[56], Concerned at the expense of maintaining the Falkland Islands in an era of budget cuts, the UK again considered transferring sovereignty to Argentina in the early Thatcher government. [139] A small number of Argentines also live on the islands. There will be two sides to that story. The Falkland Islands are a dependent territory of the UK and will remain so for as long as the Islanders wish them to. England will still unlock slowly despite vaccinating faster than government assumed. Britain protested and war was narrowly averted when the Britons were allowed to return. Argentine troops invaded the Falklands on April 2, rapidly overcoming the small garrison of British marines at the capital Stanley (Port Stanley); they obeyed orders not to inflict any British casualties, despite losses to their own units. [121] Development projects in education and sports have been funded by the Falklands government, without aid from the United Kingdom. Argentina declined on every occasion, saying it did not recognise the jurisdiction of the court. Falklanders overwhelmingly want to stick with Britain, which has given it autonomy and military protection. The Falkland Islands are a self-governing British Overseas Territory. [45] Nonetheless, Falklander dissent, as expressed by their strong lobby in the UK Parliament, and tensions between the UK and Argentina effectively limited sovereignty negotiations until 1977. [25], Both the British and Spanish settlements coexisted in the archipelago until 1774, when Britain's new economic and strategic considerations led it to voluntarily withdraw from the islands, leaving a plaque claiming the Falklands for King George III. Argentina protested in 1841, 1849, 1884, 1888, 1908, 1927 and 1933, and has made annual protests to the United Nations since 1946. In the First World War Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914, a Royal Navy fleet defeated an Imperial German squadron. [52] After the war ended, the Falklands economy was affected by declining wool prices and the political uncertainty resulting from the revived sovereignty dispute between the United Kingdom and Argentina. [113] The Falklands are treeless and have a wind-resistant vegetation predominantly composed of a variety of dwarf shrubs. [72] The Legislative Assembly, a unicameral legislature, consists of the chief executive, the director of finance and eight members (five from Stanley and three from Camp) elected to four-year terms by universal suffrage. [125] During the 1980s, although ranch under-investment and the use of synthetic fibres damaged the sheep-farming sector, the government secured a major revenue stream by the establishment of an exclusive economic zone and the sale of fishing licences to "anybody wishing to fish within this zone". [102] The temperature has historically stayed between 21.1 and −11.1 °C (70.0 and 12.0 °F) in Stanley, with mean monthly temperatures varying from 9 °C (48 °F) early in the year to −1 °C (30 °F) in July. The minefields were fenced off and marked; there remain unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices. [27] Vernet's venture lasted until a dispute over fishing and hunting rights led to a raid by the American warship USS Lexington in 1831,[34][F] when United States Navy commander Silas Duncan declared the dissolution of the island's government. This page was last edited on 16 March 2021, at 01:00. [138] In the 2012 census, a majority of residents listed their nationality as Falkland Islander (59 percent), followed by British (29 percent), Saint Helenian (9.8 percent), and Chilean (5.4 percent). ", Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, "Britain puts forward four options on Falklands (Nick Ridley visit & leaseback)", "Sovereignty and the Falkland Islands Crisis", Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom, Countries and dependencies of South America, Independence of Spanish continental Americas, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, northernmost France, Law of coartación (which allowed slaves to buy their freedom, and that of others), South George and the South Sandwich Islands, List of countries by English-speaking population, List of countries where English is an official language, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Falkland_Islands&oldid=1012370627, English-speaking countries and territories, States and territories established in 1833, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Articles containing Spanish-language text, Articles containing Scottish Gaelic-language text, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Founded by Samuel Lafone, an Englishman from Montevideo, the Falkland Islands Company (FIC) became the islands’ largest landholder. [76], The governor acts on the advice of the islands' Executive Council, composed of the chief executive, the Director of Finance and three elected members of the Legislative Assembly (with the governor as chairman). [103] The Falklands consists of continental crust fragments resulting from the break-up of Gondwana and the opening of the South Atlantic that began 130 million years ago. The Falkland Islands government pays for older students to attend institutions of higher education, usually in the United Kingdom. The Falkland Islands (/ˈfɔːlklənd/; Spanish: Islas Malvinas, pronounced [ˈislas malˈβinas]) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. Professor Malcolm Shaw QC, a leading expert on territorial disputes, said: “‘People’, as I see it, has always been defined as the population of a recognised colony, and on that basis, they are a people. War was narrowly avoided by its restitution to Britain in 1771. right of those territories to self-determination. [132] The islands' major exports include wool, hides, venison, fish and squid; its main imports include fuel, building materials and clothing. British administration was restored two months later at the end of the Falklands War. If it were, the Faroe Islands would be British, the Channel Islands French and Alaska Canadian. [130] Tourism, part of the service economy, has been spurred by increased interest in Antarctic exploration and the creation of direct air links with the United Kingdom and South America. This video I read what a Argentine thinks about the Falklands war, interesting to hear what he believes happened and if it was wrong/ okay. [95] In March 2013, the Falkland Islands held a referendum on its political status: 99.8% of votes cast favoured remaining a British overseas territory. Royal Navy Captain John Strong made the first recorded landing on the then uninhabited islands in 1690, and named them after his patron Lord Falkland. In other words, they can’t be forced to accept a change in sovereignty or national status if they don’t want it. [89][90][91] The incident of 1833 is particularly contentious; Argentina considers it proof of "Britain's usurpation" whereas the UK discounts it as a mere reassertion of its claim. The 2016 census indicated that 43% of residents were born on the archipelago, with foreign-born residents assimilated into local culture. [64] Oil exploration also began, with indications of possible commercially exploitable deposits in the Falklands basin. [113] The Falklands' flora consists of 163 native vascular species. [92][L], In 2009, the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, had a meeting with the Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and said that there would be no further talks over the sovereignty of the Falklands. [46], Simmering tensions between the UK and Argentina increased during the second half of the century, when Argentine President Juan Perón asserted sovereignty over the archipelago. Yet the Argentinians go on belly-aching. The islands’ British heritage is apparent in Stanley, where pubs, bright red mailboxes, and well-kept gardens are numerous. [27] Amid the British invasions of the Río de la Plata during the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, the islands' governor evacuated the archipelago in 1806; Spain's remaining colonial garrison followed suit in 1811, except for gauchos and fishermen who remained voluntarily. [120] The extent of human impact on the Falklands is unclear, since there is little long-term data on habitat change. On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a remote British colony in the South Atlantic – sparking a short and decisive war that grabbed international headlines, created sizeable politicial drama, and involved great bravery and great tragedy. Details: The Falklands have their own currency, the Falkland Pound, whose exchange rate is tied to the British Pound. The UN maintains a list of 16 “Non-Self-Governing Territories” which it defines as “non-decolonised”. [141] According to the 2012 census, the average daily population of the Falklands was 2,932, excluding military personnel serving in the archipelago and their dependents. [127], The port settlement of Stanley has regained the islands' economic focus, with an increase in population as workers migrate from Camp. Under the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983, Falkland Islanders are British citizens. Ironically, given that the Argentinian government says it is against colonialism, its claim also rests on the Falklands once having been a colonial possession of Spain. In 1843, work on the new settlement began, and it became the official capital in 1845. [50] In 1881, the Falkland Islands became financially independent of Britain. [104] Variability of daily weather is typical throughout the archipelago. [124] The main sheep breeds in the Falkland Islands are Polwarth and Corriedale. Over 900 British, Argentine and Falkland Islander lives were lost in the war (Fox Photos/Getty) Fox Photos/Getty Images [16] Claims of discovery date back to the 16th century, but no consensus exists on whether early explorers discovered the Falklands or other islands in the South Atlantic. They would remain in “Argentinian” hands until 1833. [133] The Falkland-born population are also descended from English and French people, Gibraltarians, Scandinavians and South Americans. 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