Officially a British Overseas Territory, located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, it is bordered to the north by Spain, which claims sovereignty over it.
Gibraltar was captured during the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 1700s, with the Spanish Crown formally ceding the territory in perpetuity – essentially forever – to the British Crown in 1713, under Article X of the Treaty of Utrecht.
Later attempts by the Spanish to recapture the territory during the thirteenth siege (1727) and the Great Siege (1779–1783) failed, with British sovereignty over Gibraltar confirmed in later treaties signed in Seville (1729) and Paris (1783).
Despite its close economic links to its northern neighbour, Gibraltarians have consistently voted in referendums over the past century to remain a sovereign territory of the UK, repeatedly rejecting Spain’s claims.
Gibraltar’s population is estimated to be just under 40,000, while it is the smallest British Overseas Territory by land area (about six square kilometres, dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar).
Montserrat
Another Caribbean entrant on the list, Monserrat forms part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies.
After falling into and out of British rule in the centuries after it first became a British colony in 1632, the island was administered as part of the federal crown colony of the British Leeward Islands from 1871 until 1958, and was then a province of the West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962, from which point it has remained under British rule through to its status today as an overseas territory.
The benefits of those links with the UK were felt in 1997 when a major volcanic eruption devastated the south side of the island, burying the capital, Plymouth, and killing 19 people while forcing over half the population to flee – many of them to mainland Britain.
Monserrat’s population is currently estimated to be around 4,000, though that is only a fraction of what it was prior to the devastating volcanic eruptions in the ’90s.
Pitcairn (Islands)
Pitcairn, also known as the Pitcairn Islands, is the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean.
There are four volcanic islands – Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno – spread across several hundred kilometres of ocean, but only one – Pitcairn is inhabited.
Pitcairn is also the populated Territory with the smallest population, totaling around 40. The island’s population peaked in the late 1930s with a few hundred inhabitants, but has since declined largely due to emigration to the likes of Australia and New Zealand.
Islanders traditionally consider that Pitcairn first officially became a British colony on in November 1838.
Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha together form a single British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The islands, of volcanic origin, were separately discovered by several Portuguese explorers in the early 1500s, and later colonised by the British. From the date its first governor arrived, in 1659, Saint Helena claims to be Britain’s second oldest remaining colony, after Bermuda.
The Territory’s name was Saint Helena and Dependencies until 1 September 2009, when a new constitution gave the three islands equal status as three territories – each with their own political systems, but under the same governor – grouped under the British Crown.
Its combined population is believed to be around 6,000.
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Georgia and a smaller chain of islands known as the South Sandwich Islands are found in the southern Atlantic Ocean, remote and largely inhospitable, and still belonging to the UK.
The only people to be living on South Georgia are a group of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey.
The UK claimed sovereignty over South Georgia in 1775, and the South Sandwich Islands more than a century later in 1905.
Lying just over 800 miles west of the Falkland Islands, the territory has been subject to some similar disputes with Argentina.
The South American nation occupied the islands for a brief period in 1982 during the Falklands War. The arrival of Argentine troops was one of the first episodes of the war, immediately succeeding the invasion on the Falkland Islands the day prior.
A group of Argentine civilian scrap metal workers began the occupation when they arrived at Leith Harbour on South Georgia and raised the Argentine flag, after their ship had been infiltrated by Argentine marines.
Turks and Caicos Islands
Known for their popularity as both a holiday destination and offshore financial centre, Turks and Caicos is the third largest British Overseas Territory by population, which stands at 49,309.
The islands, which boast stunning beaches and coral reefs, are found in the Atlantic between the southern Bahamas and the north coast of Haiti.
For years the islands were governed indirectly through Bermuda, the Bahamas and Jamaica, but its own governor was appointed for the first time following the independence of the Bahamas in 1973.
Britain imposed direct rule and suspended the Turks and Caicos government in 2009 after an investigation found widespread evidence of corruption. Elections in November 2012 restored home rule.
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Officially known as the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, this is the only British overseas territories which uses the euro. Despite being under British jurisdiction, when Cyrpus switched from the Cypriot pound to the euro in 2008, Akrotiri and Dhekelia followed suit.
When Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960, Akrotiri and Dhekelia were established as British sovereign base areas, to play a strategic role in the Eastern Mediterranean.
RAF Akrotiri is a Royal Air Force station key to operations in the Middle East, while Dhekelia houses a British Army garrison and is also important for signals intelligence.
The population of the Sovereign Bases is 18,195. The figure is made up of around 11,000 Cypriots plus 7,195 Service and UK-based contract personnel and their families.
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Publish date : 2024-10-04 07:18:00
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