The Chagos Archipelago, a group of atolls comprising 58 islands, is located at 06o 26’ south and 72o 00’ east, approximately 2,200 kilometres north-east of the main Island of Mauritius. It has an area of 60 km2.
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The largest atolls of the Chagos Archipelago are Diego Garcia in the south-east and Peros Banhos and Salomon Islands, both in the north.
The largest individual islands are Diego Garcia, Eagle (Great Chagos Bank), Ile Pierre (Peros Banhos), Eastern Egmont (Egmont Islands), Ile du Coin (Peros Banhos) and Ile Boddam (Salomon Islands).
The Chagos Archipelago has been part of the territory of the Republic of Mauritius since at least the eighteenth century when the Republic of Mauritius was a French colony and was known as Ile de France.
The Chagos Archipelago and all the other islands forming part of Ile de France were ceded by France to Britain in 1810, when Ile de France was renamed Mauritius. The administration of the Chagos Archipelago as a constituent part of Mauritius continued without interruption throughout the period of British rule until its unlawful excision from Mauritius in 1965.
