The Chagos Archipelago.
(Atolls with areas of dry land are named in green)

Not to be confused with Chagas.

The Chagos Archipelago is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands roughly in the centre of the Indian Ocean. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1311x1947, 1307 KB) base map from http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1311x1947, 1307 KB) base map from http://www. ... Chagas disease (also called American trypanosomiasis) is a human tropical parasitic disease which occurs in the Americas, particularly in South America. ... Portion of a Pacific atoll showing two islets on the ribbon or barrier reef separated by a deep pass between the ocean and the lagoon. ...

The Chagos lies about 500 km (300 miles) due south of the Maldives, its nearest neighbour, 1600 km (1000 miles) southwest of India, half way between Tanzania and Java. This article is about the Java island. ...

The Chagos group is a combination of different coralline structures topping a submarine ridge running southwards across the centre of the Indian Ocean, formed by volcanoes above the Réunion hotspot. Unlike in the Maldives there is not a clearly discernible pattern of arrayed atolls, which makes the whole archipelago look somewhat chaotic. Most of the coralline structures of the Chagos are submerged reefs. The Réunion hotspot is a volcanic hotspot which currently lies under the Island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. ...

Officially part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, the Chagos were home to the Chagossians for more than a century and a half until their forced expulsion in the 1960s by the United Kingdom and United States. An unnamed Chagossian and his final coconut harvest, photographed at the time of the first United States encampment (1971) Chagossians (also known as Ilois and Chagos Islanders) are a group of Creole-speaking people. ... Population transfer is a term referring to a policy by which a state, or international authority, forces the movement of a large group of people out of a region, most frequently on the basis of their ethnicity or religion. ...

Geography

The entire land area of the islands is a mere 63.17 km², with the largest island, Diego Garcia, having an area of 27.20 km². The total area, including lagoons within atolls, however, is more than 15,000 km², of which 12,642 km² are accounted by the Great Chagos Bank, the second largest atoll structure of the world (after the completely submerged Saya de Malha Bank). The shelf area is 20,607 km², and the Exclusive Economic Zone, which borders to the corresponding zone of the Maldive Islands in the north, has an area of 636,600 km² (including territorial waters). Diego Garcia ( ) is an atoll located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, some 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of Indias southern coast. ... See lagoon (disambiguation) for other possible meanings. ... Atoll in the western Pacific Ocean Photo: www. ... The Great Chagos Bank, in the Chagos Archipelago, about 500 km South of the Maldives, is the largest atoll structure in the world, with a total area of roughly 13 000 km2. ... The Saya de Malha Bank (also Sahia de Malha Bank) is a large undersea bank in the Indian Ocean, part of the vast undersea Mascarene Plateau. ... Shelf is a detail of furniture for storing items. ... Sea areas in international rights Under the law of the sea, an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. ... The Republic of Maldives is a country consisting territorially of a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India. ... Map of Sealand and the United Kingdom, with territorial water claims of 3nm and 12nm shown. ...

The largest individual islands are Diego García (27.20 km²), Eagle (Great Chagos Bank, 2.45 km²), Île Pierre (Peros Banhos, 1.50 km²), Eastern Egmont (Egmont Islands, 1.50 km²), Île du Coin (Peros Banhos, 1.28 km²) and Île Boddam (Salomon Islands, 1.08 km²).

The number of atolls in the Chagos Islands is given as four or five in most sources, plus two island groups and two single islands, mainly because it is not recognized that the Great Chagos Bank is a huge atoll structure (including those two island groups and two single islands), and because it is not recognized that Blenheim Reef has islets or cays above or just reaching the high water mark. The Great Chagos Bank, in the Chagos Archipelago, about 500 km South of the Maldives, is the largest atoll structure in the world, with a total area of roughly 13 000 km2. ... Blenheim Reef is a steep-to, largely submerged coral atoll in the northeastern part of the Chagos Archipelago, at 5°12S, 072°28E. It measures almost eleven kilometres (North–South) by more than four kilometres (East–West), with a total area of almost 30 square kilometres, including the...

In addition to 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. They are listed in the table from north to south: A bank is a comparatively shallow area or an underwater hill on the continental shelf. ...

Colvocoresses Reef is a wholly submerged atoll structure in the Northeast of the Chagos Archipelago, 19 km East of Speakers Bank and 30 km Northeast of Blenheim Reef. ... Speakers Bank is an Atoll in the Chagos Archipelago, it includes several tiny islets but only one main island that may have been inhabited earlier this century. ... Blenheim Reef is a steep-to, largely submerged coral atoll in the northeastern part of the Chagos Archipelago, at 5°12S, 072°28E. It measures almost eleven kilometres (North–South) by more than four kilometres (East–West), with a total area of almost 30 square kilometres, including the... Benares Shoals are a group of islets and cays that make up a submerged atoll in the Chagos Archipelago. ... Peros Banhos is a group of thirty-five main islands in the Chagos Archipelago of the British Indian Ocean Territory, forming a circular coral reef. ... The Salomon Islands, an atoll of the British Indian Ocean Territory, are located in the Northeast of the Chagos Archipelago. ... Victory Bank is an atoll structure in the Chagos Archipelago that is mostly submerged, except for the odd islet or cay. ... Nelson Island is the name of three islands: Nelson Island in Alaska, United States. ... The Great Chagos Bank, in the Chagos Archipelago, about 500 km South of the Maldives, is the largest atoll structure in the world, with a total area of roughly 13 000 km2. ... The Great Chagos Bank, in the Chagos Archipelago, about 500 km South of the Maldives, is the largest atoll structure in the world, with a total area of roughly 13 000 km2. ... Three Brothers is a group of three islands 20 km East of Eagle Islands along the central western rim of the Great Chagos Bank, which is the worlds largest coral atoll structure, located in the Chagos Archipelago. ... Eagle Islands are a group of three islands in the Chagos Archipelago. ... Danger Island is the only island of its group. ... The Egmont Islands (Six Iles) are one of the six coral atolls that make up the Chagos Archipelago. ... Cauvin Bank is an atoll structure in the Chagos Archipelago. ... Owen Bank is a wholly submerged atoll structure in the Chagos Archipelago. ... Pitt Bank is an atoll structure with a few remaining cays in the Chagos Archipelago. ... Diego Garcia ( ) is an atoll located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, some 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of Indias southern coast. ... Ganges Bank is part of the Chagos Archipelago, located southwest of Diego Garcia. ... Wight Bank is an atoll in the southern part of the Chagos Archipelago. ... Centurion Bank is a lergely submerged atoll structure in the Southwest of the Chagos Archipelago. ...

Resources

The main natural resources of the area are coconuts, and fish and the licensing of commercial fishing provides an annual income of about two million dollars for the British Indian Ocean Territory authorities.^[1] Binomial name Cocos nucifera L.. The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera L.), is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family). ... For other uses, see Fish (disambiguation). ... Salmon for sale at a marketplace The Fishing industry is the commercial activity of fishing and producing fish and other seafood products. ...

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 the islands. When the Chagossians return, they plan to re-establish copra production and fishing. Copra drying in the sun Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. ...

Climate

Tropical marine; hot and humid but moderated by trade winds. Climate 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 through September is considered the drier season (winter), characterised by moderate south-easterly winds, slightly cooler temperatures and less rainfall. The annual mean rainfall is 2600 mm (100 inches), varying from 105 mm (4 inches) during August to 350 mm (14 inches) during January. Humidity is the quantity of moisture in the air. ... The trade winds are a pattern of wind found in bands around Earths equatorial region. ... In meteorology, precipitation is any kind of water that falls from the sky as part of the weather. ...

History

Maldivian mariners knew the Chagos Islands well ^[2]. In Maldivian lore they are known as Fōlhavahi or Hollhavai (the latter name in the closer Southern Maldives). According to Southern Maldivian oral tradition, traders and fishermen were occasionally lost at sea and got 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 the Maldives to be settled permanently by Maldivians. Thus for many centuries the Chagos were ignored by their northern neighbors. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 536 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1581 × 1768 pixel, file size: 111 KB, MIME type: image/png) Own work I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

The first European explorer to spot the Chagos was Vasco da Gama in the early 16th century. Portuguese seafarers named the group and some of the Atolls, but they never made these islands part of their seaborne empire. They judged this lonely and isolated group to be economically and politically uninteresting. For other uses, see Vasco da Gama (disambiguation). ...

The French were the first to lay a claim on the Chagos after they settled Réunion and Ile de France (later renamed Mauritius).

On 27 April 1786 the Chagos Isands and Diego Garcia were claimed for Britain. However, the territory was ceded to the United Kingdom by treaty only after Napoleon's defeat, in 1814. On 31 August 1903 the Chagos Archipelago was administratively separated from the Seychelles and attached to Mauritius. April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... 1786 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

The islands were retained 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 Seychelles.^[3]

The archipelago's first inhabitants arrived in the 18th century. These were the lepers of Ile de France (Mauritius) who were brought there in the second half of the 1700s. Soon after, a plan was drawn up by the French to settle the Chagos and make them profitable. Workers for a massive French project to establish coconut plantations and produce oil were sent from Ile de France (Mauritius) and settled in some of the largest islands. Consequently, in some maps of the time the Chagos are known as the "Oil Islands". Most of these workers were of African origin, but it is likely that there were also a few South Indians among them. The supervisors of the plantations were probably Frenchmen and the workers were probably little more than slaves, but very little has been recorded about conditions on the islands during that time. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Slave redirects here. ...

By the mid-20th century the oil plantations had largely failed, but the original workers and their families had settled some of the largest islands and survived there. The islanders were known as the Ilois (one French Creole word for "islanders") and they numbered almost 2,000. They were of mixed African and South Asian descent and lived very simple, spartan lives in their isolated archipelago. Few remains of their culture have been left, except for the ruins of a few dwellings and a stone church that can still be seen in Diego Garcia. Flag of the Ilois (Chagossian) people Ilois (also known as Chagossians) are a group of Creole-speaking people, mostly of Indian descent (along with populations from Madagascar, Mauritius, and Mozambique), who dwelled on the island of Diego Garcia and other parts of the Chagos Archipelago for a more than a... Diego Garcia ( ) is an atoll located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, some 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of Indias southern coast. ...

Suddenly, between 1967 and 1971, the entire population was forcibly removed from the islands and relocated to Mauritius to make way for a joint United States-United Kingdom military base on Diego Garcia. Apparently, the displaced people received an initial funding of some £650,00 for their rehousing from the British Government, but individual islanders saw little of those funds and ended up living in a slum in Mauritius. Diego Garcia ( ) is an atoll located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, some 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of Indias southern coast. ...

In the Chagos, the houses the Chagossians had abandoned fell slowly into ruin. Now the vegetation has taken over and in some islands it is difficult to discern where the village once had been. Yachtsmen passing through the archipelago often try to find the ruins and are unsuccessful.

Currently, the only habitation is the joint defence and naval support facility on Diego Garcia. Other uninhabited islands, especially in the Salomon group, are common stopping points for long-distance yachtsmen travelling from Southeast Asia to the Red Sea or the coast of Africa. A cruising sailboat anchored in the San Blas Islands, in Panama. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...

For more information on the expulsion of the islanders and the court case, please read the article on Diego Garcia. Diego Garcia ( ) is an atoll located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, some 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of Indias southern coast. ...

Politics

The most high profile aspect of Chagos Island politics relates to the continued uncertainty as to the future of the former inhabitants of the islands who were evicted in the 1960s and 1970s as part of an arrangement between the United Kingdom and the United States to establish a military establishment on the island of Diego Garcia. The islanders' plight has been well documented, including a documentary produced by investigative journalist John Pilger, entitled "Stealing a Nation", which won the British Royal Television Society Best Documentary Award in 2004. Diego Garcia ( ) is an atoll located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, some 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of Indias southern coast. ... John Pilger John Pilger (born October 9, 1939) is an Australian journalist and documentary filmmaker from Sydney, primarily based in London, UK. // Life and career Pilgers career in journalism began in 1958, and he has developed his reputation through both his reporting and the various books and documentary films... Stealing A Nation is a documentary by journalist filmmaker John Pilger about the Chagos Islanders of Diego Garcia, who were forcibly removed from the island by the British government between 1967 and 1973 to Mauritius, 1,000 miles away, so that the island could be used as an American airbase. ... The Royal Television Society is a British-based society for the discussion, analysis and preservation of television in all its forms, past, present and future. ...

In 2000, the English High Court ruled that a local Ordinance made by the Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory exiling the islanders was unlawful, a decision which was accepted by the British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook. Subsequent to this decision, the British Government attempted to achieve the same objective through use of the royal prerogative; a strategy which was also found to be unlawful by the High Court. The UK government appealed the ruling, but on 23 May 2007 the Appeal Court dismissed the appeal saying that the methods used to stop the Chagos families to return to the islands were "unlawful" and "an abuse of power".^[4] The Government were refused leave to appeal to the House of Lords, but have stated an intention to appeal to the Lords against that refusal. Her Majestys High Court of Justice (known more simply as the High Court) is, together with the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in England and Wales: see Courts of England and Wales. ... The title of Foreign Secretary has been traditionally used to refer to the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. ... Robert Finlayson Cook (28 February 1946 – 6 August 2005) was a politician in the British Labour Party. ... The Royal Prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognised in common law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the Crown alone. ... Her Majestys High Court of Justice (known more simply as the High Court) is, together with the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of Judicature in England and Wales: see Courts of England and Wales. ... is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ... Her Majestys Court of Appeal is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords above it. ...

Thus, although these court rulings make it legal for these people to return to all islands other than Diego Garcia - which is currently the only island in the group which by treaty is required by the United States for military purposes - it seems unlikely that resettlement of the islands will commence until legal proceedings have been concluded.

If these court rulings are upheld, the long term future of the archipelago appears uncertain. In the medium term the US lease of Diego Garcia is by treaty currently set to expire in 2016, although both Governments have the option of extending the lease for another 20 years if considered necessary.

Beyond this date, it appears from statements made by Mauritius to the United Nations Human Rights Committee that the United Kingdom has undertaken to cede the islands to Mauritius once they are no longer required by the United States. The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... The Human Rights Committee is a group of 18 experts who meet three times a year to consider the five-yearly reports submitted by United Nations member states on their compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. ...

However, this undertaking appears to have been made on the predication that the islands continue to remain uninhabited; if the Chagossians are able to resume settlement the United Kingdom may decide to treat the islands in accordance with general principles of self-determination, potentially rendering the geopolitical future of the islands in the hands of its displaced people. Self-determination is a principle in international law that a people ought to be able to determine their own governmental forms and structure free from outside influence. ...

Language

The inhabitants of Chagos were speaking Ilois, a French Creole which has not been properly researched from the linguistic point of view. Look up Creole, creole in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The island names are a striking combination of Portuguese, French, English and Creole names. Few places in the world can display such variety of origins in local nomenclature.

References

• Pilger, John. Freedom Next Time. Bantam Press. ISBN 0593055527.  Chapter 1: Stealing a Nation pp19 - 60

• Rao, Padma, "Der Edikt der Königin," Der Spiegel 5 December 2005, pp. 152-4.

• Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. Barcelona 1999, ISBN 84 7254 801 5

Footnotes

See also

• List of Islands in Chagos Archipelago
• Depopulation of Diego Garcia
• Indian Ocean states
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• Robert Moresby

List of Islands in Chagos Archipelago ÃŽle Aigle, Eagle Islands Ile Anglaise Ile Anglaise Ile Aux Vaches Ile Boddam ÃŽle Carpate, Egmont Islands (ÃŽle Carre Pate) Ile Charles Grande Ile Coquillage Petite Ile Coquillage ÃŽle Cipaye, Egmont Islands Ile De LEst Ile De LEst Ile De LOuest... The Diego Garcia depopulation controversy pertains to the evacuation of the indigenous inhabitants of the island of Diego Garcia during the 1960s and 70s. ... Indian Ocean Island States is the name given to those island states in the Indian subcontinent which lie in the Indian Ocean. ... Robert Moresby was a distinguished captain of the British Royal Navy. ...

External links

• Site shows "Flag of the Chagossians" at end of page
• 5 minute film about Chagos Islanders campaign to return

permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/pollux/pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUBS/SD/pub171/171sec08.pdf Indian Ocean Pilot (download PDF)]

• Diego Garcia timeline posted at the History Commons about removal of Chagos Islanders
• Chagos Conservation Management Plan (PDF)
• Coral Reef Degradation in the Indian Ocean
• The US military presence on the Chagos Archipelago
• Article about the real history and life of the Chagossians
• Chagos: A Documentary Film
• Stealing Diego Garcia By JOHN PILGER
• The UK Chagos Support Association
• Texas University E Indian Ocean map
• CIA Factbook - British Indian Ocean Territory
• Stealing a Nation (tv documentary, 2004), a Special Report by John Pilger.
• A Return from Exile in Sight? The Chagossians and their Struggle, from the Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights