The Chagos Archipelago (/ ˈtʃɑːɡəs, - ɡoʊs /) or Chagos Islands (formerly the Bassas de Chagas, [2] and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives archipelago.

In 1965, the United Kingdom split the Chagos Archipelago away from Mauritius, and the islands of Aldabra, Farquhar, and Desroches from the Seychelles, to form the British Indian Ocean Territory. The islands were formally established as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom on 8 November 1965.

The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 individual islands, many very small, amounting to a total land area of 60 square kilometres (23 square ...

Oct 13, 2024 · The Government announced that the UK will hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, in a contentious deal intended to end years of legal wrangling about the Indian Ocean archipelago.

4 days ago · Chagos Archipelago, island group in the central Indian Ocean, located about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. It is coterminous with the British Indian Ocean.

Nov 27, 2023 · In 1965 – just three years before Mauritius gained its independence – Britain detached the Chagos Archipelago from its Indian Ocean colony to form the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). This decision allowed London to retain control over these strategic islands after Mauritius became independent.

Oct 3, 2024 · The UK has announced it is giving up sovereignty of a remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean after more than half a century. The deal – reached after years of...

The islands of the Chagos Archipelago were uninhabited until the late 18th century, when the French established copra plantations using slave labour in 1793. The islands have been British territory since 1814 when they were ceded to Britain with Mauritius (which then included the …

Apr 27, 2021 · British Indian Ocean Territory includes all the 55 islands of the Chagos Archipelago and occupies a total land area of 60 km2 and about 54,340 km2 of ocean.

On 3 October 2024, the UK and Mauritian governments announced they had reached an agreement on the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), also known as the Chagos Archipelago. Negotiations began in November 2022 under the government of …