I admit that the
#Chagos issue is highly controversial.
#Chagossians were not indigenous, but that does not mean Chagos was historically empty. Indian Ocean societies operated through seasonal, maritime, and nodal use & not permanent settlement. Even today, not all islands of 🇲🇻, 🇸🇨 or Mauritius have permanent settlements.
Before the start of European colonization in the 15th century those islands were a part of the Kingdom of Maldives. This goes back to ~1100.
When we rave about the „beauty of local Fauna and Flora“ as
@ZacGoldsmith (and most others including me) do, we must also take into account local cultural and historical circumstances, without which it would not be the same. The ancient Maldivians and the later Chagossians preserved it - the very opposite to colonize it, overfish it or cut all trees, or building a very foreign military base.