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107-683: Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago , part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). It has been used as a joint UK–U.S. military base since the 1970s, following the expulsion of the Chagossians by the UK government. The Chagos Islands have been a British overseas territory , but in early October 2024, the UK agreed to transfer sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius , while allowing

214-561: A Royal Marines detachment. In February 1942, the mission was to protect the small Royal Navy base and Royal Air Force station located on the island from Japanese attack. Operation of the guns was later taken over by Mauritian and Indian Coastal Artillery troops. Following the conclusion of hostilities, the station was closed on 30 April 1946. In 1962, the Chagos Agalega Company of the British colony of Seychelles purchased

321-751: A commissioner appointed by King Charles III . The commissioner is based in London, resident in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and is assisted by an administrator and small staff. Originally colonised by the French, Diego Garcia was ceded, along with the rest of the Chagos Archipelago, to the United Kingdom in the Treaty of Paris (1814) at the conclusion of a portion of

428-711: A 20-year optional extension (to 2036) to which both parties must agree by December 2014. As of 2010 , only the atoll of Diego Garcia has been transformed into a military facility. In 1967 the British Government bought the entire assets and real property of the Seychellois Chagos Agalega Company, which owned all the islands of the BIOT, for £660,000 and administered them as a government enterprise while awaiting US funding of its proposed facilities, with an interim objective of paying for

535-606: A Mauritian official offered to allow the United States to retain its military base on the island if Mauritius succeeded in regaining sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago. On 1 April 2010, the Chagos Marine Protected Area (MPA) was declared to cover the waters around the Chagos Archipelago. However, Mauritius objected, stating this was contrary to its legal rights, and on 18 March 2015, in light of

642-633: A Spanish explorer of Andalusian origin, Diego García de Moguer , rediscovered the island in 1544 and named it after himself. Garcia de Moguer died the same year on the return trip to Portugal in the Indian Ocean, off the South African coast. The misnomer "Diego" could have been made unwittingly by the British ever since, as they copied the Portuguese maps. It is assumed that the island was named after one of its first two discoverers—the one by

749-566: A far-eastern delicacy. Diego Garcia became a colony of the UK after the Napoleonic Wars as part of the Treaty of Paris (1814) , and from 1814 to 1965 it was administered from Mauritius; the main plantations were at East Point, the main settlement, Minni Minni, 4.5 km (2.8 mi) north of East Point, and Pointe Marianne, on the western rim, all on the lagoon side of the atoll. The workers lived at each and at villages scattered around

856-557: A number of islands to the south which may be the Mascarene Islands . The first map which identifies and names " Los Chagos " (in about the right position) is that of Pierre Desceliers ( Dieppe 1550 ), although Diego Garcia is not named. An island called "Don Garcia" appears on the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum of Abraham Ortelius (Antwerp 1570), together with "Dos Compagnos", slightly to the north. It may be

963-713: A settlement there in April 1786. The supplies of the 275 settlers were overwhelmed by 250 survivors of the wreck of the British East Indian Ship Atlas in May, and the colony failed in October. Following the departure of the British, the French colony of Mauritius began marooning lepers on the island, and in 1793, the French established a coconut plantation using slave labour , which exported, too, cordage made from coir (coconut fibre), and sea cucumbers as

1070-424: Is 2 600 mm (100 inches), varying from 105 mm (4 inches) during August to 350 mm (14 inches) during January. According to Southern Maldivian oral tradition , local traders and fishermen were occasionally lost at sea and became stranded in one of the islands of the Chagos. Eventually they were rescued and brought back home. However, these islands were judged to be too far away from

1177-452: Is characterised by plenty of sunshine, warm temperatures, showers and light breezes. December through February is considered the rainy season (summer monsoon); typical weather conditions include light west-northwesterly winds and warmer temperatures with more rainfall. June to September is considered the drier season (winter), characterised by moderate south-easterly winds, slightly cooler temperatures and less rainfall . The annual mean rainfall

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1284-430: Is considerable poaching of turtles and other marine life. Sharks, which play a vital role in balancing the food web of tropical reefs, have suffered sharp declines from illegal fishing for their fins and as bycatch in legal fisheries. Sea cucumbers , which cleanse sand, are poached to feed Asian markets. The Chagos Archipelago has a tropical oceanic climate ; hot and humid but moderated by trade winds . Climate

1391-722: Is known as Fōlhavahi or Hollhavai ( Dhivehi : ފޯޅަވަހި or ހޮއްޅަވައި ) (the latter name in the Southern Maldives Adduan dialect of Dhivehi ). There are no separate names for the different atolls of the Chagos in the Maldivian oral tradition; "Fayhandheeb" is used for the Archipelago as a whole. According to Maldivian history, the Maldives Archipelago consists of Mahaldheeb, Suvaadheebu and Feyhandheeb. The first Europeans to become aware of

1498-561: Is larger, but its status as an atoll is uncertain). The shelf area is 20,607 km (7,956 sq mi), and the Exclusive Economic Zone , which borders the corresponding zone of the Maldives in the north, has an area of 639 km (247 sq mi) (including territorial waters ). The Chagos group is a combination of different coralline rock structures topping a submarine ridge running southwards across

1605-566: Is nicknamed the "Footprint of Freedom" due to its shape, its strategic location in the Indian Ocean, and its key role in U.S. overseas operations after the 9/11 attacks . No tangible evidence exists of people on Diego Garcia before the arrival of Europeans. There is speculation about visits during the Austronesian diaspora around AD 700, as some say the old Maldivian name for the islands originated from Malagasy . Arabs , who reached Lakshadweep and Maldives around AD 900, may have visited

1712-603: Is part of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge , an underwater mountain range that includes the Lakshadweep , the Maldives , and the other 60 small islands of the Chagos Archipelago. The island observes UTC+6 year-round. Diego Garcia was discovered by Portuguese sailors in 1512 and remained uninhabited until the French began using it as a leper colony and for coconut plantations in the late 18th century. After

1819-788: The Mauritius v. United Kingdom case, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that the Chagos Marine Protected Area was illegal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as Mauritius had legally binding rights to fish in the waters surrounding the Chagos Archipelago, to an eventual return of the Chagos Archipelago, and to the preservation of any minerals or oil discovered in or near

1926-776: The Chagossians , a Bourbonnais Creole -speaking people, until the United Kingdom expelled them from the archipelago at the request of the United States between 1967 and 1973 to allow the United States to build Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia , a military base on Diego Garcia, on land leased from the UK military in the British Indian Ocean Territories . Since 1971, only the atoll of Diego Garcia has been inhabited, and only by employees of

2033-712: The Chagos–Laccadive Ridge , a long submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean . In its north are the Salomon Islands , Nelsons Island and Peros Banhos ; towards its south-west are the Three Brothers , Eagle Islands , Egmont Islands and Danger Island ; southeast of these is Diego Garcia , by far the largest island. All are low-lying atolls, save for a few extremely small instances, set around lagoons . The Chagos Islands had been home to

2140-642: The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea confirmed for its jurisdiction that the UK has "no sovereignty over the Chagos Islands", and thus the islands should be handed back to Mauritius. In August 2021, the Universal Postal Union banned BIOT stamps from being used in the BIOT, a move Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth called a "big step in favour of the recognition of the sovereignty of Mauritius over

2247-567: The Napoleonic Wars , the island was transferred to British control. It remained part of Mauritius until 1965, when it became part of the newly formed BIOT. In 1966, Diego Garcia had a population of 924, mostly contract workers employed in coconut plantations . However, between 1968 and 1973, the Chagossian inhabitants were forcibly removed to make way for the military base. In 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled that

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2354-620: The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) voted in favour of referring the territorial dispute between Mauritius and the UK to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in order to clarify the legal status of the Chagos Islands archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The motion was approved by a majority vote with 94 voting for and 15 against. In February 2019, the ICJ in The Hague ruled that the United Kingdom must transfer

2461-488: The crucifixion of Jesus . They also named some of the atolls, such as Diego Garcia and Peros Banhos Atoll, mentioned as Pedro dos Banhos in 1513 by Afonso de Albuquerque . This lonely and isolated group, economically and politically uninteresting to the Portuguese, was never made part of the Portuguese Empire . The earliest and most interesting description of the Chagos, before coconut trees grew widely on

2568-466: The Îlois , which means "islanders" in French Creole , evolved from these workers. The Îlois, now called Chagos Islanders or Chagossians since the late-1990s, were descended primarily from slaves brought to the island from Madagascar by the French between 1793 and 1810, and Malay slaves from the slave market on Pulo Nyas , an island off the northwest coast of Sumatra , from around 1820 until

2675-489: The "I. de Chagues" appears close by. The first map to delineate the island under its present name, Diego Garcia, is the World Map of Edward Wright (London 1599), possibly as a result of misreading Dio (or simply "D.") as Diego, and Gratia as Garcia. The Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Geographica of Hendrik Hondius II (Antwerp 1630) repeats Wright's use of the name, which is then proliferated on all subsequent Dutch maps of

2782-432: The 16th century, then in the service of Portugal, and this remained the case until it was settled as a French colony in 1793. Most inhabitants of Diego Garcia through the period 1793–1971 were plantation workers, but also included Franco-Mauritian managers, Indo-Mauritian administrators, Mauritian and Seychellois contract employees, and in the late 19th century, Chinese and Somali employees. A distinct Creole culture called

2889-454: The BIOT by Brit rep. Of major concern to the BIOT administration is the relationship with the United States military forces resident on Diego Garcia. An annual meeting called "The Pol-Mil Talks" (for "political-military") of all concerned is held at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London to resolve pertinent issues. These resolutions are formalised by an "Exchange of Letters". Neither

2996-748: The BIOT, through the British government. On 3 November 2022, the British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced that the UK and Mauritius had decided to begin negotiations on sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory, taking into account international legal proceedings. Both states had agreed to ensure the continued operation of the joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia. In 2015, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell 's former chief of staff, Lawrence Wilkerson , said Diego Garcia

3103-549: The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), with the intent of ultimately closing the plantations to provide the British territory from which the United States would conduct its military activities in the region. On 30 December 1966, the United States and the United Kingdom executed an agreement through an Exchange of Notes which permit the United States Armed Forces to use any island of the BIOT for defence purposes for 50 years, until December 2016, followed by

3210-400: The British government announced it would hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius subject to finalisation of a treaty. Some Chagossians have criticised the deal for not having included the Chagossian community in the decision-making process. On the same day former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed commented that the decision to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, despite

3317-518: The Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible, and that all Member States must co-operate with the United Nations to complete the decolonization of Mauritius". In December of that year, the Sega tambour Chagos music genre was recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage from Mauritius. In January 2021, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution proclaiming this. In 2021,

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3424-460: The Chagos Archipelago prior to its return. On 3 October 2024, the UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced in a statement with the Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth that the UK will hand over the Chagos islands to Mauritius. The joint base on the island will stay, with the UK initially taking a 99 year lease of the base from Mauritius. Mauritius will be allowed to begin resettlement on

3531-563: The Chagos Archipelago, Mauritius or Seychelles by 1971 to satisfy the requirements of a UK/United States Exchange of Notes signed in 1966 to depopulate the island when the United States constructed a base upon it. No current agreement exists on how many of the evacuees met the criteria to be an Îlois, and thus be an indigenous person at the time of their removal, but the UK and Mauritian governments agreed in 1972 that 426 families, numbering 1,151 individuals, were due compensation payments as exiled Îlois. The total number of people certified as Îlois by

3638-496: The Chagos Archipelago, but not on Diego Garcia due to the sensitive nature of the base. US president Joe Biden welcomed the agreement, saying that it was a "clear demonstration that through diplomacy and partnership, countries can overcome long-standing historical challenges to reach peaceful and mutually beneficial outcomes". Diego Garcia had no permanent inhabitants when discovered by the Spanish explorer Diego García de Moguer in

3745-445: The Chagos in the 1770s. On 27 April 1786 the Chagos Islands and Diego Garcia were claimed for Great Britain . However, the territory was ceded to Britain by treaty only after Napoleon 's defeat, in 1814. The Chagos were governed from Mauritius, which was by that time also a British colony. In 1793, when the first successful colony was founded on Diego Garcia, the largest island, coconut plantations were established on many of

3852-471: The Chagos". In the same year, Mauritius amended its Criminal Code to outlaw "misrepresenting the sovereignty of Mauritius over any part of its territory", with the penalty of a fine or jail term up to 10 years. As the act is extraterritorial, it restricts the abilities of Chagossians both in Mauritius and around the world to voice their opinions on the legal status of the Chagos Islands. In October 2024,

3959-558: The Chagos. Southern Maldivian oral tradition tells of occasional traders and fishermen marooned on, and later rescued from, unnamed islands of the Chagos. The uninhabited islands were discovered by the Portuguese navigator, explorer, and diplomat Pedro Mascarenhas in 1512, first named as Dom Garcia, in honour of his patron, Dom Garcia de Noronha when he was detached from the Portuguese India Armadas during his voyage of 1512–1513. Another Portuguese expedition with

4066-792: The Hydrographic Service of the Royal Navy. Moresby's survey of the Atolls of the Maldives was followed by the Chagos Archipelago. where he conducted "a thorough scientific survey". He planted 30 breadfruit trees in Diego Garcia Island, the largest of the group. Moresby reported that "there were cats and chickens on the island". Some of his observations were used by Darwin in his 1842 book "The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs." Moresby's charts were so good that they were favored by Maldivian pilots navigating through

4173-583: The Indian Ocean. As a result, the ecosystems of the Chagos have so far proven resilient to climate change and environmental disruptions. The largest individual islands are Diego Garcia (32.5 km (12.5 sq mi)), Eagle (Great Chagos Bank, 3.1 km (1.2 sq mi)), Île Pierre (Peros Banhos, 1.4 km (0.54 sq mi)), Eastern Egmont (Egmont Islands, 2.175 km (0.840 sq mi)), Île du Coin (Peros Banhos, 1.32 km (0.51 sq mi)) and Île Boddam (Salomon Islands, 1.27 km (0.49 sq mi)). In addition to

4280-412: The Maldives provided an opportunity for the British to redraw the map of the archipelago to suit their strategic interests. One notable example is the exclusion of the Chagos Archipelago from the Maldivian territory, a decision that continues to have geopolitical implications. The Enduring Impact The British colonial legacy, including the imposed map and borders, has had long-lasting consequences for

4387-737: The Maldives straddles the trade routes from Europe and Africa to the East, surveying and charting the Maldivian seas became a most urgent international need. Therefore, when the British Admiralty survey of the Red Sea was completed in 1834, Commander Moresby was dispatched to the Maldives. Moresby came to the Maldives in 1835 with special letters to the Radhun from the Governments of Bombay and Ceylon. The purpose of Commander Moresby's visit

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4494-475: The Maldives to be settled permanently by Maldivians . Thus for many centuries the Chagos were ignored by their northern neighbours. However, these claims contrasts with the view of the historical connection of Maldives toward the Chagos, as they were considered an extension of Maldivian maritime territory. For centuries, the Maldivians have used the Chagos as a base for fishing expeditions. People would camp on

4601-527: The Maldives' claims, was unacceptable. The archipelago is about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives , 1,880 kilometres (1,170 mi) east of the Seychelles , 1,680 kilometres (1,040 mi) north-east of Rodrigues Island ( Mauritius ), 2,700 kilometres (1,700 mi) west of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands , and 3,400 kilometres (2,100 mi) north of Amsterdam Island . The land area of

4708-459: The Maldives. The country continues to grapple with the challenges of asserting its sovereignty and territorial rights, particularly in the context of maritime disputes and resource management. On 31 August 1903 the Chagos Archipelago was administratively separated from the Seychelles and attached to Mauritius. In November 1965, the UK purchased the entire Chagos Archipelago from the then self-governing colony of Mauritius for £3 million to create

4815-407: The Maldivian territory was to be charted by the British, this first line of the Maldivian defense system would become obsolete. Mueenuhdeen Radhun's defense system would have been made vulnerable. The Radhun worked to prevent Moresby from his survey work, as it represented a threat to the Radhun's throne. Furthermore, Moresby's inspection of the bastions of Male gave further threat to the Radhun, making

4922-485: The Mauritian Government's Îlois Trust Fund Board in 1982 was 1,579. Fifteen years after the last expulsion, the Chagossians received compensation from the British, totalling $ 6,000 per person; some Chagossians received nothing. The British expulsion action remains in litigation as of 2016. Today, Chagossians remain highly impoverished and are living as "marginalised" outsiders on the island of Mauritius and

5029-467: The Napoleonic Wars. Diego Garcia and the Chagos Archipelago were administered by the colonial government on the island of Mauritius until 1965, when the UK purchased them from the self-governing colony of Mauritius for £3 million, and declared them to be a separate British Overseas Territory . The BIOT administration was moved to Seychelles following the independence of Mauritius in 1968 until

5136-491: The Philippines and the company terminated the lease at the end of 1967. On 30 December 1966, the United States and the UK executed an agreement through an Exchange of Notes which permitted the United States to use the BIOT for defence purposes for 50 years until December 2016, followed by a 20-year extension (to 2036) as long as neither party gave notice of termination in a two-year window (December 2014 – December 2016) and

5243-399: The Radhun suspicious of the British intentions. The Radhun not only refused to cooperate with Commander Moresby, but also created all sorts of passive obstructions and Moresby left the Maldives with his intentions unfulfilled. Ultimately, the situation caused a significant internal political struggle between the Radhun and his rivals, but Moresby was able to complete the first modern survey of

5350-484: The Republic of Korea. According to David Vine, "Today, at any given time, 3,000 to 5,000 US troops and civilian support staff live on the island." The inhabitants today do not rely on the island and the surrounding waters for sustenance. Although some recreational fishing for consumption is permitted, all other food is shipped in by sea or air. In 2004, US Navy recruitment literature described Diego Garcia as being one of

5457-856: The Seabees doubled the number of workers constructing these facilities. Following the fall of the Shah of Iran and the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979–1980, the West became concerned with ensuring the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz , and the United States received permission for a $ 400-million expansion of the military facilities on Diego Garcia consisting of two parallel 12,000-foot-long (3,700 m) runways, expansive parking aprons for heavy bombers, 20 new anchorages in

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5564-547: The Seychelles or Mauritius. The independent Mauritian government refused to accept these further displaced islanders without payment and in 1973, the United Kingdom agreed and gave them an additional £650,000 as reparation payments to resettle the people. Some people were of the view that they were rehoused and employed under worse conditions than other Mauritians. The islands were becoming costly to live in due to industrial moves away from coconut oils and copra fibre markets and

5671-435: The Seychelles. Between 1971 and 2001, the only residents on Diego Garcia were UK and US military personnel and civilian employees of those countries. These included contract employees from the Philippines and Mauritius, including some Îlois . During combat operations from the atoll against Afghanistan (2001–2006) and Iraq (2003–2006), a number of allied militaries were based on the island including Australian, Japanese, and

5778-547: The Société Huilière de Diego et Peros and moved company headquarters to Seychelles. In the early 1960s, the UK was withdrawing its military presence from the Indian Ocean, not including the airfield at RAF Gan to the north of Diego Garcia in the Maldives (which remained open until 1976), and agreed to permit the United States to establish a naval communication station on one of its island territories there. The United States requested an unpopulated island belonging to

5885-420: The UK may decide on what additional terms to extend the agreement. No monetary payment was made from the United States to the UK as part of this agreement or any subsequent amendment. Rather, the United Kingdom received a US$ 14-million discount from the United States on the acquisition of submarine-launched Polaris missiles per a now-declassified addendum to the 1966 agreement. To the United States, Diego Garcia

5992-427: The UK to avoid political difficulties with newly independent countries, and ultimately the UK and United States agreed that Diego Garcia was a suitable location. To accomplish the UK–US mutual defence strategy, in November 1965, the UK purchased the Chagos Archipelago , which includes Diego Garcia, from the then self-governing colony of Mauritius for £3 million to create the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), with

6099-421: The UK's administration of the Chagos Archipelago was illegal, a decision supported by the United Nations , though the UK has dismissed the ruling as non-binding. Diego Garcia remains the only inhabited island of the BIOT, with its population consisting of military personnel and contractors. It is one of two critical U.S. bomber bases in the Indo-Pacific region , alongside Andersen Air Force Base in Guam . It

6206-417: The US military, including American civilian contracted personnel. Since being expelled, Chagossians, like all others not permitted by the UK or US governments, have been prevented from entering the islands. When Mauritius was a French colony , the islands were a dependency of the French administration in Mauritius (Île Maurice). By the Treaty of Paris of 1814 , France ceded Mauritius and its dependencies to

6313-448: The US nor the UK recognises Diego Garcia as being subject to the African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty , which lists BIOT as covered by the treaty. It is not publicly known whether nuclear weapons have ever been stored on the island. Noam Chomsky and Peter Sand have observed and emphasised that the US and UK stance is blocking the implementation of the treaty. There are two transnational political issues which affect Diego Garcia and

6420-457: The United Kingdom. In 1965, while planning for Mauritian independence, the UK constituted the Chagos as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). Mauritius gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1968, and has since claimed the Chagos Archipelago as Mauritian territory. In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a non-binding advisory opinion stating that the UK "has an obligation to bring to an end its administration of

6527-419: The administrative expenses of the new territory. The plantations, under their previous private ownership and under government administration, proved consistently unprofitable due to the introduction of new oils and lubricants in the international marketplace and the establishment of vast coconut plantations in the East Indies and the Philippines . Between 1967 and 1973, the population was forcibly removed from

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6634-415: The archipelago were Portuguese explorers . Although the Portuguese navigator Pedro de Mascarenhas (1470 – 23 June 1555) is credited with having encountered the islands during his voyage of 1512–13, there is little corroborative evidence; cartographic analysis points to 1532 or later. Portuguese seafarers named the group Bassas de Chagas, Portuguese : Chagas (wounds) referring to the Holy Wounds of

6741-457: The archipelago. In a written statement, the U.S. government said that neither the Americans nor the British have any plans to discontinue use of the military base on Diego Garcia. The statement said in a footnote: "In 2016, there were discussions between the United Kingdom and the United States concerning the continuing importance of the joint base. Neither party gave notice to terminate and the agreement remains in force until 2036". In June 2020,

6848-448: The atoll. From 1881 until 1888, the atoll hosted two coaling stations for steamships crossing the Indian Ocean. In 1882, the French-financed, Mauritian-based Société Huilière de Diego et de Peros (the "Oilmaking Company of Diego and Peros"), consolidated all the plantations in the Chagos under its control. In 1914, the island was visited by the German light cruiser SMS  Emden halfway through its commerce-raiding cruise during

6955-459: The atolls and isolated islands of the archipelago. The workers were enslaved by the British and not freed until 1840, after which time many of the workers descended from those who had earlier been enslaved. They formed an inter-island culture called Ilois , a French Creole word meaning "Islanders". Commander Robert Moresby made a survey of the Chagos on behalf of the British Admiralty in 1837–38. After Moresby had taken measurements of most of

7062-405: The atolls and reefs, the archipelago was charted with relative accuracy for the first time. Moresby's survey of the Atolls of the Maldives was followed by the Chagos Archipelago.(1854) Robert Moresby (1794–1854) was a captain of the East India Company's Bombay Marine/Indian Navy who distinguished himself as a hydrographer, maritime surveyor and draughtsman. Moresby is best known for conducting

7169-420: The case that "Don Garcia" was named after Garcia de Noronha, although no evidence exists to support this. The island is also labelled "Don Garcia" on Mercator 's Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Descriptio ad Usum Navigatium Emendate (Duisburg 1569). However, on the Vera Totius Expeditionis Nauticae Description of Jodocus Hondius (London 1589), "Don Garcia" mysteriously changes its name to "I. de Dio Gratia", while

7276-429: The centre of the Indian Ocean, formed by volcanoes above the Réunion hotspot . Unlike the Maldives, there is no clearly discernible pattern in the atoll arrangement, which makes the whole archipelago look somewhat chaotic. Most of the coralline structures of the Chagos are submerged reefs. The Chagos contain the world's largest coral atoll, The Great Chagos Bank, which supports half the total area of good quality reefs in

7383-404: The commercial development of the islands for tourism. Until October 2010, Skipjack ( Euthynnus pelamis ) and yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus albacares ) were fished for about two months of the year as their year-long migratory route takes them through Chagos waters. While the remoteness of the Chagos offers some protection from extractive activities, legal and illegal fishing have had an impact. There

7490-403: The communications station and an airfield. To satisfy the terms of an agreement between the UK and the United States for an uninhabited island, the plantation on Diego Garcia was closed in October of that year. The plantation workers and their families were relocated to the plantations on Peros Banhos and Salomon atolls to the northwest. The by-then-independent Mauritian government refused to accept

7597-425: The creation of the no-take marine reserve. All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK–US military facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines , and the US. There are currently no industrial or agricultural activities on

7704-543: The early months of World War I . In 1942, the British opened RAF Station Diego Garcia and established an advanced flying boat unit at the East Point Plantation, staffed and equipped by No. 205 and No. 240 Squadrons , then stationed on Ceylon. Both Catalina and Sunderland aircraft were flown during the course of World War II in search of Japanese and German submarines and surface raiders. At Cannon Point, two 6-inch naval guns were installed by

7811-632: The first modern survey of the Red Sea (1829–32).   After the completion of the Red Sea Survey, Robert Moresby was sent to chart various coral island groups lying across the track of India-to-Cape trade. In 1834–36 Moresby, assisted by Lieutenants Christopher and Young, undertook the difficult cartography of the Maldive Islands, drawing the first accurate maritime charts of this complicated Indian Ocean atoll group (Admiralty Charts). These charts were printed as three separate large maps by

7918-419: The high-water mark, is not included. Features are listed in the table from north to south: Download coordinates as: The main natural resources of the area are coconuts and fish. The licensing of commercial fishing used to provide an annual income of about US$ 2 million for the British Indian Ocean Territory authorities. However, licenses have not been given since October 2010; the last expired after

8025-424: The independence of Seychelles in 1976, and to a desk in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London since. The UK represents the territory internationally. A local government as normally envisioned does not exist. Rather, the administration is represented in the territory by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia, the "Brit rep". Laws and regulations are promulgated by the commissioner and enforced in

8132-446: The intent of ultimately closing the plantations to provide the uninhabited British territory from which the United States would conduct its military activities in the region. In April 1966, the British government bought the entire assets of the Chagos Agalega Company in the BIOT for £600,000 and administered them as a government enterprise and immediately leased the plantations back to Chagos Agalega while awaiting United States funding of

8239-479: The island's colonial period consisted of coconut plantations producing copra and/or coconut oil , until closure of the plantations and forced relocation of the inhabitants in October 1971. For a brief period in the 1880s, it served as a coaling station for steamships transiting the Indian Ocean from the Suez Canal to Australia. All the inhabitants of Diego Garcia were forcibly resettled to other islands in

8346-515: The islanders without payment, and in 1974, the UK gave the Mauritian government an additional £650,000 to resettle the islanders. Those who still remained on the island of Diego Garcia between 1971 and 1973 were forced onto cargo ships that were heading to Mauritius and the Seychelles. By 1973, construction of the Naval Communications Station was complete. In the early 1970s, setbacks to United States military capabilities in

8453-499: The islands and moved to Mauritius and the Seychelles to make way for a joint United States–United Kingdom military base on Diego Garcia . In March 1971, United States naval construction battalions (Seabees), arrived on Diego Garcia to begin the construction of the Communications Station and an airfield. To satisfy the terms of an agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States for an uninhabited island,

8560-497: The islands is 56.1 km (21.7 sq mi), the largest island, Diego Garcia, having an area of 32.5 km (12.5 sq mi). The total area, including lagoons within atolls, is more than 15 km (5.8 sq mi), of which 12,642 km (4,881 sq mi) are accounted by the Great Chagos Bank , the largest acknowledged atoll structure of the world (the completely submerged Saya de Malha Bank

8667-576: The islands to Mauritius as they were not legally separated from the latter in 1965. The UK Foreign Office said the ruling is not legally binding. In May 2019, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed the decision of the International Court of Justice and demanded that the United Kingdom withdraw its colonial administration from the Islands and cooperate with Mauritius to facilitate the resettlement of Mauritian nationals in

8774-572: The islands, catch fish, and cook, smoke, and dry them. Additionally, the exiled Maldive King Hassan IX (also known as Dom Manoel), while in Cochin , describes himself in his letters patent of 1561 as King of the Maldive islands, including seven of the islands of Pullobay, referring to Fōlhavahi or the Chagos, and this letter survives in a Portuguese archive in Lisbon. In Maldivian lore the whole group

8881-595: The islands, was written by Manoel Rangel, a castaway from the Portuguese ship Conceição which ran aground on the Peros Banhos reefs in 1556. The oldest known written document claiming the Chagos is attributed to King Hassan IX of the Maldives in the year 1561. The French were the first European colonial power to lay claim to the Chagos after they settled Île Bourbon (now Réunion , in 1665) and Isle de France (now Mauritius, in 1715). The French began issuing permits for companies to establish coconut oil plantations on

8988-473: The islands. All the water, food and other essentials of daily life are shipped to the island. An independent feasibility study led to the conclusion that resettlement would be "costly and precarious". Another feasibility study, commissioned by organisations supporting resettlement, found that resettlement would be possible at a cost to the British taxpayer of £25 million. If the Chagossians return, they plan to re-establish copra production and fishing, and to begin

9095-414: The island—either for vacation or medical purposes—were not allowed to return, and those who stayed could obtain only restricted food and medical supplies. This tactic was in hope that those that stayed would leave "willingly". One of the tactics used was ordering all Chagossian dogs to be killed. In March 1971, United States Naval construction battalions arrived on Diego Garcia to begin the construction of

9202-536: The lagoon, a deep-water pier, port facilities for the largest naval vessels in the U.S. and British fleets, aircraft hangars, maintenance buildings and an air terminal, a 1,340,000 barrels (213,000 m) fuel storage area, and billeting and messing facilities for thousands of sailors and support personnel. The closure of the U.S. bases in the Philippines in the early 1990s brought many workers from Subic Bay and Clark Air Base to Diego Garcia. On 23 June 2017,

9309-403: The late 18th century, Diego Garcia had no indigenous population. Its only inhabitants were European overseers who managed the coconut plantations for their absentee landowners and contract workers mostly of African, Indian, and Malay ancestry, known as Chagossians , who had lived and worked on the plantations for several generations. Prior to setting up a military base, the United States government

9416-451: The local overseas trade.   However, when considered in a different perspective there were innumerable issues which could arise because of the British intentions. The reefs and the shallows of the Maldives was her first line of defense. The strategic importance of the topography of the Maldivian reefs, shallows, islands and the atolls of the country has been a closely guarded secret of the Maldivian militia for centuries. Therefore, if

9523-573: The military base to remain under a 99-year lease, pending a treaty ratification. Located just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean , Diego Garcia lies 3,535 km (2,197 mi) east of Tanzania , 2,984 km (1,854 mi) east-southeast of Somalia , 726 km (451 mi) south of the Maldives , 1,796 km (1,116 mi) southwest of India , 2,877 km (1,788 mi) west-southwest of Sumatra , 4,723 km (2,935 mi) northwest of Australia , and 2,112 km (1,312 mi) northeast of Mauritius Island . Diego Garcia

9630-521: The moment". Chagos Archipelago The Chagos Archipelago ( / ˈ tʃ ɑː ɡ ə s , - ɡ oʊ s / ) or Chagos Islands (formerly the Bassas de Chagas, and later the Oil Islands ) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmost archipelago of

9737-552: The name of Garcia, the other with name Diego. Also, a cacography of the saying Deo Gracias (literally 'Thank God') is eligible for the attribution of the atoll. Although the Cantino planisphere (1504) and the Ruysch map (1507) clearly delineate the Maldive Islands, giving them the same names, they do not show any islands to the south which can be identified as the Chagos archipelago. The Sebastian Cabot map ( Antwerp 1544) shows

9844-587: The period, and to the present day. Diego Garcia and the rest of the Chagos islands were uninhabited until the late 18th century. In 1778, the French Governor of Mauritius granted Monsieur Dupuit de la Faye the island of Diego Garcia, and evidence exists of temporary French visits to collect coconuts and fish. Several Frenchmen living in "a dozen huts" abandoned Diego Garcia when the British East India Company attempted to establish

9951-484: The plantation on Diego Garcia was closed in October of that year. The plantation workers and their families were initially deported to the plantations on Peros Banhos and Salomon atolls in the group; those who requested were transported to the Seychelles or Mauritius. In 1972, the UK closed the remaining plantations (all being now uneconomic) of the Chagos, and deported the Ilois who would have faced economic hardship to

10058-472: The proposed facilities, with an interim objective of paying for the administrative expenses of the new territory. However, the plantations, both under their previous private ownership and under government administration, proved consistently unprofitable due to the introduction of new oils and lubricants in the international marketplace, and the establishment of vast coconut plantations in the East Indies and

10165-852: The region including the fall of Saigon , victory of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, the closure of the Peshawar Air Station listening post in Pakistan and Kagnew Station in Eritrea, the Mayaguez incident , and the build-up of Soviet naval presence in Aden and a Soviet airbase at Berbera, Somalia , caused the United States to request, and the UK to approve, permission to build a fleet anchorage and enlarged airfield on Diego Garcia, and

10272-414: The region. The Role of Pro-British Figures To further their colonial ambitions, the British often supported pro-British figures like Ahmad Dídí, who held considerable influence over Maldivian politics. By backing such individuals, the British were able to indirectly shape the country's policies and decisions. Exploiting Legal Loopholes The absence of a formal legal framework and defined borders in

10379-542: The region. Unauthorized Survey Sparks Tension One of the most significant incidents occurred in 1834 when Captain Moresby, commissioned by the British East India Company, conducted a survey of the Maldivian archipelago without explicit permission from the local authorities. This unauthorized action, viewed with suspicion and fear by the Maldivian people, highlighted the growing British interest in

10486-605: The seven atolls with dry land reaching at least the high-water mark, there are nine reefs and banks , most of which can be considered permanently submerged atoll structures. The number of atolls in the Chagos Archipelago is given as four or five in most sources, plus two island groups and two single islands, mainly because it is not recognised that the Great Chagos Bank is a huge atoll structure (including those two island groups and two single islands), and because Blenheim Reef , which has islets or cays above or just reaching

10593-505: The slave trade ended following the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 . The Îlois also evolved a French-based Creole dialect now called Chagossian Creole . Throughout their recorded history, the plantations of the Chagos Archipelago had a population of approximately 1,000 individuals, about two-thirds of whom lived on Diego Garcia. A peak population of 1,142 on all islands was recorded in 1953. The primary industry throughout

10700-450: The strategic island concept, where the US would obtain as many less populated islands as possible for military purposes. According to Barber, this was the only way to ensure security for a foreign base. Diego Garcia is often referred to as "Fantasy Island" for its seclusion. The key component in obtaining Diego Garcia was the perceived lack of a native population on the island. Uninhabited until

10807-409: The success of larger plantations in the far east. Cacography Cacography is also deliberate comic misspelling , a type of humour similar to malapropism . A common usage of cacography is to caricature illiterate speakers, as with eye dialect spelling. Others include the use to indicate that something was written by a child, to indirectly voice a cute or funny animal in a meme such as

10914-549: The treacherous waters of their atolls until the 1990s, when satellite images appeared. In the Maldives a channel locally also known as Hanikandu, between Northern Maalhosmadulhu Atoll and "Fasdhūtere" Atoll, is still known as 'Moresby Channel'. The British expelled the Dutch from Ceylon in 1796 and included Maldives as a protected state.  By the 1800s, the European Oriental Trade had expanded vastly, and since

11021-404: The world's best-kept secrets, boasting great recreational facilities, exquisite natural beauty, and outstanding living conditions. Since October 2021 there have been asylum seekers on Diego Garcia . Diego Garcia is the only inhabited island in the British Indian Ocean Territory, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom , usually abbreviated as "BIOT". The Government of the BIOT consists of

11128-569: Was a prime territory for setting up a foreign military base. According to Stuart Barber—a civilian working for the US Navy at the Pentagon —Diego Garcia was located far away from any potential threats, it was low in a native population and it was an island that was not sought after by other countries as it lacked economic interest. To Barber, Diego Garcia and other acquired islands would play a key role in maintaining US dominance. Here Barber designed

11235-402: Was informed by the British government—which owned the island—that Diego Garcia had a population of hundreds. The eventual number of Chagossians numbered around 1,000. Regardless of the size of the population, the Chagossians had to be removed from the island before the base could be constructed. In 1968, the first tactics were implemented to decrease the population of Diego Garcia. Those who left

11342-407: Was to survey and chart the Maldivian seas for the British Admiralty.  However, the Radhun viewed Moresby's visit with suspicion.  Moresby was bearing a letter from the British government to the Radhun. The letter stated that the survey and charting the reefs, sand banks and the depths of the local seas would facilitate the movements of vessels calling at Male', and thereby increase and broaden

11449-477: Was used by the CIA for "nefarious activities". He said that he had heard from three US intelligence sources that Diego Garcia was used as "a transit site where people were temporarily housed, let us say, and interrogated from time to time" and, "What I heard was more along the lines of using it as a transit location when perhaps other places were full or other places were deemed too dangerous or insecure, or unavailable at

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