Chagossians

The Chagossians — also called Chagos Islanders or French: Îlois — are an Afro-Asian ethnic group originating from freed African slaves as well as people of Asian 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 people of the Chagos archipelago. Most Chagossians now live in Mauritius, Seychelles, and the United Kingdom after the forcible 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. Today, no Chagossians are allowed to live on the island of Diego Garcia, nor anywhere in the Chagos Archipelago, despite many of the once-inhabited islands being over 160 kilometres (99 mi) away from Diego Garcia.