Mauritian Creole, which is spoken by 90 percent of the population, is considered to be the native language of the country and is used most often in informal settings. It gradually replaced Bhojpuri as the native language of Indo-Mauritians It was developed in the 18th century by African slaves who used a pidgin language to communicate with each other as well as with their French masters, who did not understand the various African languages. The pidgin evolved with later generations to become a casual language.