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112-493: The Royal Montserrat Defence Force is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat . The force has an authorized strength level objective of 50 reserve personnel as of 2021-22, akin in size to that of a platoon-sized unit . Raised in 1898, the unit is today a reduced force of about forty to fifty volunteer soldiers, primarily concerned with civil Defence and ceremonial duties. The unit has

224-575: A 34-year hiatus from 1968 to 2002. Defence of the overseas territories is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. Many of the overseas territories are used as military bases by the United Kingdom- and its allies: As overseas territories were added to the land conquered by the British, a number of towns and villages began to request formal recognition to validate their importance, and would be accorded

336-574: A UK police force, and specialist staff and equipment may be sent to assist the local force. Some territories may have other forces beyond the main territorial police, for instance an airport police, such as Airport Security Police (Bermuda) , or a defence police force, such as the Gibraltar Defence Police . In addition, most territories have customs, immigration, border and coastguard agencies. Territories with military bases or responsibilities may also have "Overseas Service Police", members of

448-459: A colony, at the same time re-designated a British Dependent Territory . This category of citizenship was distinguished from British Citizenship by what it did not include — the rights of abode and free entry to the United Kingdom — and was not specific to any colony but to all collectively, except for Gibraltar and the Falklands Islands, the people of which retained British Citizenship . It

560-522: A different constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom. The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are themselves distinct from the Commonwealth realms , a group of 15 independent countries (including the United Kingdom) sharing Charles III as monarch and head of state , and from the Commonwealth of Nations , a voluntary association of 56 countries mostly with historic links to

672-590: A full-time population of two between 1992 and 2006). Pitcairn Islands , settled by the survivors of the mutiny on the Bounty , is the smallest settled territory, with 49 inhabitants (all of whom live on the titular island), while the smallest by land area is Gibraltar, which lies on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula . The United Kingdom participates in the Antarctic Treaty System and, as part of

784-400: A governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. Currently (2019) all but two governors are either career diplomats or have worked in other civil service departments. The remaining two governors are former members of the British armed forces. In territories without a permanent population, a commissioner is usually appointed to represent the monarch. Exceptionally, in

896-638: A historical association with the Irish Guards . The current Commanding Officer is Lieutenant-Colonel Alvin Ryan, who was first appointed the force commanding officer in 2014, and who assumed command from the late Captain Horatio Tuitt. The appointment of a unit commander at the Lieutenant-Colonel level in 2022 was a first-time event for the force. As a British Overseas Territory (BOT), defence of Montserrat remains

1008-513: A land area of about 480,000 sq nmi (1,600,000 km ). The vast majority of this land area constitutes the almost uninhabited British Antarctic Territory (the land area of all the territories excepting the Antarctic territory is only 18,015 km  [6,956 sq mi]), while the two largest territories by population, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda , account for about half of

1120-548: A long history in Antarctica. In 1893, when Argentina started issuing whaling, hunting and fishing licenses in Antarctic waters, the Chilean government protested and issued fishing ordinances of its own, with the goal of preventing the indiscriminate exploitation of maritime resources and their potential extinction. The Chilean Navy was tasked with stopping clandestine fishing vessels, but their presence proved ineffective. In early 1906,

1232-596: A memorandum to the governors-general for Australia and New Zealand, he wrote that 'with the exception of Chile and Argentina and some barren islands belonging to France... it is desirable that the whole of the Antarctic should ultimately be included in the British Empire.' The first step was taken on 30 July 1923, when the British government passed an Order in Council under the British Settlements Act 1887 , defining

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1344-596: A mutual agreement, the British Antarctic Territory is recognised by four of the six other sovereign nations making claims to Antarctic territory . The 14 British Overseas Territories are: Early colonies, in the sense of English subjects residing in lands hitherto outside the control of the English government, were generally known as plantations . The first, unofficial, colony was Newfoundland Colony , where English fishermen routinely set up seasonal camps in

1456-535: A status if deemed to be deserving such as a borough or as a more prestigious city by the monarch. Many cities were designated over several centuries, and as Anglican dioceses began to be created internationally from the 18th century, the process of city creation became aligned to that used in England, being linked to the presence of a cathedral . Later on, this process became untenable and other selection criteria and royal occasions were used instead. However, mainly from

1568-587: Is impossible to find a jury who will not know the defendant in a small population island. Whilst many are geographically remote, the British Overseas Territories share a direct connection with elements of supervisory governance (as did the now independent Commonwealth Nations) still exercisable by the UK’s Government in London, UK. The 2004 Pitcairn Islands sexual assault trial is an example of how

1680-458: Is used elsewhere in Misplaced Pages to refer to all such statuses of various of the British Overseas Territories collectively. This status is neither a nationality nor a citizenship, although it confers rights under local legislation. Prior to 1968, the British government made no citizenship (or connected rights) distinction between its nationals in the United Kingdom and those in the British colonies (as

1792-694: The Inter caetera bull of 1493 and the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494. Argentina and Chile treat these treaties as legal international treaties mediated by the Catholic Church that was at that time a recognized arbiter in such matters. Each country currently has claimed a sector of the Antarctic continent that is more or less directly south of its national antarctic-facing lands. Modern Spain has not claimed any Antarctic territory. It operates two summer research stations ( Gabriel de Castilla Base and Juan Carlos I Base ) in

1904-607: The Australian Antarctic Dependency in the east was to be brought under Norwegian sovereignty. The primary aim of the annexation was to secure the Norwegian whaling industry's access to the region. In 1948, Norway and the United Kingdom agreed to limit Norway's longitudinal claims of Queen Maud Land to 20°W to 45°E, and to incorporate the Bruce Coast and Coats Land into Norwegian territory. Argentina and Chile have

2016-855: The British Empire in the 19th century, to its territorial peak in the 1920s, saw Britain acquire nearly one quarter of the world's land mass, including territories with large indigenous populations in Asia and Africa. From the middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century, the larger settler colonies – in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – first became self-governing colonies and then achieved independence in all matters except foreign policy, defence and trade. Separate self-governing colonies federated to become Canada (in 1867), Australia (in 1901), South Africa (in 1910) and Rhodesia (in 1965). These and other large self-governing colonies had by

2128-588: The British Overseas Territories Act 2002 ). Most countries do not recognise the sovereignty claims of any other country, including Britain's, to Antarctica and its off-shore islands. Five nations contest, with counter-claims, the UK's sovereignty in the following overseas territories: The people of the British Overseas Territories are British Nationals. Most of the overseas territories distinguish between those British nationals who have rights reserved under

2240-709: The Commonwealth of Nations through the United Kingdom. The inhabited territories compete in their own right at the Commonwealth Games , and three of the territories ( Bermuda , the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands ) sent teams to the 2016 Summer Olympics . Although the Crown Dependencies of Jersey , Guernsey and the Isle of Man are also under the sovereignty of the British monarch , they are in

2352-608: The Falkland Islands , either as a base or to hand them over to Argentina, thus gaining political advantage for the Axis and denying their use to the United Kingdom. In 1943, British personnel from HMS Carnarvon Castle removed Argentine flags from Deception Island . The expedition was led by Lieutenant James Marr and left the Falkland Islands in two ships, HMS William Scoresby (a minesweeping trawler) and Fitzroy , on 29 January 1944. Bases were established during February near

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2464-678: The Falkland Islands . They included South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands . The Antarctic areas collectively became a separate British Overseas Territory following the ratification of the Antarctic Treaty. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands remained as dependencies until 1985 when they too became a separate overseas territory. Four island territories on the Antarctic Plate located north of

2576-840: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has the responsibility of looking after the interests of all overseas territories except the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence . Within the FCDO, the general responsibility for the territories is handled by the Overseas Territories Directorate. In 2012, the FCO published The Overseas Territories: security, success and sustainability which set out Britain's policy for

2688-496: The German Antarctic Expedition , led by Alfred Ritscher , to fly over as much of it as possible. The ship Schwabenland reached the pack ice off Antarctica on 19 January 1939. During the expedition, Ritscher photographed an area of about 350,000 square kilometres (140,000 sq mi) from the air and dropped darts inscribed with swastikas every 26 kilometres (16 mi). However, despite intensively surveying

2800-505: The International Court of Justice , which issued an advisory opinion on 25 February 2019 which supported the position of the government of Mauritius. On 3 October 2024, British prime minister Keir Starmer and Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth jointly announced that an agreement had been reached under which the UK would cede sovereignty over the territory. Under the deal, Diego Garcia will be excluded from any resettlement, and

2912-627: The John Biscoe . The Argentines later extended a diplomatic apology, saying that there had been a misunderstanding and that the Argentine military commander on the ground had exceeded his authority. The United States became politically interested in the Antarctic continent before and during WWII. The United States Antarctic Service Expedition , from 1939 to 1941, was sponsored by the government with additional support from donations and gifts by private citizens, corporations and institutions. The objective of

3024-506: The New Palace of Westminster . Speaker of the House of Commons , Sir Lindsay Hoyle said "The two windows represent part of our United Kingdom family". The head of state in the overseas territories is the British monarch, currently King Charles III. The monarch appoints a representative in each territory to exercise the executive power of the monarch. In territories with a permanent population,

3136-581: The South Shetland Islands . The United Kingdom reasserted sovereignty over the Falkland Islands in the far South Atlantic in 1833 and maintained a continuous presence there. In 1908, the British government extended its territorial claim by declaring sovereignty over " South Georgia , the South Orkneys , the South Shetlands , and the (South) Sandwich Islands , and Graham's Land , situated in

3248-553: The Treaty of Tordesillas and Zaragoza respectively, thus creating the Governorate of Terra Australis . De la Hoz transferred the title to the conqueror Pedro de Valdivia in 1540. In 1555, the claim was incorporated to Chile . This grant established, according to Argentina and Chile , that an animus occupandi existed on the part of Spain in Antarctica. Spain's sovereignty claim over parts of Antarctica was, according to Chile and Argentina, internationally recognized with

3360-528: The United Kingdom that, while not forming part of the United Kingdom itself, are part of its sovereign territory. The permanently inhabited territories are delegated varying degrees of internal self-governance , with the United Kingdom retaining responsibility for defence , foreign relations , and internal security, and ultimate responsibility for "good" governance. Three of the territories are chiefly or only inhabited by military or scientific personnel,

3472-403: The United Kingdom were stripped of the rights of abode and free entry in 1968, and, in 1983, the British government replaced Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies with British Citizenship (with rights of abode and free entry to the United Kingdom) for those with a qualifying connection to the United Kingdom or British Dependent Territories Citizenship for those with a connection only to

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3584-407: The handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the British government amended the 1981 Act to give British citizenship without restrictions to all BDTCs (the status was also renamed BOTC at the same time) except for those solely connected with Akrotiri and Dhekelia (whose residents already held Cypriot citizenship ). This restored the right of abode in the UK to residents of overseas territories after

3696-469: The whaling industry effectively. In 1917, the wording of the claim was modified, so as unambiguously to include all the territory in the sector stretching to the South Pole (thus encompassing all the present British Antarctic Territory). The new claim covered "all islands and territories whatsoever between the 20th degree of west longitude and the 50th degree of west longitude which are situated south of

3808-535: The 16th century. It is now a province of Canada known as Newfoundland and Labrador . After failed attempts, including the Roanoke Colony , the permanent English colonisation of North America began officially in 1607 with the settlement of Jamestown , the first successful permanent colony in Virginia (a term that was then applied generally to North America). Its offshoot, Bermuda , was settled inadvertently after

3920-655: The 1920s become known as dominions . The dominions achieved almost full independence with the Statute of Westminster (1931) . Through a process of decolonisation following the Second World War, most of the British colonies in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean chose independence. Some colonies became Commonwealth realms , retaining the monarch as their own head of state . Most former colonies and protectorates became member states of

4032-674: The 20th century onwards, increasing levels of states becoming fully independent caused the numbers of remaining cities to reduce substantially. Territorial claims in Antarctica [REDACTED]   Spanish Empire 1539–1555 [REDACTED]   France 1840–present [REDACTED]   United Kingdom 1908–present [REDACTED]   New Zealand 1923–present [REDACTED]   Norway 1931–present [REDACTED]   Australia 1933–present [REDACTED]   Nazi Germany 1939–1945 [REDACTED]   Chile 1940–present [REDACTED]   Argentina 1943–present According to Argentina and Chile,

4144-498: The 50th parallel of south latitude; and all islands and territories whatsoever between the 50th degree of west longitude and the 80th degree of west longitude which are situated south of the 58th parallel of south latitude ". It was the ambition of Leopold Amery , then Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies , that the United Kingdom incorporate the entire continent into the Empire . In

4256-598: The 60° South circle of latitude are associated with the continent of Antarctica. They are not subject to the Antarctic Treaty System. None of these territories has an indigenous population. Another island territory, partly located on the South Sandwich Plate and partly on the Scotia Plate , is sometimes associated with the continent of Antarctica (since both of those are minor tectonic plates that border

4368-415: The British Empire (which also includes all Commonwealth realms). Notably, while not independent Commonwealth realms, the territories are separately represented at the Commonwealth Games on the same basis as independent nation members, as are the three Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man. Full British citizenship has been granted to most 'belongers' of overseas territories (mainly since

4480-543: The British Overseas Territories were then termed). Indeed, the people of Bermuda had been explicitly guaranteed by Royal Charters for the Virginia Company in 1607 (extended to Bermuda in 1612) and the Somers Isles Company (in 1615) that they and their descendants would have exactly the same rights as they would if they had they been born in England. Despite this, British Colonials without a qualifying connection to

4592-539: The British Parliament passed the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 which introduced the current name of British Overseas Territories . This reclassified the UK's dependent territories as overseas territories and, with the exception of those people solely connected with the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus, restored full British citizenship to their inhabitants. During the European Union (EU) membership of

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4704-441: The British or Commonwealth Armed Forces. A Joint Ministerial Council of UK ministers, and the leaders of the overseas territories has been held annually since 2012 to provide representation between UK government departments and overseas territory governments. The British Antarctic Territory overlaps with territory claims by both Argentina and Chile. However, territorial claims on the continent may not currently be advanced, under

4816-605: The Chilean government granted permits to private business ventures to settle the lands beyond the South Shetland islands, with the goal of establishing a permanent presence in the region and improving Chile's control of the area. Argentina protested immediately. Two years before, in 1904, the Argentine government had established a permanent presence in Antarctica with the purchase of a meteorological station on Laurie Island established in 1903 by William S. Bruce 's Scottish National Antarctic Expedition . Bruce offered to transfer

4928-497: The Chilean president Gabriel González Videla personally inaugurated one of its bases. Following the end of the war in 1945, the British bases were handed over to civilian members of the newly created Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (subsequently the British Antarctic Survey ), the first such national scientific body to be established in Antarctica. Friction between the United Kingdom and Argentina continued into

5040-529: The Commonwealth of Nations , a non-political, voluntary association of equal members, comprising a population of around 2.2 billion people. After the independence of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe ) in Africa in 1980 and British Honduras (now Belize ) in Central America in 1981, the last major colony that remained was Hong Kong , with a population of over 5 million. With 1997 approaching,

5152-602: The EU, but they are the only British Overseas Territory to use the Euro as official currency, having previously had the Cypriot pound as their currency until 1 January 2008. On 15 May 2023, the sixteen heraldic shields of the British Overseas Territories and the three coat of arms of the Crown Dependencies were "immortalised" in two new stained-glass windows , unveiled in the Speaker's House at

5264-536: The Expedition, outlined by President Franklin D. Roosevelt , was to establish two bases: East Base, in the vicinity of Charcot Island , and West Base, in the vicinity of King Edward VII Land . After operating successfully for two years but with international tensions on the rise, it was considered wise to evacuate the two bases. However, immediately after the war, American interest was rekindled with an explicitly geopolitical motive. Operation Highjump , from 1946 to 1947

5376-710: The FCDO in London. Some territories maintain diplomatic officers in nearby countries for trade and immigration purposes. Several of the territories in the Americas maintain membership within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , the Caribbean Community , the Caribbean Development Bank , Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the Association of Caribbean States . The territories are members of

5488-683: The Falkland Islands treated as a part of the UK proper through the enactment of British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983 due to the Falklands War with Argentina; and Gibraltarians, who were given the special entitlement to be registered as British citizens upon request without further conditions because of its individual membership in the European Economic Area and the European Economic Community . Five years after

5600-470: The Governor of the territory. In 1930, the United Kingdom claimed Enderby Land . In 1933, a British imperial order transferred territory south of 60° S and between meridians 160° E and 45° E to Australia as the Australian Antarctic Territory . Following the passing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, the government of the United Kingdom relinquished all control over the governments of New Zealand and Australia. This, however, had no bearing on

5712-486: The Overseas Territories, covering six main areas: Britain and the Overseas Territories do not have diplomatic representations, although the governments of the overseas territories with indigenous populations all retain a representative office in London. The United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA) also represents the interests of the territories in London. The governments in both London and territories occasionally meet to mitigate or resolve disagreements over

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5824-419: The South Atlantic Ocean and on the Antarctic continent to the south of the 50th parallel of south latitude , and lying between the 20th and the 80th degrees of west longitude ". All these territories were administered as Falkland Islands Dependencies from Stanley by the Governor of the Falkland Islands . The claimed motivation for this declaration was what the British said was the need to regulate and tax

5936-407: The South Sandwich Islands (which host only officials and research station staff) and the British Indian Ocean Territory (used as a military base). Permanent residency for the approximately 7,000 civilians living in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is limited to citizens of the Republic of Cyprus . Collectively, the territories encompass a population of about 250,000 people and

6048-414: The Spanish Crown had claims on Antarctica. The capitulación (governorship) granted to the conquistador Pedro Sánchez de la Hoz in 1539 by the King of Spain , Charles V , explicitly included all lands south of the Straits of Magellan , ( Terra Australis , and Tierra del Fuego and by extension potentially the entire continent of Antarctica) and to the East and West the borders were the ones specified in

6160-415: The UK Parliament and the territories. He said that the UK Government's new "Votes for Life" policy mean all Gibraltarians who have previously lived in the UK, for example as students, can now register to vote in its general elections - regardless of how long ago they lived there. However, Fabian Picardo highlighted that, overall, there is no formal mechanism to ensure Gibraltar's interests are represented under

6272-415: The UK Parliament, as well as backbench members of the Conservative Party and Labour Party . The Chief Minister has argued that all British citizens in overseas territories should have the right to vote in UK parliamentary elections. On 29 January 2024, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, addressed the House of Commons Committee on territorial constitution, looking at the relationship between

6384-444: The UK remains the official administrative power of these territories, and under Article 73 is therefore required "to develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions." Historically the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Colonial Office were responsible for overseeing all British Colonies, but today

6496-438: The UK was replaced by British Dependent Territories citizenship (BDTC) in the newly minted British Nationality Act 1981 , a status that does not come with it the right of abode in the UK or any overseas territory. For these residents, registration as full British citizens then required physical residence in the UK proper. There were only two exceptions: Falkland Islanders, who were automatically granted British citizenship, and with

6608-413: The UK will continue to administer the island for at least 99 years. Of the eleven territories with a permanent population, all except the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus continue to be listed by the UN Special Committee on Decolonization as non-self-governing territories since they were listed as dependent territories by the UK when it joined the UN in 1947. This means that

6720-402: The UK, including: The territories have no official representation in the UK Parliament, but have informal representation through the all-party parliamentary group , and can petition the UK government through the Directgov e-Petitions website. Two national parties, UK Independence Party and the Liberal Democrats , have endorsed calls for direct representation of overseas territories in

6832-398: The United Kingdom , the main body of EU law did not apply and, although certain slices of EU law were applied to the overseas territories as part of the EU's Association of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT Association), they were not commonly enforceable in local courts. The OCT Association also provided overseas territories with structural funding for regeneration projects. Gibraltar

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6944-417: The United Kingdom and China negotiated the Sino-British Joint Declaration , which led to the whole of Hong Kong becoming a special administrative region of China in 1997, subject to various conditions intended to guarantee the preservation of Hong Kong's capitalist economy and its way of life under British rule for at least 50 years after the handover . George Town , Cayman Islands , has consequently become

7056-441: The United Kingdom may choose to provide the legal framework for particular cases where the territory cannot do so alone. The highest court for all the British overseas territories is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The British overseas territories generally look after their own policing matters and have their own police forces . In smaller territories, the senior officer(s) may be recruited or seconded from

7168-452: The United Kingdom, and the South Shetland Islands fall within the areas claimed by Argentina, Chile, and the United Kingdom. These claims have been recognized only between (some of) the seven claiming states. The United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand and Norway all recognize each other's claims (none of their claims overlap with each other). Prior to 1962, the British South Atlantic and Antarctic dependencies were administered from

7280-522: The United States in relation to Bermuda, with which it has retained close links since Bermuda was founded as an extension of Virginia). In regard to movement within British sovereign territory, only British citizenship grants the right of abode in a specific country or territory, namely, the United Kingdom proper (which includes its three Crown Dependencies ). Individual overseas territories have legislative independence over immigration, and consequently, BOTC status, as noted above, does not automatically grant

7392-406: The War of the Spanish Succession. The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) was the subject of a territorial dispute with Mauritius , the government of which claims that the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from the rest of British Mauritius in 1965, three years before Mauritius was granted independence from the United Kingdom, was unlawful. The long-running dispute was referred in 2017 to

7504-564: The abandoned Norwegian whaling station on Deception Island , where the Union Flag was hoisted in place of Argentine flags, and at Port Lockroy (on 11 February) on the coast of Graham Land . A further base was founded at Hope Bay on 13 February 1945, after a failed attempt to unload stores on 7 February 1944. Symbols of British sovereignty, including post offices , signposts and plaques were also constructed and postage stamps were issued. Operation Tabarin provoked Chile to organise its First Chilean Antarctic Expedition in 1947–48, where

7616-419: The advice of the UK government. To comply with the court's decision, the territorial governors now act on the advice of each territory's executive and the UK government can no longer disallow legislation passed by territorial legislatures. The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state , and they are usually responsible for appointing the head of government, and senior political positions in

7728-399: The area. The mission was also aimed at consolidating and extending United States sovereignty over the largest practicable area of the Antarctic continent, although this was publicly denied as a goal even before the expedition ended. Meanwhile, in an attempt at ending the impasse, the United Kingdom submitted an application to the International Court of Justice in 1955 to adjudicate between

7840-417: The border between Adélie Land and the Australian Antarctic Territory was fixed definitively in 1938. These developments also concerned Norwegian whaling interests which wished to avoid British taxation of whaling stations in the Antarctic and felt concern that they would be commercially excluded from the continent. The whale-ship owner Lars Christensen financed several expeditions to the Antarctic with

7952-415: The citizenship shown as British Overseas Territories Citizen in order to prove their entitlement to obtain a passport with the citizenship shown as British Citizen , most now have two passports, although the local governments of the territories do not distinguish an individual's local status based on either form of citizenship, and the passport with the citizenship shown as British Citizen consequently shows

8064-506: The constituency system - just the voluntary interest of individual MPs, such as those in the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gibraltar. The Chief Minister acknowledged the difficulty of finding a system to accommodate Westminster representation and OT's self-governance - but said that the "Pandora's Box" of devolution had opened a window to how this could be addressed. Foreign affairs of the overseas territories are handled by

8176-522: The continental landmass near the island as Queen Maud Land after the Norwegian queen Maud of Wales . The territory was explored further during the Norvegia expedition of 1930–31. Negotiations with the British government in 1938 resulted in setting the western border of Queen Maud Land at 20°W. The United States, Chile, the Soviet Union and Germany disputed Norway's claim. In 1938, Germany dispatched

8288-667: The cooperative effort. The British established Halley Research Station in 1956 by an expedition from the Royal Society . Sir Vivian Fuchs headed the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition , which completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica in 1958. In Japan, the Japan Maritime Safety Agency offered ice breaker Sōya as the South Pole observation ship and Showa Station was built as

8400-568: The default citizenship was renamed British Overseas Territories Citizenship (except still for Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, for which British Citizenship remained the default), the immigration bars against its holders were lowered, and its holders were also entitled to obtain British Citizenship by obtaining a second British Passport (something that had previously been illegal) with the citizenship so indicated. As British Overseas Territories Citizens must provide their British Passport with

8512-461: The erection of markers, national flags and other symbols. Chile's government didn't completely reject Argentina's protest and negotiations ensued between both countries through most of 1906 and 1907, trying to define the borders of their respective Antarctic claims. Chilean diplomats proposed dividing the area in two by tracing a straight line from the South Shetlands towards the South Pole, but

8624-624: The establishment of a permanent base in the South Orkney Islands , the Orcadas Base . However, Haggard responded by reminding Argentina that the South Orkneys were British. The British position was that Argentine personnel had been granted permission for a period of one year. The Argentine government would later enter into negotiations with the British over the possible transfer of the island. Although these talks were unsuccessful, Argentina attempted to unilaterally establish its sovereignty with

8736-677: The first Japanese observation base on Antarctica. France contributed with Dumont d'Urville Station and Charcot Station in Adélie Land . The ship Commandant Charcot of the French Navy spent nine months of 1949/50 at the coast of Adélie Land, performing ionospheric soundings. The US erected the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station as the first permanent structure directly over the South Pole in January 1957. Finally, to prevent

8848-711: The governor based in New Zealand. Following the Lords' decision in Ex parte Quark, 2005, it is held that the King in exercising his authority over British Overseas Territories does not act on the advice of the government of the UK, but in his role as king of each territory, with the exception of fulfilling the UK's international responsibilities for its territories. The reserve powers of the Crown for each territory are no longer considered to be exercisable on

8960-459: The holder to be entitled to all of the same right as does the passport with the citizenship shown as British Overseas Territories Citizen , and is often required to access services in the United Kingdom, and is accepted by the immigration authorities of more foreign countries, many of which have barriers against holders of British Overseas Territories Citizen passport holders that do not apply to British Citizen passport holders (the exception being

9072-615: The holding measures of the Antarctic Treaty System . Gibraltar was captured from Spain in 1704 by a force led by Admiral Sir George Rooke representing the Grand Alliance on behalf of the Archduke Charles, pretender to the Spanish throne. Spanish attempts to regain the territory failed, and it was eventually ceded to the Britain under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht as part of the settlement of

9184-576: The idea was rejected by their Argentine counterparts. Both countries eventually decided to define the borders of their respective claims on their own; Argentina did so in August 1940, and Chile in November 1940. In 1943, the British Admiralty and Colonial Office launched Operation Tabarin with the goal of asserting British territorial claims and establishing a permanent presence in the region. The move

9296-582: The land, Germany never made any formal claim or constructed any lasting bases. Hence, the German Antarctic claim, known as New Swabia , was disputed at the time, and is currently not taken into account. On 14 January 1939, five days before the German arrival, Norway annexed Queen Maud Land after a royal decree announced that the land bordering the Falkland Islands Dependencies in the west and

9408-491: The largest city among the dependent territories, partly because of the constant and healthy flow of immigration to the city and the territory as a whole, which saw its population jump 26% from 2010 to 2021, the fastest population growth of any of the territories. Prior to 1 January 1983, the territories were officially referred to as the Crown Colonies . At that time they were renamed British Dependent Territories . In 2002,

9520-501: The local government for those with a qualifying connection to the territory. In Bermuda, by example, this is called Bermudian status , and can be inherited or obtained subject to conditions laid down by the local government (non-British nationals must necessarily obtain British nationality in order to obtain Bermudian status). Although the expression "belonger status" is not used in Bermuda, it

9632-461: The major Antarctic Plate). There has been speculation about possible future claims. The United States and Russia (as a successor state of the Soviet Union) maintain they have reserved the right to make claims. There has also been speculation on Brazil making a claim bounded by 53° W and 28° W , thus overlapping with the Argentine and British claims but not with the Chilean claim. Peru made

9744-736: The new borders for the Ross Dependency  – "that part of His Majesty's Dominions in the Antarctic Seas, which comprises all the islands and territories between the 160th degree of East Longitude and the 150th degree of West Longitude which are situated south of the 60th degree of South Latitude shall be named the Ross Dependency." The Order in Council then went on to appoint the Governor-General and Commander-in Chief of New Zealand as

9856-520: The obligations of the governors-general of both countries in their capacity as Governors of the Antarctic territories. The basis for the claim to Adélie Land by France depended on the discovery of the coastline in 1840 by the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville , who named it after his wife, Adèle. He erected the French flag and took possession of the land for France on 21 January 1840 at 17:30. The British eventually decided to recognize this claim, and

9968-482: The overseas territories of Saint Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands, an administrator is appointed to be the governor's representative. In the territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, there is an administrator in each of the two distant parts of the territory, namely Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha . The administrator of the Pitcairn Islands resides on Pitcairn, with

10080-606: The people of the British Dependent Territories (other than those of Gibraltar and the Falklands), which was understood universally as intended to raise a colour bar and had done so given that most white colonials were not affected by it and had made restoration of a single citizenship part of its election manifesto. In 2002, when the British Dependent Territories became the British Overseas Territories ,

10192-521: The possibility of military conflict in the region, the United States, United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and 9 other countries with significant interests negotiated and signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959. The treaty entered into force in 1961 and sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, established freedom of scientific investigation, and banned military activity on that continent . The treaty

10304-400: The postwar period. Royal Navy warships were dispatched in 1948 to prevent naval incursions. The only instance of shots fired in anger on Antarctica occurred in 1952 at Hope Bay , when staff at British Base "D" (established 1945) came up against the Argentine team at Esperanza Base (est. 1952), who fired a machine gun over the heads of a British Antarctic Survey team unloading supplies from

10416-458: The process of governance in the territories and levels of autonomy. Britain provides financial assistance to the overseas territories via the FCDO (previously the Department for International Development ). As of 2019, only Montserrat, Saint Helena, Pitcairn and Tristan da Cunha receive budgetary aid (i.e. financial contribution to recurrent funding). Several specialist funds are made available by

10528-450: The responsibility of the United Kingdom. On 5 September 2024 Governor of Montserrat announced Major General Alex turner as Honorary Colonel of RMDF. Ranks are as follows:(The RMDF use the Star of St Patrick as a 'pip' like Irish Guards) British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories ( BOTs ) are the fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with

10640-476: The rest hosting significant civilian populations. All fourteen have the British monarch as head of state . These UK government responsibilities are assigned to various departments of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and are subject to change. Most of the territories retain permanent civilian populations, with the exceptions of the British Antarctic Territory , South Georgia and

10752-445: The right of abode in any of the territories, as it depends on the territory's immigration laws. A territory may issue belonger status to allow a person to reside in the territory that they have close links with. The governor or immigration department of a territory may also grant the territorial status to a resident who does not hold it as a birthright. From 1949 to 1983, the nationality status of Citizenship of UK and Colonies (CUKC)

10864-582: The station and instruments for the sum of 5,000 pesos , on the condition that the government committed itself to the continuation of the scientific mission. The Envoy at the British Legation in Argentina, William Haggard, also sent a note to the Argentine Foreign Minister, José A. Terry , ratifying the terms of Bruce's proposition. In 1906, Argentina communicated to the international community

10976-480: The territorial claims of the United Kingdom, Argentina, and Chile. This proposal failed, as both Latin American countries rejected submitting to an international arbitration procedure. Negotiations towards the establishment of an international condominium over the continent first began in 1948, involving the 8 claimant countries: United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, US, France, Norway, Chile and Argentina. This attempt

11088-462: The territory. Each overseas territory has its own legal system independent of the United Kingdom. The legal system is generally based on English common law , with some distinctions for local circumstances. Each territory has its own attorney general and court system. For the smaller territories, the United Kingdom may appoint a UK-based lawyer or judge to work on legal cases. This is particularly important for cases involving serious crimes and where it

11200-526: The territory. The governor is also responsible for liaising with the UK government, and carrying out any ceremonial duties. A commissioner has the same powers as a governor, but also acts as the head of government. Although the British Government is the national government, much of governance within the territories has been delegated to local government, with all of those that have permanent populations having some degree of representative government (which

11312-639: The total BOT population. The Cayman Islands alone comprise 28% of the entire BOT population. At the other end of the scale, three territories have no civilian inhabitants – the Antarctic Territory (currently consisting of five research stations), the British Indian Ocean Territory (whose inhabitants, the Chagossians , were forcibly moved to Mauritius and the United Kingdom between 1968 and 1973), and South Georgia (which actually did have

11424-488: The view to claiming land for Norway and to establishing stations on Norwegian territory to gain better privileges. The first expedition, led by Nils Larsen and Ola Olstad , landed on Peter I Island in 1929 and claimed the island for Norway. On 6 March 1931 a Norwegian royal proclamation declared the island under Norwegian sovereignty and on 23 March 1933 the island was declared a dependency. The 1929 expedition led by Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen and Finn Lützow-Holm named

11536-460: The wrecking of the Virginia Company 's flagship there in 1609, with the company's charter extended to officially include the archipelago in 1612. St. George's town, founded in Bermuda in that year, remains the oldest continuously inhabited British settlement in the New World (with some historians stating that – its formation predating the 1619 conversion of James Fort into Jamestown – St. George's

11648-559: Was actually the first successful town the English established in the New World ). Bermuda and Bermudians have played important, sometimes pivotal, but generally underestimated or unacknowledged roles in the shaping of the English and British transatlantic empires. These include maritime commerce, settlement of the continent and of the West Indies , and the projection of naval power via the colony's privateers , among other areas. The growth of

11760-725: Was aimed at excluding the Soviet Union from the affairs of the continent and rapidly fell apart when the USSR declared an interest in the region, refused to recognize any claims of sovereignty and reserved the right to make its own claims in 1950. An important impetus toward the formation of the Antarctic Treaty System in 1959 was the International Geophysical Year (IGY), 1957–1958. This year of international scientific cooperation triggered an 18-month period of intense Antarctic science. More than 70 existing national scientific organisations then formed IGY committees, and participated in

11872-517: Was also motivated by concerns within the Foreign Office about the direction of United States post-war activity in the region. A suitable cover story was the need to deny use of the area to the Kriegsmarine , which was known to use remote islands as rendezvous points and as shelters for commerce raiders, U-boats and supply ships. Also, in 1941, there existed a fear that Japan might attempt to seize

11984-433: Was not the case for British Hong Kong ) which have been delegated responsibility for local legislation, irrevocably guaranteed the same rights and representation they would have if born in England, representation in the national Parliament of the United Kingdom has yet to be extended to any overseas territory. The structure of the territorial government appears to be closely correlated to the size and political development of

12096-507: Was organised by Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd Jr. and included 4,700 men, 13 ships, and multiple aircraft. The primary mission of Operation Highjump was to establish the Antarctic research base Little America IV, for the purpose of training personnel and testing equipment in frigid conditions and amplifying existing stores of knowledge of hydrographic , geographic, geological , meteorological and electromagnetic propagation conditions in

12208-420: Was shared by residents of the UK proper and residents of overseas territories, although most residents of overseas territories lost their automatic right to live in the UK after the ratification of Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 that year unless they were born in the UK proper or had a parent or a grandparent born in the UK. In 1983, CUKC status of residents of overseas territories without the right of abode in

12320-635: Was stated by some Conservative Party backbench MPs that the secret intent of the Conservative government was to restore a single citizenship, with full rights across the United Kingdom and the British Dependent Territories, once Hong Kong and its British Dependent Territories Citizens had been returned to the People's Republic of China in 1997. By that time, the Labour Party was in government with Tony Blair as Prime Minister. Labour had decried discrimination against

12432-452: Was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War . Seven sovereign states had made eight territorial claims to land in Antarctica south of the 60° S parallel before 1961. None of these claims have an indigenous population. All claim areas are sectors with the exception of Peter I Island . The South Orkney Islands fall within the territory claimed by Argentina and

12544-991: Was the only overseas territory that was part of the EU, although it was not part of the European Customs Union, the European Tax Policy, the European Statistics Zone or the Common Agriculture Policy. Gibraltar was not a member of the EU in its own right; it received representation in the European Parliament through its being part of the South West England constituency. Overseas citizens held concurrent European Union citizenship, giving them rights of free movement across all EU member states. The Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus were never part of

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