In the southernmost part of South America, there is an archipelago of about 12,200 square kilometers, which Argentina calls the Malvinas Islands and the British call the Falkland Islands. At present, both Argentina and the United Kingdom claim sovereignty over the archipelago, but are actually in British hands.
According to the administrative divisions of the United Kingdom, the archipelago belongs to the British Overseas Territory and has a governor-general, who rules the archipelago on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. In addition, there is an administrator who is responsible for the specific implementation of public policy in the archipelago, which is equivalent to the post of prime minister.
Normally, the Governor-General is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the British Government, and the Chief Executive is elected by the Executive Council of the Islands. The Executive Council consists of 5 members, including the Chief Executive and the Controller, but they do not have the right to vote, and the other 3 members are elected by the islanders and have the right to vote.
In 2016, the archipelago did a census that showed a total population of 3,398 people. Interestingly, only 43 per cent of the population was born in the archipelago, and most of the rest were immigrants.
According to ethnic analysis, the majority of the archipelago population is of Scottish and Welsh descent, with a small number of descendants of French, Gibraltar and Scandinavians and a very small proportion of Argentine descent.
It is worth noting that the archipelago has been facing the problem of population loss, especially many young people, who will go overseas to find job opportunities. After all, the archipelago's geography is too remote, lacking not only job opportunities, but also the bustle and fireworks of the big cities.
British, French and Spanish "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"
According to archaeology, in prehistoric times, the earliest indigenous people of the archipelago may have come from the Tierra del Fuego in the west. Currently, the Tierra del Fuego is under the jurisdiction of Chile and Argentina, respectively.
The first explicit landing on the archipelago was in 1690, when the Then British captain John Strong named the archipelago the Falkland Islands in gratitude to his seafaring patron, viscount Falkland. According to the British, they found a large number of wild animals in the archipelago, but found no signs of human habitation.
The first settled in the archipelago was in 1764, when the French captain Louis Bougainville established Port Louis in the eastern part of the archipelago. Two years later, British captain John McBride established Port Egmont in the north.
In 1766, the Spaniards seized control of Port Louis and in 1770 puerto Egmont, but returned it to Britain a year later.
In 1774, the British voluntarily abandoned the archipelago. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Spaniards also abandoned the archipelago. For more than 10 years, all countries relinquished sovereignty over the archipelago, and only fishing boats occasionally visited the archipelago.
Argentina's claim
In 1816, Argentina broke away from Spanish rule and became an independent sovereign state, and in 1820 it sent people to the archipelago to declare sovereignty over the region.
In December 1823, Argentina and Britain established diplomatic relations.
In 1829, Argentina established a governmental structure in the archipelago and strengthened the management of the archipelago. Immediately, the British consulate in Argentina protested, claiming that the archipelago belonged to Britain. Thus, the archipelago rivalry between Argentina and the United Kingdom officially began.
The Argentine side believes that 55 years have passed since Britain abandoned the islands in 1774 and when it claimed sovereignty again in 1829. Moreover, after Britain abandoned the islands, Spain had all the sovereignty over the islands. With the independence of Argentina, it naturally inherited all the rights and interests of Spain, including the sovereignty of the archipelago.
British claims
In 1833, the British sent a navy to occupy the archipelago. Since then, Britain has firmly controlled the archipelago and has remained so to this day. Notably, Argentina tried to seize the islands by force in 1982, but was defeated by British troops.
The British believe that Captain Strong's landing in the archipelago in 1690 was the first recorded human landing in the archipelago. It was also from this time that the British began to rule the archipelago.
In addition, although the British withdrew from the archipelago in 1774, they left a commemorative plaque. In other words, the British did not believe that they had relinquished sovereignty over the archipelago, but were only temporarily withdrawn under economic pressure.
Seeing this, everyone should understand that the focus of the debate between Argentina and Britain is whether britain's withdrawal in 1774 meant giving up sovereign management of the islands.
If you think that plaque can represent British sovereignty, then the archipelago is British and should be called the Falkland Islands. Conversely, if the commemorative plaque does not compensate for the 55-year-long withdrawal of the British, then the archipelago is Argentine and should be called the Malvinas Islands.