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Britain also cites the right of the islanders to self-determination and the continuous settlement since 1833 - some families have been on the islands for more than 5 generations - as justification for continuing British sovereignty. Britain also cites the right of the islanders to self-determination and the continuous settlement since 1833 - some families have been on the islands for more than 5 generations - as justification for continuing British sovereignty.


== International Treaties and Agreements about the Islands ==

1713 Treaty of Utrecht between Spain, France and the United Kingdom

1767 The French colony was sold to Spain

1771 After the 1770 expulsion of the British by Spain almost lead to war, the United Kingdom signed a peace deal allowing the British to reclaim Port Egmont - The Spanish claimed that a secret agreement was reached assuring the continuing Spanish sovereignty over the islands - this was denied by the British.

1790 - Nootka Sound Convention - Britain conceded Spanish sovereignty over all her (Spain´s ) traditional territories in the Americas including the islands. Britain later claimed that this did not include the Falklands.

December 1965 - United Nations Resolution 2065 called upon Britain and Argentina "proceed without delay with
negotiations..... with a view to finding a peaceful solution to
the problem..... bearing in mind..... the interests of the
population of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)."


==Miscellaneous topics== ==Miscellaneous topics==

Revision as of 13:47, 22 August 2005

The Falkland Islands
Flag of the Falkland Islands Falkland Islands coat of arms
(In Detail) (In Detail)
Motto: Desire the right
Official language English
Capital Port Stanley
Governor Howard Pearce
Chief Executive Chris Simpkins
Area
 - Total
 - % water		 not ranked
12,173 km²
-
Population
 - Total (2003 E)
 - Density		 not ranked
2,967
0.24/km²
Currency Falkland pound (FKP; fixed to GBP)
Time zone UTC -4 (DST -3)
National anthem God Save the Queen
Internet TLD .fk
Calling Code 500

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic continental shelf, consisting of two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, and a number of smaller islands. They are administered as a largely self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom (UK) from Port Stanley, also known as Stanley, the capital and largest city, on East Falkland.

Argentina also claims the islands, calling them by their Spanish name, Islas Malvinas (the derived Malvinas Islands in English), the capital "Puerto Argentino" and considers them part of the Tierra del Fuego Province. The islands appear on every Argentine map, also in Argentine weather forecasts and even some tour guides to Argentina.

Argentina launched an attack in 1982 and successfully occupied the islands. The British sent a fleet, and, in April, removed the Argentine army and navy from the islands and their vicinity. This conflict is called the Falklands War (in English). Almost every city in Argentina has a memorial to the fallen of the 1982 war and a street named "Malvinas Argentinas". At many of the entrance points to the country and to some of the provinces there are roadside signs proclaiming "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" (The Malvinas are Argentine). 14 June is Liberation Day on the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The 2nd of April is a national holiday in Argentina (´Dia de los caidos en Malvinas` - 'day of the fallen')

The Argentines still accuse the British of colonialism and emphasise decolonisation. The British emphasise the right of the islanders, who consider themselves to be British, to self-determination. Although still a touchy diplomatic issue, relations between the two countries have improved in recent years.

History

Main article: History of the Falkland Islands

No native people lived in the islands when the Europeans arrived, although there is some disputed evidence for earlier apparently temporary human visits. The most convincing of these claims is the Falkland Island fox, or Warrah, possibly descended from South American culpeo used as hunting dogs by Yaghan people of Tierra del Fuego. It is unlikely that it reached the islands by itself. Abundant when the islands were settled by Europeans, it was considered a nuisance to livestock and hunted to extinction.

The Dutch sailor Sebald de Weert is usually credited with first sighting the Falklands in 1600, though both the British and Spanish historians maintain their own explorers discovered the islands earlier. Some older maps, particularly Dutch ones, used the name 'Sebald Islands' for a while. The history of discovery and exploration is as follows:

File:FalklandIslands.jpg
Falkland Islands from Space
  • 1811: The islands were uninhabited after 1811.

After a dispute over fishing rights with an American vessel, the Argentine authorities arrested and detained the vessel´s captain. The US responded by shelling the island, destroying the main settlements.

  • 1982: Various tensions, but mainly the desire of the Argentine military junta to distract attention from domestic economic and political ills, led to an Argentine invasion. The islands were later retaken by the UK. See: Falklands War.

Politics

Executive authority comes from the Queen and is exercised by the Governor on her behalf. Defence is the responsibility of the UK. There is a constitution, the latest version of which was put into force in 1985.

Under the constitution, there is an Executive Council, and a Legislative Council. The Executive Council, which advises the Governor, is also chaired by the Governor. It consists of the Chief Executive, Financial Secretary and three Legislative Councillors, who are elected by the other Legislative Councillors. The Legislative Council consists of the Chief Executive, Financial Secretary and the eight Legislative Councillors, of whom five are elected from Stanley and three from Camp, for four year terms. It is presided over by the Speaker, currently Mr L.G Blake.

The loss of the war against Britain over control of the islands led to the collapse of the Argentine military dictatorship in 1983. Disputes over control of the islands still continue. In 2001, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was the first to visit Argentina since the war. On the 22nd anniversary of the war, Argentina’s President Néstor Kirchner gave a speech insisting that the islands would once again be part of Argentina. Kirchner, campaigning for president in 2003, regarded the islands a top priority. In June 2003 the issue was brought before a United Nations committee, and attempts have been made to open talks with Britain to resolve the issue of the islands. As far as the Falkland Islands Government and people are concerned there is no issue to resolve. The Falkland Islanders themselves are almost entirely British, and maintain their allegiance to the United Kingdom.

Falkland Islanders were granted full British citizenship from 1 January 1983 under the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983.

Geography

Map of the Falkland Islands

Main article: Geography of the Falkland Islands

The islands are 300 miles (483 km) from the South American mainland. There are two main islands, East Falkland (Soledad) and West Falkland (Gran Malvina) and about 700 small islands. The total land area is 12,173 km².

Islanders themselves talk about two main areas of the islands, namely Stanley and the rest which they nickname "the Camp", from the Spanish "campo" meaning "countryside".

Economy

Main article: Economy of the Falkland Islands

The largest industries are fishing and agriculture. The islands have oil reserves that are believed to be quite substantial, but have yet to be exploited. The climatic conditions of the southern seas mean that the economic viability of any exploitation is poor.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the Falkland Islands

The population is 2,967 (July 2003 estimated).

Islanders call themselves "Islanders". Outsiders often call Islanders "Kelpers", from the kelp, which grows profusely around the islands, but the name is not used in the Islands any more. The word kelper is used in Argentina with the meaning of second-class citizens as a reflection on the legal status of the islanders within the UK prior to the passing of the Nationality Act of 1983.

Culture

Main article: Culture of the Falkland Islands

Argentine Claim

Argentina considers that the islands were a Spanish territory and that they passed to Argentine sovereignty when Argentina became independent in 1816. (The Spanish maintained that while they allowed a British settlement on the islands, they did not concede sovereignty to the British).

Memorial to the fallen, Cordoba, Argentina

When Argentina established a settlement on the islands in 1820 they were uninhabited.

Thus they consider the British invasion of 1833 to have been in breach of international law. On June 17, 1833, Manuel Moreno, the Argentine ambassador to the United Kingdom, delivered a formal complaint. From that moment onwards, Argentina has always contested what they regard as the British occupation of the islands.

Another argument advanced by the Argentine governments is the fact that the islands are located on the continental shelf facing Argentina, which would give, as stated in the 1958 UN "Convention on the Continental Shelf", a claim. The islands are included in the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories as territories to be considered for decolonisation.

Finally, Argentina states that the fact that the current population of the islands is purely British is not a valid argument for British possession of the islands as it is a result of the British occupation of 1833, which Argentina considers to have been illegal, after which the Argentine population was expelled by force.

In Argentina it is considered that in 1982 Argentine forces "retomaron" (re-took) the islands, while in the UK the word "invaded" is normally used. One of the reasons that the name Falkland Islands is rejected by Argentina is that it reflects British colonialism – Stanley is known as ´Puerto Argentino' in Argentina for the same reason.

British Claim

Britain claims that according to treaties signed with Spain, all land not under 'effective control' was open to colonisation even if it was within the territory allocated to Spain under the treaty of Tordesillas (An agreement made by the Catholic church between Spain and Portugal - not recognised by any other nation).

Britain claims that the Spanish ceded sovereignty over the areas settled by the British. Thus the British claim that the 1820 Argentine settlement was on British territory. Britain sees the events of 1833 as a legitimate retaking of the islands and the 1982 military efforts by the Argentines as an invasion.

Britain also cites the right of the islanders to self-determination and the continuous settlement since 1833 - some families have been on the islands for more than 5 generations - as justification for continuing British sovereignty.


International Treaties and Agreements about the Islands

1713 Treaty of Utrecht between Spain, France and the United Kingdom

1767 The French colony was sold to Spain

1771 After the 1770 expulsion of the British by Spain almost lead to war, the United Kingdom signed a peace deal allowing the British to reclaim Port Egmont - The Spanish claimed that a secret agreement was reached assuring the continuing Spanish sovereignty over the islands - this was denied by the British.

1790 - Nootka Sound Convention - Britain conceded Spanish sovereignty over all her (Spain´s ) traditional territories in the Americas including the islands. Britain later claimed that this did not include the Falklands.

December 1965 - United Nations Resolution 2065 called upon Britain and Argentina "proceed without delay with negotiations..... with a view to finding a peaceful solution to the problem..... bearing in mind..... the interests of the population of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)."

Miscellaneous topics

See also

Reference

External links

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Countries
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