Desroches Island
Île Desroches or Desroches Island is the main island of the Amirante Islands, part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles.
It is located 230 km southwest of Mahé, the Seychelles' main island. It is 6.2 km long and has a land area of 3.24 km2. Along its circumference of 15 km is a beach of fine sand. Conservation on the island is managed by Island Conservation Society.
History
Desroches was named by Chevalier de Roslan, commander of the French corvette Heure du Berger, after the Chevalier des Roches, the Governor of Île de France (now Mauritius) and Île Bourbon (now Réunion) from 1767 to 1772.
It was explored by the Chevalier de la Billioère in 1771. The British had originally named it Wood Island because of its dense tree vegetation. The island was an important producer of copra.
Along with the remaining Amirante Islands, Desroches had been a part of the Seychelles since it became a separate colony in 1909. On November 8, 1965, the United Kingdom split Desroches from the Seychelles to become part of the newly created British Indian Ocean Territory together with Farquhar, Aldabra and the Chagos Archipelago, but returned it to the Seychelles with the first two. The purpose was to allow the construction of military facilities for the mutual benefit of the United Kingdom and the United States. On June 23, 1976, Desroches was returned to Seychelles as a result of it attaining independence.
