Falkland Islands

The Falklands, sometimes called by the Spanish name Islas Malvinas, is an archipelago of islands located at the bottom of South America in the south Atlantic Ocean. It is 300 miles east of the coast of Argentina, 671 miles west of the Shag Rocks and 584 miles north of the British Antarctic Territory. The Falkland Islands consist of two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, together with 776 smaller islands.

The islands are controlled by the British who repelled a 1982 invasion from Argentina. On April 2, 2008 Argentina's president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner reasserted her country's claim to the Falklands, stating that "the sovereign claim to the Malvinas Islands is inalienable." Critics point out that the Falkland Islands have often been used by Argentinean politicians to divert attention from their domestic problems.

In the period leading up to the war, Argentina had been suffering from an economic crisis and large-scale opposition to the Military Junta that had been governing the country since 1976. The Argentine government, lead by General Leopoldo Galtieri, sought to divert public attention by playing off long-standing Argentinean feelings for the Falklands. On April 2, 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands and two other British territories in the South Atlantic - South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The United Nations Security Council called on Argentina to withdraw forces from the Islands and for both parties to seek a diplomatic solution. In response the British sent an expeditionary force to retake the islands. After naval and air battles, the British landed at San Carlos Water on May 21, 1982. A land campaign proceeded until the Argentinean forces surrendered on June 14, 1982.

• Wikipedia: Culture of the Falkland Islands

• Wikipedia: Cultural Impact of the Falklands War

• Falklands Conservation: Protecting the Unique Wildlife of the Falkland Islands and the South Atlantic

• F.I.M.N.T.: Falkland Islands Museum & National Trust

• Falklands Network: Flora and Fauna

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