The first steps in this plan involved the creation of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), a new British colony that would include Diego Garcia and the surrounding islands. In 1966, the British government formally separated the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and Seychelles, two other British-controlled territories, to create the BIOT. This move was presented as a simple administrative change, but in reality, it was part of a larger strategy to remove the Chagossians from their ancestral land.
The British government and the U.S. military knew that they needed to clear the islands of their inhabitants before they could build the base. A decision was made to deport the Chagossians, and a brutal campaign of forced removal began. Between 1968 and 1973, the British government, working with U.S. military personnel, began rounding up the Chagossians, including men, women, and children, and transporting them to Mauritius and the Seychelles. The Chagossians were given no say in their fate and were offered no compensation for their displacement. Many were forced to leave their homes and possessions behind, with little more than the clothes on their backs.
