Administrative change

Excision of the Chagos Archipelago, 1965

Ahead of Mauritian independence, the United Kingdom excised the Chagos Archipelago from the Colony of Mauritius to create the British Indian Ocean Territory, and later relocated the Chagossian population.

What happened

On 8 November 1965, the United Kingdom excised the Chagos Archipelago from the Colony of Mauritius (together with three islands from the Seychelles) to create the British Indian Ocean Territory, in talks with Mauritian ministers ahead of independence that included UK compensation payments.[1] Between 1968 and 1973, the UK forcibly relocated the Chagossian population from the islands, including Diego Garcia, to make way for a US military base there.[1]

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: On 8 November 1965, the United Kingdom excised the Chagos Archipelago from the Colony of Mauritius (together with three islands from the Seychelles) to create the British Indian Ocean Territory, negotiated with Mauritian ministers ahead of independence and including UK compensation payments; between 1968 and 1973 the UK forcibly relocated the Chagossian population to make way for a US military base on Diego Garcia.

    • British Indian Ocean Territory (Wikipedia) link, article text. Source record Consulted via a general-reference encyclopedia article, not primary UK archival or negotiation records.

Source note

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