Chagos Archipelago
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The Chagos Archipelago is a group of islands located in the Indian Ocean that has been the subject of long-standing political disputes between countries claiming sovereignty over it. The islands matter because they are strategically important for military and geopolitical interests, and the question of who rightfully controls them remains unresolved in international relations.
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The Chagos Archipelago (/ˈtʃɑːɡəs, -ɡoʊs/, also UK: /ˈtʃeɪɡɒs/) or Chagos Islands (formerly Bassas de Chagas, 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. This chain of islands is the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos–Laccadive Ridge, a long submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean. In its north are the Salomon Islands, Nelsons Island and Peros Banhos; towards its south-west are the Three Brothers, Eagle Islands, Egmont Islands and Danger Island; southeast of these is Diego Garcia, by far the largest island. All are low-lying atolls, save for a few extremely small instances, set around lagoons.
The islands were first permanently settled by Europeans. From 1715 to 1810, the Chagos Islands were part of France's Indian Ocean possessions, administered through Isle de France—which was a colony of France (later renamed as Mauritius). Under the Treaty of Paris in 1814, France ceded Isle de France and the Chagos Islands to the United Kingdom.