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and themselves owned no property.
But given the remoteness of the islands and the relative infrequency of shipping between them and Mauritius, a number of the workers remained there fairly continuously, with their families, who in turn worked on the plantations. These became known as the Ilois. With the establishment of the BIOT, the plantations, which were in long term economic decline, were purchased by the Crown, and eventually closed. Most of the workers were resettled in
Mauritius.
6.
The British Government assisted financially in the
resettlement of the Ilois in Mauritius, of which they are
citizens and with which they have long-standing family links.
The Mauritian Government drew up a resettlement plan, costed at
£650,000, and in 1973 the UK paid this sum to the Mauritian Government. In the event, the Mauritian Government and the
Ilois were unable to agree on a resettlement programme, so the money was distributed in cash. Following the decision of a former worker to take legal action against the British Government, negotiations on further financial asistance to the Ilois continued throughout the period 1979, but without results. Then in June 1981, a fresh round of talks began, which resulted in an Agreement signed formally on 7 July 1982, whereby the British Government would make an ex-gratia payment of £4m, to be administered by a Board of Trustees set up by the Mauritius Parliament. The Mauritius Government, for its part, would grant the Ilois land to the value of £lm. This Agreement came into
effect on 28 October 1982.
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