British Territory of overseas

A British territory of overseas (in English, United Kingdom Overseas Territory , in the past called depends territory and earlier still a colony on the Crown crown colony ) is a territory which under the sovereignty and the formal control of the the United Kingdom but which is not part of the Kingdom itself (Great Britain and Northern Ireland). The term of Colony of the Crown is always used for the Falkland Islands, the British Territoire of the Antarctic and Gibraltar.

The British territories of overseas must be distinguished from the possessions of the British Couronne (Guernesey, Jersey, island of Man) and of protectorates, of which none formally forms part of the United Kingdom and where the United Kingdom either directly does not exert its sovereignty entrusted to a government local : the United Kingdom only exerts there, in agreement with the local governments, their defense and their safety and can represent them with the international plan, but only with their agreement (the international treaties signed by the United Kingdom do not engage the possessions of the Crown nor protectorates). For this reason, the British Couronne is thus seen legally as an international institution (comparable with the European Union) to which belongbelong the United Kingdom itself, British territories of overseas, possessions of the Crown and the countries independent of the Commonwealth (of which the Canada, the Australia or the New Zealand).

In the same way, the British territories of overseas are not the dominions (Royaume of the Commonwealth).

Current overseas territories

4th stage (towards independence) : the Bermuda, the Turkish islands and Caïques (since sep. 2006) ;
stage : Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Gibraltar ;
stage : the Falkland Islands or Falkland Islands (also asserted by the Argentinian ), Grey waxbill, the islands Pitcairn ;
1st stage : the British territory of the Indian Ocean, the South Georgia and the islands Sandwich of the South (also asserted by the Argentinian ), the British territory of the Antarctic (also subjected to the treated of the Antarctic, disputed by the claims of the Argentinian and the Chile).

Moreover, it there at the British base of sovereignty of Akrotiri and Dhekelia with Cyprus (but it is not a British territory, the United Kingdom by having only the administration, and its native population is legally Cypriot).

List British territories of overseas

Inhabited territories

Particular statuses

Old colonies of the Crown

For a list of country in the past colonies of the Crown or including old colonies, to refer to the the Commonwealth. Please note that much country belonging to the Commonwealth was under British protectorate rather than colonies strictly speaking, such as for example Brunei. Certain nations were managed before by other countries belonging to the Commonwealth, such as the Îles Samoa (managed by the New Zealand), the New Guinea-News-Guinea (by the Australia) and the Namibia (by the South Africa) whereas the Mozambique was in the past a Portuguese colony .

The colonies which did not unite in the Commonwealth are the Burma, Aden (which now made party of the Yemen) and the first thirteen colonies of the the United States of America. The Zimbabwe, old colony of the Crown, was formerly a member of the Commonwealth but was withdrawn since.

There was only one case in which an old colony did not obtain the independence but where sovereignty was transferred to another nation: HongKong. This colony was given to the China on July 1st 1997 following a Joint Declaration sino-British.

Simple: British overseas territories

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