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Chagos Archipelago

Map of the British Indian Ocean Territory

The Chagos Archipelago is a group of 65 main tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, lying 500km south of the Maldives. The entire land area of the islands is a mere 63 kmē, with the largest island, Diego Garcia, having an area of 44 kmē.

The islands were discovered by Vasco da Gama in the early sixteenth century, then claimed in the eighteenth century by France as a possession of Mauritius. The United Kingdom gained possession of both Mauritius and the island in 1814, and retained the islands as part of the British Indian Ocean Territory when Mauritius gained independence. Since 1976, the archipelago has been coterminous with the British Indian Ocean Territory, but it is also claimed by Mauritius and the Seychelles.

Although there was no pre-European population, a few hundred people of mostly Indian descent known as the Ilois lived on the islands for several hundred years until they were expelled to Mauritius by the British Government between 1967 and 1973. Currently, the only habitation is a joint US-UK naval support facility on Diego Garcia. There are five other main island groups: Peros Banhos, the Salomon Islands , the Eagle Islands , the Egmont Islands and the Three Brothers . Isolated islands include Nelsons Island and Danger Island .

The British Government instituted an investigation into relocating the former islanders to some of the uninhabited islands, but concluded that this was impossible due to a lack of fresh water. This is disputed by the former islanders, who point out that rainfall in the archipelago is among the highest in the world.

Last updated: 11-07-2004 01:12:36