Favorite British Overseas Territory?

[clarky]

What is your Favorite of the 14 Overseas BritishTerritories?

1,Anguilla



2,Bermuda



3,British Indian Ocean Territory



4,British Virgin Islands



5,Cayman Islands



6,Falkland Islands

All photos from Keith and Val's Falkland Islands site




7,Gibraltar




8,Montserrat




9,St Helena and Dependencies (Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha),






10,Turk and Caicos Islands



11,Pitcairn Island



12,South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands



13,Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus


14,British Antarctic Territory

[Monkey]

They're all magnificient. Bermuda is the richest, British Antarctica is the largest, Gibralter is the most strategic and historic, and the Falklands are the most poignant. However, for me, the prettiest and most desirable are the gorgeous Caribbean Islands. Names like "The Virgin Islands" and "Cayman Islands" just sound so damn sexy and alluring. And when you look at the white sand, turquoise water, and coconut palms they make me want to melt....

[Zim Flyer]

Clarky you are on a roll, this is your second excellent thread on the bounce, nice one.

I would say it is a three way tie between Gibralter because of the strategy point of view, the Falkands because of future oil reserves and the Caymen islands because of it's banking.

[clarky]

The island of Tristan Da Cunha(see map above) is very tiny mostly volcano and people live on it.This is the capital called Edinburgh of the seven seas
http://community.webshots.com/album/111830520ivSLxf

[Monkey]

^ Splendid setting

[Monkey]

Richard Branson owns Necker Island in.... where else? The Virgin Islands of course....

[Monkey]

1779 June - In the midst of the American Revolutionary War, Spain declared war against Great Britain (France had done it the year before)

1779 July - Start of the Great Siege of Gibraltar (fourteenth and last military siege). This was an action by French and Spanish forces to wrest control of Gibraltar from the established British Garrison. The garrison, led by George Augustus Eliott, later 1st Baron Heathfield of Gibraltar, survived all attacks and a blockade of supplies.

1782 September 13 - Start of an assault involving 100,000 men, 48 ships and 450 cannon. The British garrison survived.



The Siege and Relief of Gibraltar, 13 September 1782. By John Singleton Copley (1738-1815)

[Monkey]

[XenonII]

Originally Posted by Monkey

What a magnificient image of the peak of the Rock of Gibraltar surrounded by cloud!!! I wonder if there ever will be a skyscraper built in Gibraltar taller than the Rock (or even a skyscraper at all for that matter)? Would love to see it develop like a mini-Hong Kong!!!

[Monkey]

The sun still does not set on the British Empire, at least in it’s most literal sense. At every moment, in some far-flung corner of the revolving globe, it is daytime in a place where the Union Flag flies.

[Zim Flyer]

Originally Posted by Monkey

The sun still does not set on the British Empire, at least in it’s most literal sense. At every moment, in some far-flung corner of the revolving globe, it is daytime in a place where the Union Flag flies.

My fave is the the flag of British Columbia for that.

[ReddAlert]

Cayman Islands..only one Ive been too. Beautiful place.

[XenonII]

I would have voted for Hong Kong but that biatch Margaret Thatcher cowardly sold it out to Red China, less than 2 years after fighting over the Falkland Islands (like WTF?! get your priorities straight you stupid moron!) effectively murdering the British Empire in the process. Hong Kong Island, Stonecutter's Island and the Kowloon Peninsula were NOT part of the 99 year lease and were supposed to be British forever!

Now there's really no decent colonies left thanks to that Feminazi, I vote for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, simply because it's a relatively huge island with some of the tallest mountains in the UK and some of the most spectacular scenery on God's green earth.

[Langur]

Originally Posted by XenonII

I would have voted for Hong Kong but that biatch Margaret Thatcher cowardly sold it out to Red China, less than 2 years after fighting over the Falkland Islands (like WTF?! get your priorities straight you stupid moron!) effectively murdering the British Empire in the process. Hong Kong Island, Stonecutter's Island and the Kowloon Peninsula were NOT part of the 99 year lease and were supposed to be British forever!

Now there's really no decent colonies left thanks to that Feminazi, I vote for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, simply because it's a relatively huge island with some of the tallest mountains in the UK and some of the most spectacular scenery on God's green earth.

Actually you're not doing much better on the history than Doomsiren. Gothic is partially wrong about the water supplies as even with the New Territories, HK was always dependent on the PRC for its water supply (though the construction of numerous reservoirs in the New Territories did mean that British HK could hold for longer in the event of a cut). However China never attempted to cut the water, even during the Cultural Revolution when it was a serious worry for the British authorities. What really did make the idea of Britain's keeping HK Island and Kowloon impossible, is that most of the population of HK lived/lives in the New Territories. It would be like trying to hand back the suburbs of London whilst keeping the city centre - completely impractical! The new border would then have cut across the most densely populated place on earth (Mongkok) and there's no way that all of HK's population could have been resettled on HK Island and Kowloon. After all HK's built up areas are already the densest in the world. The only practical thing for Thatcher to negotiate for was an extension of Britain's lease on the New Territories. China refused and Thatcher was not in a position to force the issue. Also Thatcher's regrets do not relate to the agreement to hand back HK, but rather the failure to insist on a more vigorous definition of the word "democracy", that was agreed by both sides in the 1984 agreement. In the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre, and when it had become clear that China's understanding of the word "democracy" was very different from Britain's (and in effect meant no genuine democracy at all) then it was left to Chris Patten to courageously attempt to accelerate the development of democracy before the 1997 handover in the hope that China, presented with a fait accomplis, would retain it (or at least more of it). Of course China did not retain it, but was probably more cautious and respectful of HK's rights under the 50-year One Country Two Systems agreement, than it would been the case had Chris Patten not been so determined. In the event it's turned out fairly well. China has not destroyed HK's autmonomy or institutions as many thought it would. British companies like Jardine Matheson and Swire Group are still HK's largest employers after the government, and HK's banknotes are still printed by British banks HSBC and Standard Chartered (though they've been joined by the Bank of China too). People still drive on the left, and expats still throng the bars of Lan Kwai Fong (on a recent visit I'd say the numbers are now back to pre-handover levels), the police force remains uncorrupt, and the judiciary independent and multiracial. Remarkably Britons actually still have more rights in HK than mainland Chinese (6 months visa free entry for Britons - though admittedly the visa for mainland Chinese is easy to obtain). HK used to thrive on being one of the only entry points to China, and the combination of British laws/big business, low taxes, and of course local graft and entrepreneurial spirit. The latter three factors are all still there. Only Dubai has lower taxes anywhere in the world, British law and British companies are still going strong, and Hong Kong remains phenomenally entrepreneurial and dynamic. However the whole of China is open now to the world and mainland cities all over the China ape HK's skyscraper studded skyline (as we know from these forums). HK's future competitiveness depends on combining its existing advantages (rule of law, lack of corruption, transparent regulation, excellent infrastructure) with the widest possible access to the China market for the world's corporations. Having made the decision to open itself to the world wholesale, China would have squeezed HK out had it remained British. Shanghai would have overtaken HK years ago. As it happens Hong Kong remains ahead of Shanghai because the fact that it is now Chinese-ruled, and therefore no longer an afront to China's national pride, means that it can open and access China more completely.

However I agree that it was wrong not to give all of HK's citizens British citizenship. We gave the elite full British citizenship, and the rest were given an "overseas" British passport. The latter is somewhat meaningless but of course they could have been upgraded to full status in the event of harsh crackdowns against the general HK population. I can also understand the reticence of any government to immediately and overnight increase its citizenship and population by 10%. It's not a decision you take lightly!

[Langur]

Originally Posted by XenonII

Now there's really no decent colonies left thanks to that Feminazi, I vote for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, simply because it's a relatively huge island with some of the tallest mountains in the UK and some of the most spectacular scenery on God's green earth.

I disagree with that. There are no important British colonies left but we have lots of gorgeous Caribbean islands, Gibralter and Bermuda are cool, and like you say there's South Georgia with Britain's highest mountain, the 2,935m (9,629 ft) Mt Paget (unless Britain's Antarctic Territories are included whereby the 3050m (10,007 ft) Mount Jackson is the highest).

[XenonII]

Originally Posted by Monkey

The sun still does not set on the British Empire, at least in it’s most literal sense. At every moment, in some far-flung corner of the revolving globe, it is daytime in a place where the Union Flag flies.

Amen to that and may it always be true!!!

I live in her Majesty's Kingdom of Australia, and while it may not be officially a British Overseas Territory anymore (SHAME!) I STILL fly the Union flag because BRITISH IS BEST and you can't improve on perfection!

[The Hunted]

Gibraltar for me, love the place and the people are great. I stayed in Catalan Bay at a hotel called the "Caleta" which is on the quiet side of Gibraltar near the water casements.
The history oozes from almost everywhere, the guided tour round the upper rock is incredible and the views unbelievable. The apes are a little bit frisky as my arm found out but they are cute.
St Michael's cave is like a cathederal, the shopping is tax free and I got to go out and see some Dolphins.
A wonderful place!

[sjwmoore]

Well ive only been to one of these, Akrotiri SBA, so that gets my vote. Now of serious strategic importance and used more increasingly by USAF

[CrazyMac]

Yet as British citizens, if any one of us tried to go and live in any of these places (with the exception of Falklands/Gibraltar) we would be as welcome as a dose of the clap.

Unless your a millionaire or short term tourist, the message to Brits is...stay the fuck away, i mean, you try and set foot an ANY of the carribean islands without a return ticket, and see the welcome (NOT) you will get.

Its really annoying as it our taxes that pay for their defence and continued existance.

BTW....Turks & Caicos Islands....heaven on earth...

[clarky]

Gough Island
(St Helena and Dependencies)