evidence: The atoll of Diego Garcia is in the Chagos Islands located on a large shoal area known as the Great Chagos Bank. Diego Garcia is the largest of 55 islands that form the Chagos Archipelago within the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and is known as the "Footprint of Freedom" for its shape, regional location, and strategic importance. The island is located seven degrees south of the equator very close to the geographic center of the Indian Ocean. Diego Garica was discovered by Portuguese explorers in the early sixteenth century and its name is believed to have come from either an early explorer's ship captain or its navigator. Under the Treaty of Paris of 1814, many of the islands in the Indian Ocean under the control of the French were ceded to Britain, including the Mauritius and the Chagos Islands. In 1965, these islands became the British Indian Ocean Territory (B.I.O.T.). During the 19th Century, the islands were used as plantations, producing copra and coconut oils. Plantations on Diego Garcia were closed in 1971, following a decision to establish the U.S. Navy Support Facility based on the 1966 Exchange of Notes between Great Britain and the United States.