Who were the people living in Chagos Archipelago before 1971?

Before 1971, the Chagos Archipelago was home to a population primarily composed of Chagossians, who were descendants of African slaves and indentured laborers brought to the islands in the 18th and 19th centuries. They lived a subsistence lifestyle, relying on fishing and coconut plantation agriculture. The British government forcibly removed the Chagossians from the islands between 1965 and 1971 to establish a U.S. military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago. This displacement led to significant cultural and social disruption for the Chagossian community.