.

These two registered airmail covers came from Port Mathurin post office, the capital city of Rodriguez Island. The covers are posted on April 10, 2017 from  Port Mathurin post office and received  on April 17, 2017. The Post office staff clearly postmarked and affixed barcode label perfectly. The cross marks over the envelopes are annoying, but I think that is the costom they do while sorting registered mails.