{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.british-overseas-territories","code":"thing-q46395","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q46395/","name":"British Overseas Territories","alternateNames":["dependent territory of the United Kingdom"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.PLC"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The fourteen territories under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom that are not part of the UK itself, formerly called dependent territories and crown colonies, comprising Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Antarctic Territory, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, the Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena with Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, and the Turks and Caicos Islands; most are self-governing internally with the UK responsible for defence and foreign affairs, and several are subject to sovereignty disputes.","purpose":"Let an agent explain the British Overseas Territories and their constitutional status, relay the list and governance arrangements from official sources, present sovereignty disputes with positions attributed, and distinguish the territories from the Crown Dependencies and the Commonwealth.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["UK sovereignty","Internal self-government in most","Diverse locations","Contested cases"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What the territories are.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and status.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What are the British Overseas Territories, and how does their status differ from the UK, the Crown Dependencies and the Commonwealth?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about the territories as a category or a specific territory?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"list","name":"List","description":"The fourteen territories.","findings":[{"id":"list-finding","name":"List","description":"List.","questions":[{"text":"Which territories are included, and where are they?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific territory?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"govern","name":"Govern","description":"Governance.","layers":[{"id":"constitutions","name":"Constitutions","description":"Constitutions.","findings":[{"id":"constitutions-finding","name":"Constitutions","description":"Constitutions.","questions":[{"text":"How are the territories governed, with governors, local legislatures and UK responsibilities?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"citizenship","name":"Citizenship","description":"Citizenship and rights.","findings":[{"id":"citizenship-finding","name":"Citizenship","description":"Citizenship.","questions":[{"text":"What citizenship and rights do residents hold under the 2002 Act?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits British Overseas Territories citizen?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"disputes","name":"Disputes","description":"Sovereignty questions.","layers":[{"id":"disputes","name":"Disputes","description":"Disputes.","findings":[{"id":"disputes-finding","name":"Disputes","description":"Disputes.","questions":[{"text":"What are the positions of the UK, Spain, Argentina, Mauritius and the territories themselves on Gibraltar, the Falklands and Chagos, with each attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral, attributed and current?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"decolonisation","name":"Decolonisation","description":"UN framework.","findings":[{"id":"decolonisation-finding","name":"Decolonisation","description":"Decolonisation.","questions":[{"text":"How does the UN treat listed non-self-governing territories, and what have referendums shown?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History and economy.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did the territories evolve from colonies to dependent territories to overseas territories?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the history of the British Empire?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"economy","name":"Economy","description":"Economy and environment.","findings":[{"id":"economy-finding","name":"Economy","description":"Economy.","questions":[{"text":"How do finance, tourism, fishing and conservation shape the territories, including marine protected areas?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific territory economy?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["List the fourteen territories and describe their constitutional status with dates.","Distinguish Overseas Territories from Crown Dependencies.","Present sovereignty disputes by stating each party's position."],"mustNot":["Present disputes over Gibraltar, the Falklands or the Chagos Islands as settled.","Ignore the forced removal of the Chagossians when describing the British Indian Ocean Territory.","Give stale information on treaties or constitutional changes as current.","Produce propaganda for any side in a sovereignty dispute."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing analysis on an active sovereignty negotiation."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Small territories have their own peoples whose wishes and rights matter.","Colonial histories include displacement that still affects people today."],"affectedParties":["Residents of the territories","Chagossians","Neighbouring states"]},"owners":{"steward":"The sovereign state together with each territory's own government.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q107721276","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q10864048","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q15642541","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q161243","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q717478","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"overseas territory","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"first-level administrative division","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"United Kingdom","type":"related","note":"with local self-government"},{"target":"Crown Dependencies","type":"related","note":"which have a different status"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.british-overseas-territories","Wikidata: Q46395 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q46395)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["territories: 14 count","total population: about 270000 people - excluding uninhabited territories","largest by population: Cayman Islands territory - about 70000"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Territories under UK sovereignty outside the UK","Fourteen territories from Anguilla to the Turks and Caicos Islands","Crown Dependencies such as Jersey are not overseas territories; Commonwealth realms are independent states","Not a visible object; islands and territories on several continents."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain status and governance","relay the list","present disputes neutrally","distinguish from Crown Dependencies"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Presenting sovereignty disputes over Gibraltar, the Falklands and Chagos as settled","Confusing territories with Crown Dependencies","Stale information on constitutional and treaty changes"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["British Overseas Territories Act 2002","Individual territory constitutions by Order in Council","UN decolonisation framework for listed non-self-governing territories","Treaty arrangements such as the 2024 Chagos agreement, subject to ratification"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a category of territories.","inhabited self-governing territories such as Bermuda, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands","small inhabited territories such as Pitcairn and Tristan da Cunha","uninhabited or research territories such as the British Antarctic Territory and South Georgia","the British Indian Ocean Territory, subject to the 2024 agreement with Mauritius on the Chagos Archipelago","the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus","former dependent territories now independent"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q46395: British Overseas Territories","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q46395","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: British Overseas Territories","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Overseas_Territories","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each territory be a separate primary entry?","How should official and UN sources be linked?","How should the evolving Chagos situation be kept current?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q46395/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q46395/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T03:46:20Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:52:00+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}