British Overseas Territories
A history of the British Overseas Territories. See the British Empire for earlier imperialism.
Contents
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British Overseas Territories
- From the British Perspective
- Akrotiri and Dhekelia
- Anguilla
- Bermuda
- British Antarctic Territory
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- British Virgin Islands
- Cayman Islands
- Falkland Islands
- Gibraltar
- Montserrat
- Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
- Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- Turks and Caicos Islands
From the British Perspective
Early British colonies were actually commercial ventures granted with royal charters. Extractive economies were not established; royal governorships were not valuable sinecures; very little power actually emanated from the crown to the colonies. It was mostly in the Victorian era that the British set out to establish a more conventional empire.
Decolonization made the imperial structure inconvenient, even after many of the more self-sufficient colonies established de facto or actual independence. The British Nationality Act in 1981 established the modern concept of British Dependent Territories. These territories are directly governed by the Parliament, are administered by the FCDO, and hold the British monarch as head of state.
The British Overseas Territories Act in 2002 renamed these to (unsurprisingly) the British Overseas Territories.
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
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Anguilla
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Bermuda
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British Antarctic Territory
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British Indian Ocean Territory
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) refers to British possession over the Chagos Archipelago, a series of (now) uninhabited atolls with next to no land area. These islands are primarily military bases, especially Diego Garcia.
All inhabitants of Diego Garcia were rounded up and expelled to foreign states in 1971, so that the United States could construct a joint military base.
Since 2021, small groups of refugees have become marooned on Diego Garcia. They are not recognized as having landed on British soil, so cannot request asylum. An unspecified number remain on the island in a concentration camp as stateless refugees.
British Virgin Islands
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Cayman Islands
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Falkland Islands
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Gibraltar
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Montserrat
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Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
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Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
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South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
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Turks and Caicos Islands
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