FALKLAND ISLANDS

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The Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located 300 miles (483 km) from the coast of Argentina, 671 miles (1,080 km) west of the Shag Rocks (South Georgia), and 584 miles (940 km) north of Antarctica (Elephant Island). They consist of two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, together with 776 smaller islands. Stanley, on East Falkland, is the capital city. The islands are a self-governing Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, but have been the subject of a claim to sovereignty by Argentina since the British invasion of 1833.

In pursuit of this claim in 1982, the islands were invaded by Argentina, precipitating the two-month-long undeclared Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom, which resulted in the defeat and withdrawal of Argentine forces. Since the war there has been strong economic growth in both fisheries and tourism. The inhabitants of the islands are British citizens (since a 1983 Act) and under Argentine Law are eligible for Argentine citizenship. Many can trace their origins in the Islands back to early nineteenth century Scottish immigration. The island's residents reject the Argentine sovereignty claim.

Falkland Islands topographic map

Name

The islands are referred to in the English language as "[The] Falkland Islands". This name dates from an expedition led by John Strong in 1690, who named the islands after his patron, Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland. The Spanish name for the islands, "Islas Malvinas", is derived from the French name "Îles Malouines", bestowed in 1764 by Louis Antoine de Bougainville, after the mariners and fishermen from the Breton port of Saint-Malo who became the island's first known human settlers.

The ISO designation is "Falkland Islands (Malvinas)".

Due to the ongoing sovereignty dispute the use of many Spanish names is considered offensive in the Falkland Islands, particularly those associated with the 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands. General Sir Jeremy Moore would not allow the use of Islas Malvinas in the surrender document, dismissing it as a propaganda term.

GEOGRAPHY

The Falkland Islands comprise two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland (in Spanish Isla Gran Malvina and Isla Soledad respectively) and about 776 small islands. The total land area is 4,700 square miles (12,173 km²), approximately the same area as Connecticut or Northern Ireland, and a coastline estimated at 800 miles (1,288 km).

Much of the land is part of the two main islands separated by the Falkland Sound: East Falkland, home to the capital of Stanley and the majority of the population, and West Falkland. Both islands have mountain ranges, rising to 2,313 feet (705 m) at Mount Usborne on East Falkland. There are also some boggy plains, most notably Lafonia, the southern half of East Falkland. Virtually the entire area of the islands is used as pasture for sheep.

Smaller islands surround the main two. They include Barren Island, Beaver Island, Bleaker Island, Carcass Island, George Island, Keppel Island, Lively Island, New Island, Pebble Island, Saunders Island, Sealion Island, Speedwell Island, Staats Island, Weddell Island, and West Point Island. The Jason Islands lie to the north west of the main archipelago, and Beauchene Island some distance to its south. Speedwell Island and George Island are split from East Falkland by Eagle Passage.

The islands claim a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22 km) and an exclusive fishing zone of 200 nautical miles (370 km), which has been a source of disagreement with Argentina.

Surrounded by cool South Atlantic waters, the Falkland Islands have a cold maritime climate with a narrow temperature range of about 19°C (66°F) in summer and 2°C (36°F) in winter. Rainfall is relatively low at about 24 inches. Humidity and winds, however, are constantly high. Snow is rare, but can occur at almost any time of year.

LINKS and REFERENCE

• Falkland Islands at the Open Directory Project

• Falkland Islands Government official site

• Falkland Islands Tourism official site

• Falkland Islands Development Corporation official site

• Falkland Islands News Network official site

• Falkland Islands Information Portal

• A Visitor's View of the Falkland Islands

• Thoughts on the Late Transactions Respecting Falkland's Islands by Samuel Johnson 1771

• Fundación Museo Nacional Malvinas

• WordReference, English-Spanish Dictionary. Falklands: the Falklands, las (islas) Malvinas.

• The Islands: Location. Falkland Islands Government web site (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-08.

• Argentine official claim — Origin of the sovereignty dispute (Spanish and English)

• de acuerdo al Derecho Positivo de la Argentina son Ciudadanos de la Nación Argentina por el solo hecho de nacer en su territorio, siguiendo el principio de Ius soli

• Country Profile: Falkland Islands. Countries & Regions. Foreign and Commonwealth Office AGREEMENT OF 14th JULY 1999. Falklands.info.

• PSYOP of the Falkland Islands War. psywar.org. 

• www.falklands.info/history/history2.html

• Destéfani, Laurio H. (1982). The Malvinas, the South Georgias and the South Sandwich Islands, the conflict with Britain. 

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Apcbg/Darwin-1834 Extracts from the Diary of Charles Darwin

• Darwin's Beagle Diary (1831-1836) p.304. The Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online. 

• Ocupación británica: Port Stanley (Puerto Argentino) 

• un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/152/88/

• Commemorative Stamps of first flights

• Argentine GovernmentPDF

• Guide to the conflict. Fight for the Falklands — 20 years on. BBC News. . “The Foreign Secretary, Lord Carrington, and two junior ministers had resigned by the end of the week [following the Argentinian invasion] They took the blame for Britain’s poor preparations and plans to decommission HMS Endurance, the navy’s only Antarctic patrol vessel. It was a move which may have lead the Junta to believe the UK had little interest in keeping the Falklands.”

• "Secret Falklands fleet revealed", BBC News, bbc.co.uk, 2005-06-01. “Lord Owen, who was foreign secretary in 1977, said that if Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government had taken similar action to that of five years earlier, the war would not have happened.” 

• Casciani, Dominic. "1976 Falklands invasion warning", BBC News, bbc.co.uk. “The Franks Report into the eventual war noted that as tension mounted during 1977, the government covertly sent a small naval force to the islands — but did not repeat the move when relations worsened again in 1981-2. This has led some critics to blame prime minister Margaret Thatcher for the war, saying the decision to plan the withdrawal of the only naval vessel in the area sent the wrong signal to the military junta in Buenos Aires.” 

• HistoryCentral. United Nations Resolution 502, Adopted by the Security Council at its 2350th meeting held on 3 April 1982.

• Falkland Islands Government Overview.

• ttp://www.falklands-meat.com/statement.htm

• http://www.falklands.gov.fk/4b.htm

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