Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The archipelago, with an area of 4,700 sq mi, comprises East Falkland, West Falkland, and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, but the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defense and foreign affairs. The capital and largest settlement is Stanley on East Falkland.

When discovered by Europeans in the 16th century the Falkland Islands were uninhabited. It was not until 1764, when France became the first to establish a colony on one of the islands. The French then left their island in 1766 allowing the Spanish to take control while the British established a settlement on another one of the islands in 1765.

In 1770 the Spanish then attacked the British island forcing them to leave. In the following year the British came back and the colony town of Port Egmont became an important port-of-call for British ships in the area. Yet war was brewing in another colony known as the American Revolutionary War. In 1776 the British military forces left the Falklands heading to America to fight in that revolution, however, this time British settlers stayed behind in the islands.

In 1780 the Spanish then arrived back at the islands proclaiming their own sovereignty, destroying the British colony, and forcing the British inhabitants to leave their homes and settlement. The Spanish ruled the islands from Buenos Aires until they left in 1811 because they were unable to continue to control the area as their resources were too limited. The Spanish had other pressures and so they pulled out of the islands continuing to proclaim possession. British colonists started to return to live in the Falklands.

In 1820 an American-born Brazilian naval officer colonel named David Jewett arrived on one of the island with 40 soldiers. He was a naval commander that operated as a mercenary and pirate in both the United Provinces and the Empire of Brazil. Although at one time he commanded the 18 gun sloop-of-war USS Trumbull fighting the French, he later changed allegiance to the newly independent United Provinces of the River Plate which later became Argentina. It was his presence in the Falklands that thus began Argentina's claim it belonged to them. David Jewett was known as the pirate that planted the Argentine flag.

In 1832 Argentina envisioned using the Falklands as a prison colony, much like the British did in Australia. This plan did not work out for Argentina as there was a mutiny resulting in the death of a commanding officer and throwing the operation into chaos. By 1833 British military forces were back in the Falklands to restore order.