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Praslin formed part of an archipelago with no known permanent Indigenous population before European exploration and later settlement. European navigators charted the Seychelles in the early modern period, while the islands remained distant from the major population centres of the Indian Ocean. Praslin’s dense forests, steep interior and isolated location limited early development, although sailors and visiting vessels knew the islands’ sheltered anchorages. Its natural resources, particularly timber and the unusual palm later called coco de mer, gradually attracted greater attention. The island’s later history was shaped less by ancient urban development than by colonial landholding, maritime connections and the gradual establishment of plantation communities.

France claimed the Seychelles in the eighteenth century, and Praslin was named in 1768 after César Gabriel de Choiseul, Duke of Praslin, who was then associated with the French administration. French settlers established plantations and small coastal communities, cultivating food crops and commercially useful plants in the island’s fertile valleys. Enslaved Africans and people with connections to Madagascar and the wider western Indian Ocean were brought to the Seychelles to work on plantations, creating social and cultural foundations that remain visible in Seychellois Creole society. Baie Sainte Anne developed as an important harbour and administrative centre, while the interior remained heavily forested.

Britain took control of the Seychelles during the Napoleonic period, and the islands were formally ceded to Britain in 1814. On Praslin, plantation agriculture continued under a colonial economy that relied first on enslaved labour and, after emancipation in the British Empire in 1835, on contracted labour and local workers. Coconut, vanilla, cinnamon and other crops became important, while fishing and small-scale farming supported coastal communities. The island’s remoteness preserved extensive areas of native forest, even as plantations and paths altered parts of the lowlands. French cultural influence endured through language, family traditions and the developing Creole identity.

Praslin became increasingly known for the coco de mer, a palm found naturally on Praslin and nearby Curieuse. Its extraordinarily large seed was once surrounded by legends because it was often discovered floating far from its source, and the palm became a prized object in international trade. Scientific study gradually replaced many of the old myths with a clearer understanding of its restricted habitat and slow reproduction. Protection of the palm forests became central to the island’s modern identity. Vallée de Mai, safeguarded as a nature reserve and later recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, preserves a landscape closely associated with Praslin’s natural and cultural history.

After the Seychelles became independent from Britain in 1976, improved transport and investment in visitor infrastructure connected Praslin more closely with Mahé and the wider world. Tourism grew around beaches, marine excursions, forest reserves and small-scale accommodation, while fishing and local services remained important to everyday life. Conservation became an essential part of development, particularly in protecting coco de mer forests, endemic birds, coral reefs and nesting beaches. Today, Praslin’s settlements retain a relatively low-rise, island-scale character. Its history is experienced through plantation landscapes, Creole communities, protected forests and the continuing relationship between residents, the sea and the surrounding islands.