Britain gives up Chagos Islands

Well if one of them is to be used as a US military base that Island isn’t really being returned to them, but am glad we have relinquished the Islands. Am afraid I haven’t heard of them before.

this is helpful:

news.sky.com/story/uk-to-hand-over-sovereignty-of-chagos-islands-to-mauritius-after-decades-long-dispute-13227089

Current population of the islands"Ethnic groups: 95.88% British / American; 4.12% others; (native population exiled)"

It seems like some kind of a deal to give the original inhabitants there before exile access without losing the islands as a strategic military base.

I think there has been a secret US base on one of the Islands since WWII

I think there has been a secret US base on one of the Islands since WWII

Not much of a secret now. 😂

Does this mean that the Chagossians will be at last able to return home?

In the 1960s, Britain and the US made an unsavoury arrangement to depopulate Chagos in order to build the base at Diego Garcia. Over the next decade, the archipelago’s entire population, an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 Chagossians, were uprooted from their villages – where they had worked on coconut plantations since the 18th century – and moved many hundreds of kilometres away to either the Seychelles or Mauritius. There, the vulnerable population began their decades-long struggle to get home.

www.bbc.com/travel/article/20151203-an-exiled-island-turned-private-tropical-paradise

Though from the tone of this article it would seem that they would struggle to restore their economy.

"Since 1971, only Diego Garcia has been allowed inhabitants - US military employees - after the UK expelled the Chagossians at the request of the US.

Some moved to Mauritius and some have lived in the UK, in Crawley, West Sussex, since 2002.

The expulsions are regarded as one of the most shameful parts of Britain's modern colonial history and Chagossians have spent decades fighting to return."

but the US/UK base has a 99 year agreement to stay.

(all from the article)

The UK's treatment of the Chagossians has been shameful.

I do wonder, though, if Mauritius will treat them any better.

MaizieD

The UK's treatment of the Chagossians has been shameful.

I do wonder, though, if Mauritius will treat them any better.

and most of the islands are uninhabitable.. I hope they manage to survive..

I heard about this years ago- those poor people turfed of their land. Although I am glad they can now return I feel it is not under the best of circumstances. Tragic that these things keep happening over little bits of land...

I heard the Tories complaining about this as being a sellout. As if most people want to hang onto far flung territories they’ve never heard of . A bit rich since the Tories were negotiating this very thing themselves a few months ago.

One of the people who has campaigned most vociferously for the return of the Chagos islands to Mauritius and the resettlement of the islands was Suella Braverman's uncle, Mahen Kundasamy, who was the Mauritian High Commissioner to London from 2005-2015.

Suella Braverman is now criticising Labour (especially David Lammy), She's just tweeted:

"This is a shameful decision.

Starmer's reckless capitulation over the Chagos Islands severely undermines UK national security.

We all knew Lammy was weak but now it’s official: he’s China’s useful idiot too.

A dark day for our country’s sovereignty."

MaizieD

The UK's treatment of the Chagossians has been shameful.

I do wonder, though, if Mauritius will treat them any better.

Why wouldn't they? Most of the Chagossians live in Mauritius anyway.

The islands were uninhabited until 1793 when the French using slave labour developed copra plantations.

In 1814 they were ceded to the British along with Mauritius including Seychelles.

So I assume that the Chagossians have French/British ancestry.

They were brought as slaves from Africa and India, so they have African or Indian ancestry originally.

Can’t be many here in the UK who care one way or the other.

I’ve only vaguely heard of these islands anyway and didn’t know who owned them.

growstuff

They were brought as slaves from Africa and India, so they have African or Indian ancestry originally.

Fair point growstuff

Some people read more widely than you seem to do.

One of the islands, Diego Garcia, is used as a US/UK military base - that' why the UK has been reluctant to hand the islands over to Mauritius. It was James Cleverly, the former Foreign Secretary, who opened the negotiations which has resulted in them being handed over.

growstuff

Some people read more widely than you seem to do.

Really, growstuff that comment was uncalled for!

There’s a lot of uncalled for comments on GN today🙄

They are very marginally above sea-level. I'm glad they've got them back, but I can't see many of the displaced islanders or their descendants re-populating them only to lose them again to the sea in 10 years'time.

GrannyGravy13

growstuff

Some people read more widely than you seem to do.

Really, growstuff that comment was uncalled for!

But I'd heard of them!

People could comment on my TV viewing habits if I were to post that I've never heard of anybody who takes part in "Strictly" or "Eastenders". Just because I've never heard of something doesn't mean that it's not important to other people. However, I wouldn't comment that I'd never heard of them.

growstuff

GrannyGravy13

growstuff

Some people read more widely than you seem to do.

Really, growstuff that comment was uncalled for!

But I'd heard of them!

People could comment on my TV viewing habits if I were to post that I've never heard of anybody who takes part in "Strictly" or "Eastenders". Just because I've never heard of something doesn't mean that it's not important to other people. However, I wouldn't comment that I'd never heard of them.

Where have I said that I haven’t heard of them ?

I posted upthread about the first colonisation…