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British Indian Ocean Territory
Quick Overview:
Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier resident in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Geography:
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Location:
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Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia |
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Area:
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total: 60 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago water: 0 sq km land: 60 sq km |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
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Geography - note:
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archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility |
Population:
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no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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NA% |
Diego Garcia was discovered way back when by 2 Portuguese men. One's last name was, yes, Diego and the other was Garcia. They had discovered it on two separate journeys, but both arrived back about the same time and both of them laid claim to being the first to discover a new island. Well, since they could not agree to who found it first, they used both their names and so today we have it--Diego Garcia. Some years later the French landed here and tried to lay claim that it belonged to them. A little battle here and there and the French had it. Then along came the Brits. Long story short, the Brits now own Diego Garcia. So it has not always belonged to the Brits. The picture above is the only intact remains of an old coconut plantation. Coconut oil was DG's biggest claim to fame up until WWII. There was a total of 5 plantations here. Every single plantation was run by slaves living in a slave community. In the photo above you can see the slave master's house. This last plantation was run until 1971. In 1971 the last of the slaves were sent "back home" to Mauritius. Then about 1973 the United States and the British governments made a deal to let American troops work on DG. So that is what I was told at the Plantation tour. Since I've made this site, I've gotten a few emails from people who's families used to inhabit the Chagos islands. Their story differs tremendously from what the British Representative told us on my tour. The court battle described below is to have a verdict on November 2, 2000.
Related Links:
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News - |
Offical Sites - |
Country Guides Very small guide on BIOT |
Education - |