+Timeline of de facto control of the Falkland IslandsApril 1764– February 1767 January 1765– July 1770 February 1767– February 1811 September 1771– May 1774 February 1767– February 1811 February 1811– August 1829 None August 1829– December 1831 December 1831– January 1832 January–December 1832 None December 1832– January 1833 January–August 1833 August 1833– January 1834 None January 1834– April 1982 The United Kingdom was called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927, following Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922. The current name United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been in use since 1927. April–June 1982 Argentina June 1982– present
Sovereignty over the Falkland Islands () is disputed by Argentina and the United Kingdom. The British claim to sovereignty dates from 1690, when they made the first recorded landing on the islands, and the United Kingdom has exercised de facto sovereignty over the archipelago almost continuously since 1833. Argentina bases its claim on its succession to Spanish sovereignty following its independence and views the British as a colonial power, as the latter sent naval forces to remove the Argentine authorities in January 1833 and took control of the islands afterward. The dispute escalated again in 1982, when Argentina invaded the islands, precipitating the Falklands War.
While Argentina claims a right to colonise the territory for economic gain, Britain has supported the right of self-determination of Falkland islanders. Today, Falkland Islanders overwhelmingly prefer to remain British. Following the British victory in the Falklands War, they were granted full British citizenship under the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983. Argentina rejects the case for self-determination, as it views the islanders as "transplanted people" brought in by the British, ignoring the portion of the population with Argentinian origins and that there was no native people to begin with. Instead, Argentina argues that they do not have UN-recognised rights to self-determination, and instead argues for territorial integrity. Several South American countries and organizations support the Argentinian position, while the European Union recognizes the British administration. Most other countries do not take sides in the sovereignty dispute over the islands.
Historical basis of the dispute
Pre-settlement claims In 1493, Pope Alexander VI issued a Papal bull, Inter caetera, dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal. The following year, the Treaty of Tordesillas between those countries agreed that the dividing line between the two should be 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. The Falklands lie on the western (Spanish) side of this line.
There is some limited evidence resulting in speculation of a possible human presence on the islands predating European arrival. The British were the first to land on the Falklands, and did so in 1690, when Captain John Strong sailed through Falkland Sound, naming this passage of water after Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland, the First Lord of the Admiralty at that time. The British were keen to settle the islands as they had the potential to be a strategic naval base for passage around Cape Horn.
Spain made claims that the Falkland Islands were held under provisions in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, which defined the limits of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. However, the treaty only promised to restore the territories in the Americas held prior to the War of the Spanish Succession. The Falkland Islands were not held at the time, nor were they mentioned in the treaty.
Early settlements France was the first country to establish a permanent settlement in the Falkland Islands, with the foundation of Port-Saint-Louis on East Falkland by French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville in 1764. Back in France, King Louis XV formally ratified possession of the islands on 12 September 1764. The French colony consisted of a small fort and some settlements with a population of around 250. The islands were named after the Breton port of Saint-Malo as the Îles Malouines, which remains the French name for the islands.
In 1765, Captain John Byron landed on Saunders Island. He then explored the coasts of the other islands and claimed the archipelago for Britain. The following year, Captain John MacBride returned to Saunders Island and constructed a fort named Port Egmont.
First sovereignty disputes When Spain discovered the British and French colonies on the Islands, a diplomatic row broke out among the three claimants. In 1766, Spain and France, who were allies at the time, agreed that France would hand over Port Saint Louis, and Spain would reimburse de Bougainville and the Saint-Malo Company 618,108 French livres for the cost of the settlement. France insisted that Spain maintain the colony in Port-Louis to prevent Britain from claiming unilateral title to the Islands, and Spain agreed. Spain and Great Britain enjoyed uneasy relations at the time, and no corresponding agreement was reached.
The Spanish took control of Port Saint Louis and renamed it Puerto Soledad in 1767. On 10 June 1770, a Spanish expedition was sent to the British colony at Port Egmont. Facing a greater force, the British were expelled from Port Egmont, and Spain took de facto control of the Islands. The British threatened war over the issue, but both sides concluded a treaty on 22 January 1771, allowing the British to return to Port Egmont with neither side relinquishing sovereignty claims.
British and Spanish withdrawal
However, in 1774, economic pressures leading up to the American Revolutionary War forced Great Britain to withdraw from the Falklands along with many of its other overseas settlements. They left behind a plaque and flag at Port Egmont asserting British sovereignty over the islands. This left Spain in de facto control, with the British maintaining they had the rights to return at any time. In 1777, Governor Ramon de Carassa was ordered to destroy the remains at Port Egmont. The British plaque was removed and sent to Buenos Aires. Spain ruled the islands from 1774 until 1811 from Port Soledad as part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. In this period, 18 Spanish governors were appointed to rule the islands. Spanish troops remained until 1811, when Governor Pablo Guillen Martinez was called back to Montevideo as the revolutionary forces spread through the continent. As the Spanish government withdrew, he left behind a plaque claiming sovereignty for Spain.
This left no formal government present on the islands. Despite the lack of administration or governance, they retained human activity. British and American sealers routinely used them to hunt for seals, also taking on fresh water as well as feral cattle, pigs and even penguins for provisions. Whalers also used the islands to shelter from the South Atlantic weather and to take on fresh provisions.
Colonel Jewett's declaration Argentina declared its independence from Spain in 1816, although this was not then recognised by any of the major powers. In 1823, Britain appointed Woodbine Parish as consul-general to Buenos Aires and concluded a friendly treaty with the government of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata on 2 February 1825, but, like the US, did not recognise the full extent of the territory claimed by the new state.Mikulas Fabry, Recognizing states international society and the establishment of new states since 1776, pp. 68, 77 n. 88, which cites George Canning's letter to Woodbine Parish of Boxing Day, 1824; the British did not even decide their position on the status of Uruguay, then disputed with the Empire of Brazil, until 1825; George P. Mills, Argentina, p. 203; see also the website of the Argentine Foreign Ministry . Other sources count effective recognition from the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, concluded 2 February 1825, in Buenos Aires.In October 1820, the frigate Heroína, under the command of American privateer Colonel David Jewett, arrived in Puerto Soledad after an eight-month voyage and with most of her crew incapacitated by scurvy and other disease. A storm had severely damaged the Heroína and had sunk a Portuguese ship pirated by Jewett called the Carlota.Report dated 30 April 1822 by Portuguese Auditor General of Marine, Manuel José de Figueredo; translated version reprinted in William R. Manning: Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States, Inter-American Affairs 1831–1860, Vol I, Argentina, Washington DC 1932, fn. 1, pp. 169–71. The captain sought assistance from the British explorer James Weddell to put the ship into harbour. Weddell reported that only thirty seamen and forty soldiers out of a complement of 200 were fit for duty and that Jewett slept with pistols over his head following an attempted mutiny. On 6 November 1820, Jewett raised the flag of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (the nation that would become Argentina) and claimed possession of the islands for the new state. Weddell reported that the letter he received from Jewett read:
Many modern authors report this letter as the declaration issued by Jewett. Jewett's report to the government of Buenos Aires does not mention any claim to the Falkland Islands, and news of the claim reached Argentina by way of the United States and Europe in November 1821, over a year after the event.
Before the Treaty was signed in 1825, Parish had requested from Argentine Foreign Minister Bernardino Rivadavia a general account of Buenos Aires and the provinces of the Río de la Plata for reference. Written by Rivadavia's secretary, Ignacio Núñez, the published report did not mention the Falkland Islands.
United Provinces governance
Subject to survey and demarcation of the property, the Government of Buenos Aires Province granted land on East Falkland to Jorge Pacheco in 1823, and fishing and hunting rights the following year. Pacheco was a businessman from Buenos Aires who owed money to the merchant Luis Vernet. A first expedition financed by Pacheco travelled to the islands the following year, arriving on the East Falkland on 2 February 1824. Its leader was Pablo Areguatí, who brought with him 25 gauchos. Ten days later Areguatí wrote to Pacheco to say the colony was perishing because the horses they had brought were too weak to be used. Thus, they could not capture wild cattle, and their only other means of subsistence was wild rabbits. On 7 June, Areguatí left the islands, taking with him 17 gauchos, with the remaining eight gauchos being rescued by the Susannah Anne, a British sealer, on 24 July. A second attempt, in 1826, sanctioned by the British (but delayed until winter by a Brazilian blockade), also failed after arrival in the islands.