The Last Colony: A Tale of Exile, Justice and Britain’s Colonial Legacy by Philippe Sands (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2022).
Reviewed by Samuel Bashfield*
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Popular understanding would have many believe that Britain’s vast empire was decolonised in the post-Second World War era. Former colonies across Africa, South Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean and beyond opted to chart their own course during the Cold War – many joining the Non-Aligned Movement. Despite these nations shaking off the chains of colonialism and joining the burgeoning international community, in an exceptional set of circumstances in 1965, Britain created one last colony – the British Indian Ocean Territory, or BIOT.
