The Not So Swinging 60s: When Britain Exiled Islanders from their Homeland

This interactive talk will look at the legal dispute between the UK and Mauritius and the mistreatment of the Chagossian islanders. The Chagos Islands were originally administered as part of the then British colony of Mauritius. In 1965 Mauritius (still then a colony) agreed to the UK removing the islands and creating a new colony, the British Indian Ocean Territory. The islanders were removed from their homeland and sent to live in exile. Since the 1990s the Chagossians have been arguing through the British courts for the right to return home. Mauritius has called for the return of the Chagos islands to Mauritian control and is currently negotiating with the United Kingdom. The talk will be interactive and encourage the audience to engage with the themes raised by the Chagos dispute, such as colonialism, racism, exploitation, access to justice and sovereignty.

Dr Chris Monaghan is Director of the Constitutions, Rights and Justice Research Group at the University of Worcester. He has published extensively on the Chagos Islands legal dispute and has been interviewed about Chagos on BBC Scotland and BBC Five Live. His most recent book is Challenges and Prospects for the Chagos Archipelago (Routledge, 2025), which he co-edited with Professor Laura Jeffery and Dr Mairi O'Gorman.