Well, I opened a can of worms by tackling British Overseas Territories in class this week. There was a multitude of questions that remained unanswered, but I have found the perfect source of information, not only about BOTs, but indeed about any country in the world: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office. They have country profiles which give the population, area, currency, political system, economy, history and international relations of every country in the world. And if you can’t trust British diplomats for correct information, who can you trust?
- The BOTs tend to use the currency of their closer neighbours: the Turks and Caicos Islands for example have the US dollar, Anguilla the East Caribbean dollar, and Bermuda the Bermuda dollar, which enjoys parity with the US$.
- Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and became a republic in 1974. British forces left Malta in 1979.
- Most of the BOTs have a balance of trade surplus with GB, their exports to the UK exceed their imports from there. In fact I found a government paper from 1999 that says: “Britain will continue to provide help to the Overseas Territories that need it. It is a source of much pride that the effectiveness of their governments’ policies has meant that budgetary help is necessary only for Montserrat and St Helena – both for special circumstances.” (Foreword to Partnership for Progress and Prosperity: Britain and the Overseas Territories by the then Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook)
- In Bermuda, a referendum on independence was last held in 1995, and of the 58% of the electorate who participated, 25% voted in favour. An opinion poll carried out in July 2007 showed 63% opposed to independence, 25% in favour and 12% undecided.
- Mauritius was, indeed, British for a while:(taken from the FCO website) The first colonists were the Dutch who settled in 1638 and named the island Mauritius after Prince Maurice of Nassau. The Dutch, who eventually abandoned Mauritius in about 1710, are remembered for having introduced sugar cane to the island. The French occupied between 1715 and 1810, renaming the country Isle de France. In 1810 the British took possession during the Napoleonic Wars (the French ceded the island under treaty in 1814) and reverted to the name Mauritius. Mauritius gained independence on 12 March 1968 and became a member of the Commonwealth. The Queen was Head of State until 12 March 1992 when Mauritius became a Republic.
- Germany did have a colony in East Africa as well as the South West: what is now Tanzania, Ruanda and Burundi. And apparently, it’s a common misconception that Zanzibar was swapped for Helgoland, but it’s not the case, because Zanzibar was never Germany’s to give in exchange. The misconception came about because the two are connected in the title of the treaty. More info here.
