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The sun has not set on the British Empire for about 200 years. As a result of yesterday's decision to cede the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius, this will no longer be true at some point in 2025. The point at which the sun will actually set is somewhat indeterminate because of sunlight in the British Antarctic Territory for several more months (see map projection below), but it is estimated that a setting sun in the Pitcairn Islands will mark the date sometime early next year. The Chagos Islands, also referred to as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), include Diego Garcia, where the U.S. has a joint military base. It will be preserved.
With all of today's attacks on "colonialism," I suppose that I shouldn't find this sad. Still, as a descendant of some fine English stock of Empire-years gone by, I do.
Discussion (35)
I do too
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Randall at xkcd talked about this ten years ago on his What if? page.
"The Sun never sets on all fourteen British territories at once (or even thirteen, if you don’t count the British Antarctic Territory). However, if the UK loses one tiny territory, it will experience its first Empire-wide sunset in over two centuries."
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a) I usually take the old "you can't relitigate ancient history" when it comes to old colonies, but Britain expelled the Chagossians from their home in freakin' 1970. That's well after Britain had signed on to all sorts of international agreements and treaties that ban such actions.
b) If Britain has a lease on Diego Garcia for 99 years then technically the sun won't set on the British Empire until the lease expires. After all, if Hong Kong was part of the empire even though Britain only had a lease on it, then the same applies to Diego Garcia.
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Well, let’s dive into this. Are you saying a ‘lease’ is the same as ownership?
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On seeing the news, I immediately texted to my sister, "how long before Starmer gives the Falklands to Argentina?" I can't print her response here.
Oh, my prophetic soul. Today's Telegraph headline:
Starmer refuses to rule out signing away Gibralter and Falklands:
The Chagos/Diego Garcia history is painful for me. One of the "Uncle" figures during the first decade of my life was Sir Bruce Greatbatch. He was, at one time, a highly-placed British Colonial official in Nigeria (not more highly-placed than Dad, it's true), and I've slept (more than a few times) in his bed. He wasn't in the bed at the time, so no worries.
What used to happen was that Mum and Dad--who led a very pleasant social life, would often be invited to parties and social events and--as their only child in the mid/late 1950s--they'd take me along. In my early years, I'd exhaust myself playing with the Nigerian staff, and the children of the staff, and when I was ready for bed, they'd bundle me up and place me in Sir Bruce's bed (and that of a few others), until Mum and Dad were ready to leave, whereupon they bundled me out of the bed, and took me home. It totally solved the babysitter problem, and I was well looked after, start to finish.
Subsequent to his tenure in Nigeria, Sir Bruce ended up as the Governor of the Seychelles. As such, he oversaw the deportation of the Chagossians, including reliable reports of the British poisoning and gassing of pet dogs in order to induce the natives to leave so that the joint US/UK base at Diego Garcia could go forward.
Ugh.
Bruce Greatbatch figures prominently in many kind and charming episodes of my childhood. This latest story is a reminder of the ugliness that often lies underneath and which we can't--no matter the rights and wrongs--simply wish away.
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