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British Indian Ocean Territory

 

Contents

Flags

Historical Flags

Meaning/Origin of the Flag

Map

Numbers and Facts

History



Flags

Flagge Fahne Flag Großbritannien Vereinigtes Königreich United Kingdom UK Great Britain Gösch jack Staatsflagge state
seit 1810,
Union Flag → quasi Nationalflagge,
Flagge von Großbritannien,
Seitenverhältnis = 1:2,
Quelle, nach: Wikipedia (EN)




Flagge Fahne flag Britisches Territorium im Indischen Ozean British Indian Ocean Territory BIOT B.I.O.T
since 1990,
National flag,
ratio – ratio = 1:2,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D), Flags of all Nations




Flagge Fahne flag Nationalflagge Staatsflagge Handelsflagge Marineflagge Kriegsflagge USA Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika United States of America
since 1974,
flag of the USA,
ratio = 10:19,
Source, by: Flags of the World, Corel Draw 4



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Historical Flags

Flagge Fahne national flag Nationalflagge Frankreich France
1790–1794,
Flag of France
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen




Flagge Fahne national flag Nationalflagge Frankreich France Trikolore
1794–1810,
Flag of France
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Corel Draw 4




Flagge Fahne Flag Großbritannien Vereinigtes Königreich United Kingdom UK Great Britain Gösch jack Staatsflagge state
since 1801,
Union Flag → quasi national flag,
Flag of United Kingdom,
ratio = 1:2,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)




Flagge Fahne flag Britisch British Mauritius
1869–1903, Mauritius,
Flag of the government (state flag)
ratio = 1:2,
Source, by: Flags of the World




Flagge Fahne flag Britische British Seychellen Seychelles Séchelles Seschellen
1903–1961, Seychelles,
Flag of the government (state flag)
ratio = 1:2,
Source, by: Flags of the World,
LadyofHats, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons





Flagge Fahne flag Britische British Seychellen Seychelles Séchelles Seschellen
1961–1965, Seychelles,
Flag of the government (state flag)
ratio = 1:2,
Source, by: Flags of the World,
LadyofHats, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons




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Meaning/Origin of the Flag

The Chagos archipelago belonged to the British colony of Mauritius from 1810 to 1903 and to the British colony of the Seychelles from 1903. In 1965, the archipelago was merged with the Aldabra Islands, the Farquar Islands and the islands of Desroches, Platte and Coetivy to form the "British Indian Ocean Territory". In 1967, all islands except the Chagos Archipelago were ceded to the Seychelles. As there were no original inhabitants and no other civilian inhabitants (they were relocated to Mauritius between 1969 and 1971) and the islands were and are only used for military purposes, there is no civilian administration and therefore no need for such flags. Nevertheless, there is a British Commissioner who resides at the "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" in London. The British military uses the flag of United Kingdom or its own military flags for the territory, because from the time of British appropriation in 1810, individuals, citizens and also the authorities represented their status as citizens or organs of the British nation, embodied in the United Kingdom, through the use of the Union Jack, then called the "Union Flag". The US military uses the flag of the USA or its own military flags.

The flag of the BIOT does not follow the British ensign system, as the bunting of the flag consists of white and blue wavy lines, which are intended to represent the Indian Ocean. The Union Jack in the top corner indicates the links with United Kingdom. The badge is located at the flying end. It shows a palm tree, a reference to the vegetation, and an image of the British crown. It symbolises the individual islands, in particular the island of Diego Garcia, which is the only one that is inhabited. The flag, like the badge, was introduced for the British Commissioner in 1990. Nevertheless, it is used on the territory and the publication "Flags of all Nations" (a service regulation) of the British Ministry of Defence refers to the flag as the "national flag".

United Kingdom introduced a flag system in 1864 in which:
• war ships fly the "White Ensign" (naval flag), a white flag often with an uninterrupted red St. George's-Cross and with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag,
• merchant ships fly a "Red Ensign" (also named "Civil Ensign" → civil flag, the real merchant flag), a red flag with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag, and
• governmental ships fly the "Blue Ensign" (flag for the use by the gouvernment → the actual state flag), a blue flag with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag.

Source: Flaggen Enzyklopädie, Wikipedia (EN), Flags of all Nations

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Map


Source: CIA World Factbook

Map of the Country:

Source: CIA World Factbook

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Numbers and Facts

Area: 24 square miles

Inhabitants: ca. 3.500 (military only)

Density of Population: 144 inh./sq.mi.

Capital: Diego Garcia

official Language: English

Currency: 1 Pound Sterling (£) = 100 Pence, 1 US-Dollar ($) = 100 Cents

Time Zone: MEZ + 6 h

Source: Wikipedia (EN)

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History

1810 · seizure by the United Kingdom

1903 · separation from Mauritius, affiliation with the Seychelles

1965 · separation from the Seychelles, formation of the BIOT

1966 · Anglo-US-American treaty of usage

1969–1971 · evacuation of the population

1976 · ceding of territories to the Seychelles

The colonial British Indian Ocean Territory (B.I.O.T.) was formed in 1965 and includes the Chagos Archipelago of which the coral island group of Diego Garcia is the largest, and which encompasses an ocean area of 21.042 square miles. For many years now, the B.I.O.T. has no original population. It produced copra and was evacuated to Mauritius between 1969 and 1971. Today’s residents are personnel of the Anglo-US-American military base on the island of Diego Garcia. In 1965 the Chagos Archipelago was retained by Great Britain Mauritius. During independence negotiations with Mauritius in 1968, Great Britain made her continuing stay in the archipelago, under British rule, a precondition. The original B.I.O.T island groups of Aldabra, Farquahr and Desroche had to be returned to the Seychelles in 1976. The presently uninhabited islands have by way of their proximity to the Gulf Region only strategic value. The treaty of 1966 between Great Britain and the USA envisioned combined usage of the territory for at least 50 years. In spite of protests by neighbouring states, Diego Garcia is being developed by the USA as a naval and air force base since 1974. Demands by Mauritius, and supported amongst others by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and India, were rejected by the Government of Great Britain, however, as soon as no more military needs are evident, Great Britain will return the islands to Mauritius.

3rd of October in 2024 · The Prime Ministers of United Kingdom and Mauritius announce that the sovereignty over the islands of the BIOT (Chagos Archipelago) will be transferred to Mauritius and that the BIOT will thus be dissolved; the Chagossians who were resettled between 1969 and 1971 are to be given a right of return, but the island of Diego Garcia remains – with the British and US-american military bases – with the United Kingdom for another 99 years with its own administrative rights.

Source: Wikipedia (D), World Statesmen, Länder der Erde, BBC.com

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