User:Wee Curry Monster/Malvinism

In Argentina, there is a strongly held belief that the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) are an intrinsic part of the country. The sovereignty dispute was enshrined in the Argentine consitution in 1994.

The Falkland Islands have a complex history stretching over five hundred years. Active exploration and colonisation began in the 18th century but a self-supporting colony was not established till the latter part of the 19th century. Nonetheless, the islands have been a matter of controversy, as due to their strategic position in the 18th century their sovereignty was claimed by the French, Spaniards, British and Argentines at various points.

The strategic importance of the Falkland Islands was negated by the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. Nevertheless, the continued sovereignty dispute between the United Kingdom and Argentina led to the Falklands War in 1982.

Background
Spain abandoned the archipelago in 1811, as a result of the Peninsular War and the declaration of independence of her South American colonies. The United Provinces of the River Plate (Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata) was formed from most of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata and its dependencies.

In 1820, the privateer Heroína captained by David Jewett, an American mercenary in the employ of the Buenos Aires businessman Patricio Lynch, put into the port of Puerto Soledad, the former Spanish penal colony in the islands. Although in the modern context Argentina claims Jewett was sent to the islands, contemporary accounts suggest he put into the islands to make repairs to the ship following a storm. During his stay in Puerto Soledad, Jewett issued a declaration claiming the islands for the United Provinces. Jewett never reported this to his masters, the declaration was first reported in the Salem Gazette, a Massachusetts news paper and then re-printed in the Times of London. The Spanish newspaper Cadiz then reported the story and it was only when this report reached Buenos Aires was it published in the Buenos Aires Argos on 10 November 1821 over a year after the event.

The United Provinces was in debt to the Buenoes Aires businessman Luis Vernet, in part settlement of that debt Vernet was offered exclusive rights to the islands. In 1824, Vernet and his business partner Jorge Pacheco travelled to the islands. This expedition was a failure and Pacheco abandoned the enterprise.

In 1825, the United Kingdom concluded the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation and recognised the United Provinces as an independent state; one of the first European states to do so.

In 1826, Vernet attempted a second expedition. At some point Vernet became aware of the British sovereignty claim and so he approached the British consulate in Buenos Aires seeking permission for his enterprise. Permission was granted provided Vernet provided regular reports to the British consulate, in return Vernet asked for British protection for his enterprise. The 1826 expedition proved a failure due to a combination of the conditions on the islands and a Brazilian blockade.

In 1828, Vernet tried again, once again seeking permission from the British consulate before setting out. This time he was successful establishing a fledgling settlement based upon fishing and supplying the sealing trade. Vernet continued to provide regular reports to the British.

In 1829, Vernet requested the support of a warship from the United Provinces to enforce curbs upon seal fishing in the islands. Unable to provide support, instead the United Provinces designated Vernet as 'civil and military commandant' of the islands. In the modern context, Argentina claims he was appointed Governor of the islands.

Vernet's appointment resulted in a formal protest from the British consulate, which went unanswered by the Government of the United Provinces.

In 1831, Vernet sought to curb the sealing operations around the islands to enforce the monopoly on sealing rights conferred by the United Provinces leading to the seizure of the American ships Harriet, Superior and Breakwater. In response, Captain Silas Duncan of the USS Lexington was sent to recover confiscated property. After finding what he considered proof that at least four American fishing ships had been captured, plundered, and even outfitted for war, Duncan took seven prisoners aboard the Lexington and charged them with piracy. Duncan's report indicates that he disabled weapons and burnt the gunpowder store but did not raze the settlement; contemporary records indicate that 24 people did remain on the island, mainly Gauchos and several Charrua Indians and continued to trade on Vernet's account.

In the aftermath of the Lexington incident, Major Esteban Mestivier was commissioned by the Buenos Aires government to set up a penal colony; an appointment which was the subject of an official protest from the British consulate. Of all the appointments of the United Provinces, Mestivier's was the only one properly gazetted in the accepted manner. He arrived at his destination on 15 November 1832 but his soldiers mutinied and killed him shortly after. Lt. Col. José María Pinedo of the ARA Sarandi quelled the rebellion and took charge of the settlement.

The combination of the Lexington raid and Mestivier's appointment, together with a lack of reponse to diplomatic protests spurred the British to send a naval expedition to the islands. On 2 January 1833, Captain James Onslow, of the brig-sloop HMS Clio, put into Port Louis. After being presented with a written request to leave, Pinedo departed on 5 January. Argentina claims that Vernet's colony was also expelled at this time, though eye witness accounts appear to dispute this, suggesting that the colonists were encouraged to remain initially under the authority of Vernet's storekeeper, William Dickson and later his deputy, Matthew Brisbane.