| The Falkland Islands |
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located approximately 250 nautical miles (460 km; 290 mi) from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago, consisting of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands, is a self-governing Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland.
Ever since the re-establishment of British rule in 1833, Argentina has claimed sovereignty. In pursuit of this claim, which is rejected by the islanders, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982. This precipitated the two-month-long undeclared Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom and resulted in the defeat and withdrawal of the Argentine forces. Since the war, there has been strong economic growth in both fisheries and tourism.
The Falkland Islands took their English name from "Falkland Sound", the channel between the two main islands, which was in turn named after Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland by Captain John Strong, who landed on the islands in 1690. The Spanish name, Islas Malvinas, is derived from the French name,Îles Malouines, named by Louis Antoine de Bougainville in 1764 after the first known settlers, mariners and fishermen from the Breton port of Saint-Malo in France. The ISO designation is Falkland Islands and its ISO country code is FK. |
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Stanley - Capital of the Falklands |
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| As a result of the continuing 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. |
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| Flag Description |
The first flag of the Falkland Islands was adopted on September 29, 1948. It was a Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton and the coat-of-arms superimposed upon a white disc. In 1999, the size of the arms was increased and the white disc removed to create the current flag.
The arms of the Falkland Islands are: 'blue chief with a white ram on a grass compartment over a blue and white wavy base bearing a Tudor style ship'. Before 1948, there was a bull in the badge, but since sheep-raising is the major activity on the islands, they changed it to a ram.
The ship is supposed to be the Desire, the ship that discovered the islands in 1592, thus giving us the colony's motto 'Desire the Right', as it was written on a scroll at the bottom of it.
Since its approval the Falklands flag has been used continuously, excluding the time of occupation (2 April – 14 June 1982) during the Falklands War. In support of the Argentine claim of the Islands, the South American countries of UNASUR agreed in 2010 to bar from their ports any ships flying Falkand Islands flags.
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| Geography |
The Falkland Islands comprise two main islands, West Falkland and East Falkland and about 776 small islands. The islands are located 185 nautical miles (343 km; 213 mi) from the Isla de los Estados in Argentina (and 250 nautical miles (463 km; 288 mi) from the Argentine mainland); 264 nautical miles (489 km; 304 mi) from Chile; 582 nautical miles (1,078 km; 670 mi)] west of the Shag Rocks (South Georgia) and 501 nautical miles (928 km; 577 mi) north of the British Antarctic Territory (which overlaps with the Argentine and Chilean claims to Antarctica in that region).
The total land area is 4,700 square miles (12,173 km2), slightly smaller than Connecticut or Northern Ireland, with a coastline estimated at 800 miles (1288 km).
The two main islands on either side of Falkland Sound make up most of the land. These are East Falkland, which contains the capital, Stanley, and most of the population; and West Falkland. Both islands have mountain ranges, the highest point being Mount Usborne, 705 metres (2,313 ft) on East Falkland. There are also some boggy plains, most notably in Lafonia, on the southern half of East Falkland. Virtually the entire area of the islands is used as pasture for sheep. |
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| 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. |
Numerous flora and fauna are found on the Falkland Islands. Notable fauna include colonies of the Magellanic Penguin. For more details see Fauna of the Falkland Islands.
The islands claim a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) and an exclusive fishing zone of 200 nautical miles (370.4 km; 230.2 mi), which has been a source of disagreement with Argentina. Biogeographically, the Falkland Islands are classified as part of the Neotropical realm, together with South America. It is also classified as part of the Antarctic Floristic Kingdom. |
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| Climate |
| Surrounded by cool South Atlantic waters, the Falkland Islands have a Maritime Subarctic climate (Koppen Cfc) that is very much influenced by the ocean in that it has a narrow annual temperature range. The January average maximum temperature is about 13°C (55°F), and the July maximum average temperature is about 4°C (39°F). The average annual rainfall is 573.6 millimetres (22.58 in) but East Falkland is generally wetter than West Falkland. Humidity and winds, however, are constantly high. Snow is rare but can occur at almost any time of year. Gales are very frequent, particularly in winter. The climate is similar to that of the Shetland islands in the United Kingdom, but with less rainfall and longer and slightly more severe winters. |
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| Economy |
The economy of the Falkland Islands, which first involved sealing, whaling and provisioning ships, became heavily dependent on sheep farming from the 1870s to 1980. It then diversified and now has income from tourism, commercial fishing, and servicing the fishing industry as well as agriculture.
The Falkland Islands have the highest standard of living in South America. The islands use the Falkland pound, which is tied to sterling. |
Farmland accounts for 4,339.73 sq mi (1,123,985 hectares), more than 90% of the Falklands land area. Since 1984, efforts to diversify the economy have made fishing the largest part of the economy and brought increasing income from tourism. Sheep farming was formerly the main source of income for the islands and still plays an important part with high quality wool exports going to the UK. According to the Falklands Government Statistics there are over 500,000 sheep on the islands with roughly 60% on East Falkland and 40% on West Falkland.
The government has operated a fishing zone policy since 1986 with the sale of fishing licences to foreign countries. These licences have recently raised only £12 to 15 million a year in revenue, as opposed to £20m to £25m annually during the 1990s. Locally registered fishing boats are also in operation. More than 75% of the annual catch of 200,000 tonnes (220,000 short tons) are squid.
Tourism has grown rapidly. The islands have become a regular port of call for the growing market of cruise ships with more than 36,000 visitors in 2004. Attractions include the scenery and wildlife conservation with penguins, seabirds, seals and sealions, as well as visits to battlefields, golf, fishing and wreck diving.
A 1995 agreement between the UK and Argentina had set the terms for exploitation of offshore resources including oil reserves as geological surveys had shown there might be up to 60 billion barrels (9.5 billion cubic metres) of oil under the sea bed surrounding the islands. |
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Port Howard on West Falkland |
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| However, in 2007 Argentina unilaterally withdrew from the agreement. In response, Falklands Oil and Gas Limited has signed an agreement with BHP Billiton to investigate the potential exploitation of oil reserves. Climatic conditions of the southern seas mean that exploitation will be a difficult task, though economically viable, and the continuing sovereignty dispute with Argentina is hampering progress. In February 2010, exploratory drilling for oil was begun by Desire Petroleum, though the results from the first test well were disappointing. Two months later, on 6 May 2010, Rockhopper Exploration announced that "it may have struck oil". On Friday 17th September 2010 Rockhopper Exploration released news that a flow test of the Sea-Lion 1 discovery was a commercially viable find. |
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| Demographics |
Census figures show that the population rose from an estimate of 287 in 1851 to 2272 in 1911. It was 2094 in 1921 and 2392 in 1931 but then it declined and in 1980 the population was 1813. The population then rose and was 2955 in 2006. The 2006 census recorded 2115 people in Stanley and 477 in Mount Pleasant, 194 in the rest of East Falkland, 127 in West Falkland and 42 people in all the other islands. These figures exclude all military personnel and their families, though includes 477 people who were present in the Falkland Islands in connection with the military garrison.The population of the Falkland Islands is estimated to be 3,140 (2008).
About 70 per cent are of British descent, primarily as a result of Scottish and Welsh immigration to the islands. The native-born inhabitants call themselves "Islanders"; the term "Kelpers", from the kelp which grows profusely around the islands, is no longer used in the Islands. People from the United Kingdom who have obtained Falkland Island status are known locally as 'belongers'.
A few Islanders are of French, Gibraltarian, Portuguese and Scandinavian descent. Some are the descendants of whalers who reached the Islands during the last two centuries.
There is also a small minority of South Americans, mainly of Chilean origin, and in more recent times many people from Saint Helena have also come to work and live in the Islands. |
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| The main religion is Christianity. The main denominations are Church of England, Roman Catholic, United Free Church, and Lutheran. Smaller numbers are Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists and Greek Orthodox; with the latter being due to Greek fishermen passing through.There is also a Bahá'í congregation. The Islands are the home of the Apostolic Prefecture of the Falkland Islands. |
| With retrospective effect from 1 January 1983, as provided in the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983, the islanders have been full British citizens. |
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| Education |
| Education is compulsory and free between five and sixteen, and follows the English system. There is a primary school and a secondary school with boarding facilities in Stanley. There are also several rural settlement schools, travelling teachers for children living remotely and a primary school for children of service personnel at RAF Mount Pleasant. After 16, suitably qualified students may study at two colleges in England for their A-levels or for vocational qualifications. The government pays for older students to attend higher education, usually in the UK. |
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| Health Care |
| The Falkland Islands Government Health and Social Services Department provides medical and dental care for the islands. The King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) is Stanley's only hospital. It was partially military operated in the past though it is now under complete civilian control. Specialist medical care is provided by visiting ophthalmologists, gynaecologists, ENT surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, psychiatrist, and oral surgeons from the United Kingdom provide specialist care. Patients needing emergency treatement are air-lifted to the United Kingdom or to Santiago (Chile). |
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| Broadcasting & Telecommunications |
Radio services are operated by the Falkland Islands Radio Service, formerly the Falkland Islands Broadcasting Service, and the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS). FM stereo broadcasting using the UK allocation is standard. Medium Wave broadcasting using 10 kHz steps (standard in ITU Region II).
The only terrestrial channel available is BFBS1. PAL television, using the UK UHF allocation standard, broadcasting from Mount Maria.
There is also a cable television service in Stanley operated by KTV Ltd.
The Falkland Islands first local television station, Falkland Islands Television Limited (FITV), is available to KTV subscribers. FITV is a joint venture between KTV and Stanley Services Limited The channel broadcasts locally produced news programmes. |
The Falkland Islands has a modern telecommunications network providing fixed line telephone, ADSL and dial-up internet services in Stanley. Telephones to outlying settlements use microwave radio. A GSM 900 mobile network was installed in 2005 providing coverage to Stanley, Mount Pleasant and surrounding areas. It is operated under the Touch Mobile brand.
Cable and Wireless Communications is the sole telecommunications provider in the Falkland Islands. |
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| Politics |
Executive authority is vested in the Queen and is exercised by the Governor on her behalf. The Governor is also responsible for the administration of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, as these islands have no native inhabitants. Defence and Foreign Affairs are the responsibility of the United Kingdom.
Under the constitution, which came into force on 1 January 2009 (which replaced the 1985 constitution), there is an Executive Council and a Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands. 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..
The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes Falkland Islands on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. |
| Relations with Argentina |
| The dispute over control of the islands has continued since the war. Diplomatic relations between Argentina and the UK were resumed in 1992, and embassies were reopened in London and Buenos Aires. In 1994, Argentina added its claim to the islands to the Argentine constitution, stating that this claim must be pursued in a manner "respectful of the way of life of their inhabitants and according to the principles of international law". |
| In 1998, in retaliation for the arrest in London of the former Chilean president Augusto Pinochet, the Chilean government banned flights between Punta Arenas and Stanley, thus isolating the islands from the rest of the world. Uruguay and Brazil refused to authorise direct flights between their territories and Stanley. This forced the Islands' government to enter negotiations with the Argentine government and led to Argentina authorising direct flights between its territory and Stanley, on condition that Argentine citizens be allowed on the islands. One flight a month, operated by LAN Airlines, travels between RAF Mount Pleasant on East Falkland and Río Gallegos in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. |
| Since the war, successive Argentine governments have stated their intention to pursue their claim to the islands by peaceful means. On the 22nd anniversary of the war, Argentina's President Néstor Kirchner gave a speech insisting that the islands would become part of Argentina. Kirchner, campaigning for president in 2003, regarded the islands as a top priority. In June 2003 the issue was brought before a United Nations committee, and attempts have been made to open talks with the United Kingdom to resolve the issue of the islands. |
| Argentina renewed its claim over the Falkland Islands, asking for the UK to resume talks on sovereignty. In March 2009, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated in a meeting with Argentine President Cristina Fernández that there would be no talks over the future sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. As far as the governments of the UK and of the Falkland Islands are concerned, there is no issue to resolve. The Falkland Islanders themselves are almost entirely British and maintain their allegiance to the United Kingdom. |
| On 22 September 2007, The Guardian reported the UK government was preparing to stake new claims on the sea floor around the Falklands and other UK remote island possessions, in order to exploit natural resources that may be present. In October 2007, a British spokeswoman confirmed that Britain intended to submit a claim to the UN to extend seabed territory around the Falklands and South Georgia, in advance of the expiry of the deadline for territorial claims following Britain's ratification of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. If the claim is disputed, the UN will suspend the claim until the dispute is settled. The claim is largely theoretical and does not affect the Antarctic Treaty or confer new rights upon Britain. Neither does it permit the exploitation of oil or gas reserves, since these are banned by a protocol to the treaty. It would enable Britain to police fishing within the zone to prevent over-exploitation of natural resources by commercial fishing in line with Britain's obligations under the treaty. Argentina has indicated it will challenge any British claim to Antarctic territory and the area around the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Argentina made a similar claim in 2009, and the United Kingdom quickly protested against these claims. |
| In February 2010, the Argentine government announced that ships traversing Argentine territorial waters en route to the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands would require a permit, as part of a dispute over British oil exploration near the Falklands. The British and Falkland governments stated that Falklands-controlled waters were unaffected. |
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| History of the Falkland Islands |
The islands were uninhabited when they were first discovered by European explorers, but there is evidence that Patagonian Indians may have reached the Falklands in canoes. Artifacts including arrowheads and the remains of a canoe have been found on the islands. There was also the presence of the Falkland Island fox, or Warrah (now extinct), but warrahs may have reached the islands via a land bridge when the sea level was much lower during the last ice age. A group of islands appeared on maps in the Falkland Island region from the early 16th century, so either Ferdinand Magellan or another early expedition may have sighted them. Amerigo Vespucci may have sighted the islands in 1502, though he did not name them.
In 1519 or 1520, Esteban Gómez, a captain in Magellan’s expedition, encountered several islands that members of his crew called "Islas de Sansón y de los Patos" ("Islands of Samson and the Ducks"). These were probably the Jason Islands, northwest of West Falkland, and the names "Islas de Sansón" (or "San Antón," "San Son," and "Ascensión") were used for the Falklands on Spanish maps during this period. Piri Reis, a Turkish admiral of the time who drew reasonably accurate maps, showed islands that may well have been the Falkland Islands. |
| Early Explorers |
| There is some dispute about which European explorer first set foot on the islands. The islands appear on numerous Spanish and other maps beginning in the 1520s. The English explorer John Davis, commander of the Desire, one of the ships belonging to Thomas Cavendish's second expedition to the New World, is recorded as having visited the islands in 1592. He was separated from Cavendish off the coast of what is now southern Argentina by a severe storm and discovered the islands. For a time the islands were known as "Davis Land". In 1594, the English commander Richard Hawkins visited the islands. Combining his own name with that of Queen Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen", he gave them the name of "Hawkins' Maidenland." Many give the credit to Sebald de Weert, a Dutchman, who discovered the islands in 1600. |
| In January 1690, Captain John Strong of the Welfare was heading for Puerto Deseado (now in Argentina). Driven off course by contrary winds, he reached the Sebald Islands instead and landed at Bold Cove. He sailed between the two principal islands and called the passage "Falkland Channel" (now Falkland Sound), after Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland, who as Commissioner of the Admiralty had financed the expedition (Cary later became First Lord of the Admiralty). The island group later took its English name from this body of water. |
| The first settlers (1764–1811) |
The first settlement on the Falkland Islands, named Port St. Louis, was founded by the French navigator and military commander Louis Antoine de Bougainville on Berkeley Sound, in present-day Port Louis, East Falkland in 1764.
In January 1765, the British captain John Byron, unaware of the French presence, explored and claimed Saunders Island, at the western end of the group, where he named the harbour of Port Egmont. He sailed near other islands, which he also claimed for King George III. A British settlement was built at Port Egmont in 1766. Also in 1766, Spain acquired the French colony, and after assuming effective control in 1767, placed the islands under a governor subordinate to the Buenos Aires colonial administration. Spain attacked Port Egmont, ending the British presence there in 1770. The expulsion of the British settlement brought the two countries to the brink of war, but a peace treaty allowed the British to return to Port Egmont in 1771 with neither side relinquishing sovereignty. |
| In 1774, as a result of economic pressures leading up to the American Revolutionary War, the United Kingdom withdrew unilaterally from many of her overseas settlements, including Port Egmont. Upon her withdrawal in 1776 the UK left behind a plaque asserting her claims. From 1776 until 1811 Spain maintained a settlement administered from Buenos Aires as part of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. On leaving in 1811, Spain also left behind a plaque asserting her claims. |
| Argentine colonial aspirations |
| On 6 November 1820, Colonel David Jewett raised the flag of the United Provinces of the River Plate (Argentina) at Port Louis. Jewett was an American sailor and privateer in the employment of Buenos Aires businessman Patrick Lynch to captain his ship, the frigate Heroína (Lynch had obtained a corsair licence from the Buenos Aires Supreme Director José Rondeau). Jewett had put into the islands the previous month, following a disastrous eight month voyage with most of his crew disabled by scurvy and disease. After resting in the islands and repairing his ship he was relieved of command and returned to South America. |
| In 1828 Luis Vernet founded a settlement seeking authorisation from both the British and Argentine authorities. Modern Argentina claims the United States warships destroyed this settlement in 1831 after Vernet seized US seal hunting ships during a dispute over fishing rights (the Captain of the Lexington reports destroying a powder store and spiking the settlement guns). In November 1832, Argentina sent another governor to found a penal settlement who was killed in a mutiny after 4 days. |
| British Settlement |
In January 1833, British forces returned and informed the Argentine commander that they intended to reassert British sovereignty. The existing settlers were allowed to remain, with an Irish member of Vernet's settlement, William Dickson, appointed as the Islands' governor. Vernet's deputy, Matthew Brisbane, returned later that year and was informed that the British had no objections to the continuation of Vernet's business ventures provided there was no interference with British control.
The Royal Navy built a base at Stanley, and the islands became a strategic point for navigation around Cape Horn. A World War I naval battle, the Battle of Falkland Islands, took place in December 1914, with a British victory over the smaller Imperial German Asiatic Fleet. During World War II, Stanley served as a Royal Navy station and serviced ships which took part in the 1939 Battle of the River Plate.
Sovereignty over the islands again became an issue in the second half of the 20th century. Argentina saw the creation of the United Nations as an opportunity to present its claim to the islands to the rest of the world.
When signing the UN Charter in 1945, Argentina stated that it reserved its right to sovereignty of the islands, and its right to recover them. The United Kingdom's response was to state that the Falklanders first had to vote for the British withdrawal in a referendum and that this was an essential precondition for the fulfilment of UN Resolution 1514 (XV) on de-colonising all territories still under foreign occupation. |
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| Talks between British and Argentine foreign missions took place in the 1960s, but failed to come to any meaningful conclusion. A major sticking point in all the negotiations was that the two thousand inhabitants of mainly British descent preferred that the islands remain British territory. |
One result of the these talks, however, was the creation of the islands' first air link. In 1971, the Argentine Air Force (FAA), which operates the state airline LADE, began amphibious flights between Comodoro Rivadavia and Stanley using Grumman HU-16 Albatross aircraft. The following year, Britain agreed to allow Argentina to build a temporary air strip, which was completed that November. Flights between Stanley and Comodoro Rivadavia continued twice a week using Fokker F27 and later Fokker F28 aircraft following the construction of the permanent air strip until 1982.
During the same period, YPF, the Argentine national oil and gas company, now part of Repsol YPF, supplied the islands' energy needs. |
| Falklands War 1982 |
On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands and other British territories in the South Atlantic (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands). The military junta which had ruled Argentina since 1976 sought to maintain power by diverting public attention from the nation's poor economic performance and exploiting the long-standing feelings of the Argentines towards the islands. Several British writers hold that the United Kingdom's reduction in military capacity in the South Atlantic also encouraged the invasion.
The United Nations Security Council issued Resolution 502, calling on Argentina to withdraw forces from the Islands and for both parties to seek a diplomatic solution.
International reaction ranged from support for Argentina in Latin American countries (except Chile and Colombia), to opposition in the Commonwealth and Europe (apart from Spain), and eventually the United States.
The British sent a Task Force to retake the islands, leading to the Falklands War. After short but fierce naval and air battles, the British landed at San Carlos Water on 21 May, and a land campaign followed until the Argentine forces surrendered on 14 June 1982.
The War led to the deaths of 655 Argentine, 255 British servicemen and 3 Falkland Islanders.
After the war, the British increased their military presence on the islands, constructing RAF Mount Pleasant and increasing the military garrison.
Although the United Kingdom and Argentina resumed diplomatic relations in 1992, no further negotiations on sovereignty have taken place.
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