Chagossian

American  

[chah gohs-ee-uhn] / tʃɑ ˈgoʊs i ən /

noun

• Chagossians
  plural

1. an indigenous inhabitant of the Chagos Archipelago, whose population was deported from the islands in the 1960s and 1970s.

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adjective

1. relating to the indigenous inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, whose population was deported from the islands in the 1960s and 1970s.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Chagossians
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Chagossian Chagossians

“Then there’s the small matter of the Chagossian people, who have never been consulted on any of this.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

Mandarin, who calls himself the first minister of a Chagossian government-in-exile, said the islands "belong to us" and urged the UK to "let Chagossians come back to their homeland as British".

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026

She said there were "different views among the Chagossian community" and the deal was "about making sure we can secure the Diego Garcia base for our security".

From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2026

The deal includes a £40m trust fund to support Chagossians, a component that the UN panel also questioned would "comply with the right of the Chagossian people to effective remedy... and prompt reparation".

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2025

At 02:25 BST Mr Justice Goose granted "interim relief" to two Chagossian women who had brought a case against the Foreign Office.

From BBC ● May 22, 2025

The Chagossians thought they had a chance to return home with the U.K.’s deal to hand over their home islands and lease the Diego Garcia military base.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

The following year, Britain and the U.S. agreed to build a military base on Diego Garcia, a slender, open-jawed island, and the two governments began plotting the expulsion of the Chagossians from the entire archipelago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

The Chagossians have lived in limbo since being evicted from the Indian Ocean islands in the 1960s and 1970s to create a buffer around the secret U.S.-U.K. military base on Diego Garcia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

Adam Holloway, the former Conservative MP for Gravesham in Kent, who has now defected to Reform UK, helped the Chagossians return to the territory and remains on the island to help build the settlement.

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026

Negotiations between 1971 and 1982 resulted in the   establishment of a trust fund by the British Government as   compensation for the displaced islanders, known as Chagossians.

From The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency