|
|
British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and Dependencies rests on a secure historical and legal foundation.  In 1690 the British, led by Captain Strong, made the first recorded landing on the Falkland Islands, which had no indigenous population before the arrival of settlers in the second half of the eighteenth century.
The first British settlement was established in 1766. But up to 1833 there was a period of some confusion, when France, Britain, Spain and then the Buenos Aires Government at various times established small, local settlements, none of which endured for more than a few years.
Apart from having a small settlement and penal colony for a short period on the Islands before 1833 (the greater part of this was ejected for 'piracy' by the United States Navy in 1831)Argentina's claim to the Islands is based mainly on her having been a successor to the Spanish
Viceroyalty of the River Plate, which also governed most of modern Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile. In 1833 the British resumed control of the Islands, and from that date they have been in open, continuous, effective and peaceful possession, occupation and administration.
The British people who came to live there thereafter became the first permanently established population of the Islands.
The population are predominantly of British descent but some place names date back to Spanish settlements and gaucho farmers. The majority of the population
live in Stanley, the only town in the Falkland Islands.
|
About Us > History and CultureFalkland Islands, Desire the right
