First European
Sightings and Landings -
Claims for the
first sightings of these uninhabited islands included
the Italian Amerigo Vespucci in 1502 and the
expedition of Portugese-born Ferdinand Magellan in
1520. Thereafter
three firsts are generally accepted - Capt John Davis
made the first British sighting in
1592, Dutchman
Sebald de Weert first accurately plotted the westerly
Jason
Islands in 1600, and the first
British landing was made in 1690 on the north
coast by Capt John Strong who named
Falkland
Sound
after Lord Falkland of the Admiralty.
Spanish
Control
- The 1713 Treaty of
Utrecht confirmed Spain's continued control of her
traditional territories in the Americas, including
the offshore islands, but by now the French, many
from St. Malo were visiting the islands from which
they received the name Les Iles Malouines,
subsequently the Spanish Islas Malvinas. In the
1740's, Admiral
Lord Anson, back from his voyage around the world
recommended them as a naval base because of their
strategic position near Cape Horn.
French
and British
Settlement -
The first settlement was established in
1764
at
Port
Louis in Berkeley Sound by the French under
Antoine de Bougainville, who claimed the colony in
the name of the King of France, a step which brought
strong protests from allied Spain.
Next year British
Captain John Byron arrived to survey the north coast,
went ashore on Saunders Island off West Falkland and
in turn claimed the islands for Britain, naming Port
Egmont before sailing away. Captain John
McBride followed him there in 1766 to set up a
permanent colony, and that same year tried to eject
the French from Port Louis, but unknown to both of
them, de Bougainville had already sold out to Spain.
Spanish
Colony
- De Bougainville formally handed over
the French colony in 1767 and Port Louis
was renamed Puerto Soledad. A Spanish
governor was appointed under the Captain-General of
mainland Buenos Aires, but both the British on West
Falkland and Spanish on East Falkland carried on
until 1769 when each tried to get the
other to leave. In 1770, on orders
from Buenos Aires, five Spanish ships with 1,400
troops arrived and the small marine garrison at Port
Egmont was forced to leave in a move which nearly led
to war between the two countries. After intensive
negotiations Spain agreed in 1771 to Britain
returning to Port Egmont, but reserved the right to
sovereignty. She also claimed Britain had secretly
agreed to pull out and indeed the settlement was
abandoned three years later in 1774. Until the
early 19th
century, the Falklands remained the Spanish
colony of Islas Malvinas.
Argentine
Claim and Possession
- Following independence from
Spain in 1816, the future state of Argentina
laid claim to the previous colonial territories, and
in 1820
sent
a frigate to take possession of the Falklands. In
1826, Louis Vernet
of French origin established himself and a number of
colonists at Puerto Soledad to develop fishing,
farming and trade, and as governor from
1828
attempted to
control the widespread sealing. Waking up to
developments, Britain's consul general in Buenos
Aires protested in 1829 against the
appointment of a governor and re-asserted old claims
to sovereignty.
United
States and British Involvement
- In 1831, after arresting American
sealers accused of poaching, Louis Vernet sailed in
one of them for Buenos Aires where the captain was to
stand trial. In reprisal, the US warship
"Lexington" arrived off Puerto Soledad,
destroyed the fortifications, arrested some of the
people and declared the islands free of government
before sailing away. Argentina and the United States
argued furiously over each other's high-handed
behaviour, and next year a new governor was appointed
but then murdered by rebellious colonists. As
Argentine forces attempted to restore order, Royal
Navy warships "Clio" and "Tyne"
under the command of Captain Onslow arrived in early
1833, forced them
to leave and claimed the Falklands for Britain.
Argentina protested strongly, but the British
Government maintained that all rights to sovereignty
were retained during the 1770 negotiations with
Spain.
British
Colonisation
- Britain later started to
settle the islands and formally declared a colonial
administration in 1842, although
Argentina continued to press her claim and from the
1960's on, with
increasing vigour. Stanley was
established in 1845. By this time, Britain's right to
ownership rested mainly on her peaceful and
continuous possession over a long period of time, and
when serious negotiations began, they became
dominated by the islander's desire to remain British.
Argentine
Claims - After a period of Argentine lobbying,
the United Nations passed Resolution 2065 in
1965 specifying the
Falklands/Malvinas as a colonial problem, and calling
on Britain and Argentina to find a peaceful solution.
Talks continued on and off for the next seventeen
years under both British Labour and Conservative
Governments. Britain initially appeared flexible over
the question of sovereignty, and by 1971 the Argentines
were agreeing to concentrate on economic development
and support, but thereafter, both side's position
hardened. The Argentines would accept nothing less
than full sovereignty and in late 1980 the islanders
rejected the one remaining solution of lease-back for
a fixed period. On the road to war, Argentina set up
a scientific base on Southern Thule in the South
Sandwich Islands in 1976
and stayed put,
and in 1982 her forces found themselves
about to land on South Georgia and to invade and hold
the Falklands themselves.
Summary of
Early Falklands History