"The Americans' first choice was the island of Aldabra, north of Madagascar.
Unfortunately, Aldabra was the breeding ground for rare giant tortoises, whose mating habits would probably be upset by the military activity and whose cause would be championed noisily by publicity-aware ecologists.
The alternative was the Chagos Islands, part of Mauritius, then a British territory campaigning for independence.
The islands were home to some 1,800 people - mainly descendants of slaves - but no tortoises."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2011-03-21 11:20 am (UTC)"The Americans' first choice was the island of Aldabra, north of Madagascar.
Unfortunately, Aldabra was the breeding ground for rare giant tortoises, whose mating habits would probably be upset by the military activity and whose cause would be championed noisily by publicity-aware ecologists.
The alternative was the Chagos Islands, part of Mauritius, then a British territory campaigning for independence.
The islands were home to some 1,800 people - mainly descendants of slaves - but no tortoises."