Mauritian Independence and the Excision of the Chagos
Britain agreed to Mauritian independence on terms that included the separation of the Chagos Archipelago, for which the colony's leaders accepted three million pounds under circumstances they later described as coerced. The islands were constituted as the British Indian Ocean Territory in 1965, and the entire Chagossian population was deported to Mauritius and the Seychelles, where most lived in poverty; the removal was concealed from Parliament and the United Nations by describing the islanders as contract labourers rather than a settled population. Diego Garcia became one of the most important American bases outside the United States, used for operations over the Middle East and Central Asia for the following half-century. Chagossians have litigated continuously since the 1970s. The International Court of Justice advised in 2019 that the detachment was unlawful and that Britain should end its administration; the UN General Assembly endorsed this by 116 votes to 6. In 2024 Britain agreed in principle to transfer sovereignty to Mauritius while retaining the base on a long lease.
- Year: 1968 CE
- Category: Political
