| Summary: | 碩士 === 輔仁大學 === 歷史研究所 === 89 === Falkland Study
The Falkland Islands are a group of islands in the south Atlantic. The two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, lie 300 miles [480 km] east of the Argentina coast. About 200 smaller islands form a total land area of approximately 4,700 square miles (12,200 square km). The capital and only town is (Port) Stanley.
The government of the Falkland Islands administers the British dependent territories of South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands, and the Shag and Clerke rocks, lying from 700 to 2,000 miles (1,100 to 3,200 km) to the east and southeast of the Falklands. The total population of the islands in 1991 was estimated at 2100.
Falkland Island’s history is like colony story. The English navigator John Davis in the Desire may have been the first person to sight the Falklands, in 1592, but it was the Dutchman Sebald de Weerdt who made the first undisputed sighting of them around 1600. The French navigator Louis-Antoine de Bougainville founded the islands'' first settlement, on East Falkland, in 1764. The British, in 1765, were the first to settle West Falkland, but they were driven off in 1770 by the Spanish, who had bought out the French settlement in about 1767. The British outpost on West Falkland was restored in 1771 after threat of war, but then the British withdrew from the island in 1774 for reasons of economy, without renouncing their claim to the Falklands. Spain maintained a settlement on East Falkland (which it called Soledad Island) until 1811.
Falkland War also called Falklands War, Malvinas War, or South Atlantic War a brief, undeclared war fought between Argentina and Great Britain in 1982 over the control of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and associated island dependencies. Argentina had claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (which lie 300 miles [480 km] east of its coast) since the early 19th century, but Britain had occupied and administered the islands since 1833 and had consistently rejected Argentina''s claims. In early 1982 the Argentine military junta led by Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri gave up on long-running negotiations with Britain and instead launched an invasion of the islands. The decision to invade was chiefly political: the junta, which was being criticized for economic mismanagement and human rights abuses, believed that the “recovery” of the islands would unite Argentines behind the government in a patriotic fervour. An elite invasion force trained in secrecy, but its timetable was shortened on March 19, when a dispute erupted on British-controlled South Georgia island (1,000 miles [1,600 km] east of the Falklands) between Argentine salvage workers and British scientists stationed there. Naval forces were quickly mobilized.
During the war, the British captured about 10,000 Argentine prisoners, all of whom were released afterwards. Argentina sustained 655 men killed, while Britain lost 236. Argentina''s ignominious defeat severely discredited the military government and led to the restoration of civilian rule in Argentina in 1983.
he Argentine Navy with thousands of troops lands on the Falklands. A small detachment of Royal Marines on the islands put up a brave but futile resistance before Governor Rex Hunt ordered them to lay down their arms. The marine forces are flown to Montevideo along with the British governor.
After Falkland war, Argentine government and British government not yet to find the best to deal the Falkland sovereignty problem.
|
|---|
