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Where is the Chagos Archipelago? -

The Chagos Archipelago is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 310 miles (500 kilometers) south of the Maldives Archipelago.

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Diego Garcia -

The remote cluster of islands include the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, the only inhabited island in the archipelago and used by the US government as a military base for its navy ships and long-range bomber aircraft.

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Former British Indian Ocean Territory -

Formerly a British Indian Ocean Territory, the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands is set to be relinquished by the United Kingdom in a throwback to decolonialization, with a deal that will see the transfer of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius.

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Pedro Mascarenhas (1480–1555) -

In the early 16th century, Portuguese explorer Pedro Mascarenhas became the first European to discover the island of Diego Garcia, in 1512 to be precise.

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Bassas de Chagas -

In the same year, Mascarenhas also encountered the island of Mauritius. As more islands in the archipelago were mapped, Portuguese seafarers named the group Bassas de Chagas (identified at the top right of the map).

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Mauritius and the French -

The French were the first to lay claim to the Chagos after they settled Île Bourbon (now Réunion, in 1665) and Isle de France (now Mauritius, in 1715).

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Treaty of Paris -

The Treaty of Paris, signed on May 30, 1814, effectively ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. With Napoleon defeated, the armistice, cosigned by Charles, Count of Artois (pictured) and the allies, saw the Chagos ceded to Britain. The archipelago was governed from Mauritius, which was by that time also a British colony.

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Home to the Chagossians -

The Chagos Islands had been home to an Indo-African ethnic group called the Chagossians from the 1700s, brought as slaves from Africa and India by the French. They worked the coconut plantations established by the French on many of the atolls and isolated islands of the archipelago. After 1840, the Chagossians were no longer enslaved people. In time, they developed an inter-island culture called Ilois (a French Creole word than translates as "Islanders").

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UK purchases the Chagos Archipelago -

In 1965, the UK purchased the entire Chagos Archipelago from the then self-governing colony of Mauritius to create the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The intent was to close the plantations and provide the United States with a base from which it could conduct its military operations in the region.

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Chagossians expelled -

Between 1967 and 1973, the Chagossians were forcibly removed from the islands to make way for the establishment of a joint UK-US naval support facility on Diego Garcia. During this period, in 1968, Mauritius gained independence from the United Kingdom.

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In exile -

The expelled Ilois were resettled in Mauritius (pictured) and the Seychelles, where they suffered racial discrimination, poor housing conditions, and inequality in the workplace.

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The military base takes shape -

Construction on the highly secretive base on Diego Garcia began in March 1971, with Seabees (United States naval construction battalions) building an interim runway to support the communication facility.

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Expansion of facilities -

Diego Garcia was originally conceived simply as a communication station on a remote atoll. However, world events in 1979 and 1980 prompted a rethink by Washington, with Congress authorizing the expansion of facilities to accommodate a major fleet and US armed forces support base.

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Island air power -

Work on the facility was completed in 1983. In a demonstration of its commitment to the security of the Indo-Pacific region, the United States Air Force (USAF) has a permanent squadron of B-1 Lancer and B-52H Stratofortress bombers stationed at Diego Garcia.

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Built with stealth -

USAF B-2 Spirit Stealth Bombers are also based on the island. The facility itself can accommodate thousands of US personnel.

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Long-term agreement -

While the UK is set to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, under the agreement the base will remain under UK and US jurisdiction for at least the next 99 years.

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Addressing the wrongs of the past -

In a joint communiqué, the UK government said the treaty will also "address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians."

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Resettlement -

In the statement, the Mauritian government added that it is now "free to implement a programme of resettlement" on the islands other than Diego Garcia. Previously, groups of islanders evacuated against their will nearly 60 years ago and their descendants had only been permitted to visit the Chagos as part of an organized tour.

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"Appalling colonial crime" -

In the wake of the announcement, Human Rights Watch has called the forcible displacement of the Ilois an "appalling colonial crime" and a crime against humanity.

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Chagos Marine Protected Area -

The Chagos Archipelago is vast. It falls within the boundaries of the Chagos Marine Protected Area, one of the world's largest officially designated marine protected areas.

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Great Chagos Bank -

Set within the archipelago is the Great Chagos Bank, the largest atoll structure in the world, with a total area of 4,881 sq mi (12,642 km2). Danger Island (pictured) has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.

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Important conservation area -

Similarly, the Eagle Islands constitute a protected area with a large population of nesting birds. It's forbidden to land on the islands or anchor a boat nearby.

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Salomons Atoll -

Around 500 Chagossians were expelled by the British from the Salomons Atoll during the eviction of Ilois. Today, thick jungle has reclaimed the largest islands in the group, Île Boddam, with the former main settlement now hidden by foliage.

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Complex ecosystem -

The pristine Chagos marine environment supports extremely healthy and diverse coral cover. Marine biologists have described it as a "natural laboratory," a complex ecosystem where approximately 200 species of coral can be studied.

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Healthy fish stocks -

The fish of the region are equally diverse, with at least 784 different species having been identified. A strict no-fishing policy has allowed elsewhere overfished pelagic species, including yellowfish tuna, to flourish.

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Sanctuary for the hawksbill turtle -

Diego Garcia itself provides a suitable foraging and nesting habitat for the hawksbill turtle (pictured), listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Critically Endangered. The endangered green turtle also finds sanctuary on the island.

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Conserving the coconut crab -

The coconut crab, the world's largest terrestrial arthropod, is especially abundant in Diego Garcia's conservation area.

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Nesting seabirds -

The archipelago's astonishing variety of birdlife includes breeding seabirds such as the sooty tern.

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Breeding in numbers -

The graceful wedge-tailed shearwater is also breeding in internationally significant numbers.

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Still off-limits -

The other birds in the sky number those of the USAF, whose presence is guaranteed for the next 99 years or so. And throughout, Diego Garcia will remain as secretive and off-limits as it's ever been.

Sources: (BBC) (The Guardian) (Human Rights Watch) (IUCN)

See also: Military secrets the US government doesn’t want you to know

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