Chagossians

Also known as Îlois

The Chagossians, also known as Chagos Islanders and '''''' (), are an Afro-Asian ethnic group originating from freed African slaves as well as people of Asian (South Asian and Malay) descent brought to the Chagos Islands, specifically Diego Garcia, Peros Banhos, and the Salomon island chain, in the late 18th century. Under international law, they are the indigenous peoples of the Chagos archipelago, as they are descended from the earliest human settlers of the islands. Most Chagossians now live in Mauritius, Seychelles, and the United Kingdom after the forced removal by the British government

Key facts

Ethnic group.group: Chagossians
Ethnic group.native_name: Îlois
Ethnic group.image: Diego garcian.jpg
Ethnic group.caption: Chagossian man harvesting coconuts, photographed shortly before the first United States encampment, 1971
Ethnic group.population: ~10,000
Ethnic group.languages: Chagossian Creole Mauritian Creole Seychellois Creole English French
Ethnic group.religions: Predominantly Christianity
Ethnic group.related_groups: Mauritian Creoles, Seychellois Creoles, Black Africans

via Wikipedia infobox

~17 min read

Encyclopedic overview

16 sections

Contents

History
Early history and ethnogenesis
Expulsion and dispossession
Court battles
Marine nature reserve and government communications leak
Pollution
Discourse about the Chagossians
2012 petition
Possible return following the 2024 handover agreement
2026 return
Indigenous status
See also
Further reading
References
Bibliography
External links

The Chagossians, also known as Chagos Islanders and '''' (), are an Afro-Asian ethnic group originating from freed African slaves as well as people of Asian (South Asian and Malay) descent brought to the Chagos Islands, specifically Diego Garcia, Peros Banhos, and the Salomon island chain, in the late 18th century. Under international law, they are the indigenous peoples of the Chagos archipelago, as they are descended from the earliest human settlers of the islands. Most Chagossians now live in Mauritius, Seychelles, and the United Kingdom after the forced removal by the British government in the late 1960s and early 1970s so that Diego Garcia, the island where most Chagossians lived, could serve as the location for a joint United Kingdom–United States military base. Since 1971, no Chagossians have been allowed to live on the island of Diego Garcia, nor anywhere in the Chagos Archipelago, despite many of the once-inhabited islands being over away from Diego Garcia.

In 2026, four Chagossians linked to the self-declared Chagossian Government returned to Île du Coin to reestablish the settlement there, without seeking government permission.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Chagossians” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.