An Account of Diego Garcia and its people H. Ly-Tio-Fane and S. Rajabalee l. Discovery and settlement of Diego Garcia and Indian sailors travelling across the Inciian used Ocean to pause in the middle of the Indian themselves Ocean to in the sp acious bay of Diego Garcia. European The first sailor who discovered Diego Garcia Psdrqù[a,scaf¡uhas is believed to be who in 1532 rravelled across Ocean to India. the Indian During that voyage, he discovered peros Banhos and the Ch agos Archipelago and probably stopped refit at Diego Garcia, to which he named after the Portuguese Admiral, Don Garcia de Noronh ar Although the strategic position of those atolrs was by earry navigators appreciated in thË ocean, no attempt was setrlement. made at their , It was only during the eight..nrt, i de France ;;;rr* while Ile was b:Tg áru"topJoãr rn imporrant expansion na'ar base for {,the of rrgryrr i,n;;;;i* in india, th;; /for the settlement ;; artempr of Diego Garcia was made. The Chagos Archipelugã titt miãway'between India. Mauritius, and It covers a.n^area extending from about latitude 7,-ì9, to 4041, South and from 70'.s0' ,,ï 12041' rongtitude East. It is approximatery r, r75 mires or 2, r50 kms distant from Mauritius. The disrance berween the largest otit, island;, ó;;;; äarcia in the South of the Archiperago ãn¿ tr,. n'ort northerly isrand in rhe Peros Banhos group is l zi mires2. Diego Garcia is an isrand of t! coral formation and covers an area of 230sq. kms. It is in the form of a horse-shoe enfolding an ,*t.nriue ragoon rvhich forms a spacious bay. Betrveen the- extremities of its arms minor islands lie three named respectively : (i) Noith or Bird Islanå 90 Siècle Voies de Navigâtion dans L'Océan Indien au XYIIIe 'f¡aieti d'été pour I'Hémisphèrc Nord: âllf,nlverJluuest vÈnântdel'ouest - - - Traiets d'hiver oour l'Hémisphère Nord: ullun,u.r,t'óuest t("' <"' <"" 1: ": " " >"""" >' "."""tå"':o*t, Echelle moYenne km 0 .(. ".n14.,2 - :t A A i ,. / d I *r ¡ ,1. 4 /\ q v n I s L Chagc: Þ I ) A I L 3l eg L I Como.c¡ ,/ ')/, j LCa:gados A i :L i RoJr,gue /: A 't/ 4 L' t I \ r/i: <1 ì c¡¡t¡ A : La Route rles lles' 19ó? pl'7 D'après le Neptune Oriental' 1775 pl'9 et Tousaint' An Account of Diego Garcia and its people (ii) Middle Island (iii) East or Grande Barbe Island The American naval station is situated in the western portion of the atoll and the only entrance to f { the Diego Garcia,s spacious bay is situated North, between the North ãnd Middle lsland and is roomy enough for the rargest vesser to enter. It is about 15 miles in length from end to end and from two to fìve miles in breadths. When Ile de France was retroceded to the Royal Government in1767 ,theMinistère de la Guerre et de Ia Marine outlined a new foreign policy for the island as the main objective of the Royal Government was the re-establishment of French supremacy ln India. Ile de France was to serve as the "point d'appui" for French expeditionary forces. In xt a new shorter route to lridia needed to be chartered. In evalier Grenier was appointcd to fulfill that mission, he was accompanied by Abbé de Rochon, a famous astronomer to the navy Their mission was to survey the seas north of the Ile de France. During that survey, Grenier and Rochon established correctly ( the position of Diego Garcia and chartered a new route which shortened the voyage to India by 800leagues. It was during those hydrological surveys that the French government a o \ì .,-t- he presented to the Governor, Vico¡nte de Souillac, a uesting the permission to create a settlement on , Diego Garcia. He offered to develop a coconut plantation on the land concession he would be granted and proposed to repay C^RTt 9t An Account ol Diego Carcia and its people 1 the. taxes owed An Account of Diego to the govern ment with the Garcia and its People coconut oil he would ( tl produce. He received afa ) Pointe Mr.¡r"n" - on the ÏVest. vourable reply in February l7g3 mmediately prepared and During the year l 863-64D his voyage to Diego Garcia. iego Garcia alone produced 71, .lt He was velts of oil, *,J Ai half the consumption of MauritiusT. The number of settlers on the island also progressi lncreased and vely was numbered at about 200 by the turn centurL_Th e of life of the settlers on t was although the popul ation lacked material comfort. The houses were built from the material produced by the lush vegetation of the island. They looked lower and darker because they were dominated by the vegetable richness of their backgro und. The estate managers supplied to the la a [Iie. Labourers su ied their diet which was in abundance, the fowls and ducks which they reared in quantity, the coconut wh lcn was at hand and some vegetables. During -..-.'-......--.- the last quarter of the nrneteenth gradually century, steamships began to replace sailing vessels companies and steamship which had mon opolised the carryi Indian Ocean ng trade in the were early to recognise the geographical position convenient of Diego Garcia in the middle ocean. Taking advant of the age of the spacious bay which berth to the afforded larges t steamship of the time, the_Qtjey_gleary_ Nav tion Com obtained from the Mauritian government permlsslon to build a coaling station ræar Grande Barbe to used solely for the accommodation be of their magnificent vessels which passed on their way to and from England and Australia. Shortly after, another steams hip company, petitio the Lund on be converted into the coas r the ships of company. Thus their statlons provided additional work. The improvemennt which those Co mpanies brought on the island raised the st andard of livlng of the islanders. The is landers benefited from the and aera apparatus which, the coaling company installed on the ls urnish fresh water to their shipss. During rhe firsr half of the cent ury, coconut plantations on Diego Garcia steadily_ increased 92 and modern technic was 93 An Account of Diego Garcia and its People il':åffi :i,i.ïffi:ï:l .* us ed t o of the Atlantic in the eighteenth century that gave Britain the clear the land. Between the years "."0,.6"i)ere 1955-5T,production on Diego means to dominate the Indian ocean politically as well as Garcia increased at an average of seventy-five tons of copra a strategically during the nineteenth century. Starting from year and the export of coconut for the same period reached Bengal, the richest province of India, Britain gradually built hundred thousands of coconuts. Another natural product of round that centre a peripheral set of interests in the Mascarenes, Diego Garcia which was at that period profìtably exploited was East Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia. To control the guê{o deposit. In 1957 one third of the total value of export that complex web of assets and commitments, Britain had to from OÈþOrG'a'fía was represented by guano shipment. pry. assume control of the ship ways into the Ocean. fjÊhlndlqqrylso represented a notable percentage of the exþlrt The advent of modern technology at the dawn of the twentieth economy of Diego Garcia. The communication between century has shifted the area of strategic importance from India Mauritius ancl Diego Garcia was assured by the famordsir/ìÞs -- to the Middle East: a convenient term that covers the oil vessel whose voyages .' -' inspired Jacques Cantin to proìùcè-his producing countries i.e. Iran, Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, famous popular song. Israel, Jordan, the United Arab Republic and Sudan. Together In the luxuriant vegetation of Diego Garcia, the people bred these countries produce 62 per cent of the world's total oil ormally. Neither the birth rate nor the death rate production. 'Western Europe imports half of its total oil difference with that recorded in Mauritius. On consumption and Japan 63 per cent from the. Middle East. The first war for oil happened during the 'World life was characterised by a eertain irdete-ce.. Their spriritual First War (1914-1918) when need was looked after by the military activities in the Indian Ocean were localized in the Middle East and East Africa. The political sent missionaries on visit to the island. The result was that p0 per consequence the emergence c of of the Middle East countries was rn\rt the awakening of Asian countries which first supported Turkey iv I Horvever unforseen events in the Indian Ocean were soon to her conflict with European powers, disturb the quiet life of Diego Garcians. in then fought for their own liberation from the colonial yoke. During 'World War II, the nationalist movement in Asian countries gained momentum and the aspirations of colonised II. changing strategic area in the Indian ocean during the nations were fulfîlled when Britain started the "decolonization" Trventieth Century process with the recognition of India as a nation state. The post \ryar era radically changed United Kingdom's The Indian Ocean covers a vast expanse of some 17,000,000 posjtion in the Indian Ocean. Having recognised the square miles. Entrance into the ocean is however restricted to independence of her colonial possessions in the region, Britain four gateways: the narrow Suez - Red Sea passage which leads to lost primarily the chief motive to act as guardian of the ocean the Mediterranean, the island gaps between the Malaypeninsula ways and secondly the legal status of sovereignty from which she and Australia rvhich afford passage to the pacific, the open used to act during her interventions.