CONFIDENTIAL
UK DEPENDENT TERRITORIES (EXCLUDING FALKLAND ISLANDS, GIBRALTAR,
HONG KONG): FUTURE OPTIONS
I. INTRODUCTION
1.
Since the Second World War, HMG's overall policy towards the
Dependent Territories has been in practice if not in theory, to bring them to eventual independence wherever possible, although
there has been no uniform colonial policy adopted towards all the Dependent Territories; policy has been framed on an ad hoc basis
according to local circumstances. By the early 1970's it had become
clear that, for one reason or another, most of the remaining
territories could no longer be expected to follow the "normal" path
to independence since, leaving aside the problem territories like
the Falklands, Gibraltar and Hong Kong, few of them had substantial
populations eager for independence or capable of sustaining it
unaided. UK policy on the future of the Dependent Territories was
consequently reviewed and a major paper on the subject was prepared
in 1973 by the FCO, ODA and MOD. The present paper is designed as a follow up, on a much smaller scale, to this paper (Programme
Analysis and Review, the Future of the Dependent Territories) and
complements the work of Planning Staff on the Future of the remaining Dependent Territories. It discusses all the remaining
British Dependent territories except the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar
and Hong Kong. They are Anguilla; Bermuda; British Antarctic
Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; British Virgin Islands;
Cayman Islands; Montserrat; Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno; St
Helena; St Helena Dependencies - Ascension and Tristan da Cunha;
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the Turks and Caicos
Islands. UK policy on BIOT, BAT, South Georgia and South Sandwich
Islands has been fully considered recently and Ministers have opted
for maintenance of the status quo for the foreseeable future for
these territories. They are included for the sake of completeness
as well as serving as useful examples of why certain theoretical options considered in this paper are not applicable, (annexes on UK aid to, and constitutional position of, UK dependent territories,
examples of other administering powers and UN considerations are available in Research Department).
CONFIDENTIAL
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