The new Internet meme The Falklands are British , why can t Argentina get the Falklands back?

Mondo History Updated on 2024-02-14

Because of Messi's matter, there is a stalk in the online comments in the past two days, saying that the Falklands are British. Of course, this belongs to some netizens because of their anger at Messi, hating Mei and Ah. But it's actually really controversial. Argentina is not so justified in saying that the Falklands are Argentine.

The Malvinas Islands, abbreviated as "Falklands". The Falklands are the name of the Argentines and the British call the island Falkland. The Malvinas archipelago consists of two islands, Soledad and Great Malvinas and several reef islands, with an area of 1It is 20,000 square kilometers and has a population of more than 3,000 people, almost all of whom are of British origin.

During the Age of Discovery, the British were the first to discover this uninhabited island. In 1690, the English captain John Strong landed here and named it "Falkland"; In 1764, the French were the first to establish a port and settlement on Soledar, and the British also settled on Great Malvina and established their own stronghold. However, because Britain and France lost to Spain in the battle for colonies on the South American mainland, Spain demanded the Falklands from Britain and France in 1766.

The Spaniards smoothly with the 240,000 pounds bought Soledar Island from the French and forcibly expelled the British. However, in order to avoid an escalation of the conflict, Spain and Britain reached an agreement, with Britain stationed on the island of Great Malvina and Spain on Soledar, and the Falklands divided between Britain and Spain. After that, Britain and Spain withdrew their troops from the Falklands in order to confront Napoleon's France in Europe, and in 1811 the Falklands returned to the status of an uninhabited island.

In 1816, Argentina gained independence from Spanish colonial rule. In 1820, Argentina declared its right to inherit the Spanish colonial legacy, and the Falklands were an integral part of Argentine territory. Britain was furious, believing that Spain had taken the Falklands from Britain and had never given up sovereignty over the Falklands, so they quarreled with Argentina.

Britain made a claim in 1828 on the grounds of its earliest discovery, and in January 1833 it occupied the Falklands by armed force. In 1966, the two countries began negotiations on the ownership of the Falklands.

On April 2, 1982, Argentina preemptively sent troops to capture the Falklands, and the Anglo-Afghan War began, but with the British army**, Argentina lost the war on June 14, surrendered and withdrew from the Falklands. The Anglo-Afghan war resulted in the deaths of about 650 Argentines and 260 Britons.

Historically, despite its proximity to Argentina, the Falklands were inhabited by people of British origin. Argentina's predecessor, Spain, was also not legally recognized as owning the Falklands. Argentina inherited Spanish power over the Falklands after independence, and the British, of course, were not willing to give it up easily. The British felt that when they first discovered the Falklands, the Falklands were still uninhabited, and that when the British divided the Falklands from Spain, they did not have Argentina.

If the Falklands were like Hong Kong, China, and the Qing Dynasty had clearly signed a Lend-Lease agreement with the British, there would have been no dispute. Argentina and the United Kingdom have their own claims on the sovereignty of the Falklands.

Argentina claimed sovereignty over Tsushima on the basis of the papal (papal) royal decree of 1493 (as amended by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494), on the basis of which Spain and Portugal had divided the New World on their own, on the grounds of succession to Spain, the proximity of the archipelago to South America, and the need to end the colonial status.

Britain claimed sovereignty over the Falklands on the basis of its "open, continuous, de facto possession, occupation and administration" of the Malvinas Islands since 1833 and its determination to apply the principle of self-determination recognized by the Charter of the United Nations to the Falkland Islanders. Britain claimed that the surrender of the Falkland Islanders against their will to Argentine rule was in no way an end to the colonial status, but to establish a new colony.

However, before the Anglo-Afghan war in 1982, during the negotiations between the two sides, the British expressed their willingness to transfer control of the Falklands to Argentina in a step-by-step manner. However, at that time, Argentina's domestic economy collapsed, social contradictions intensified, and in order to divert domestic contradictions, the military ** suddenly sent troops to occupy the Falklands, which angered the British. Since then, the British have been reluctant to talk about it anymore, and both sides have claimed sovereignty over the Falklands.

In fact, with the tone of the British, not only did they give up the vast colonies of India, Canada, and Australia, but even Ireland next to the island of Great Britain became independent, and there was no reason to deal with 130,000 kilometers away, the Falklands are so small and persistent, maybe the Anglo-Afghan War Argentina took the initiative to declare war, which really hurt the self-esteem of the British Empire.

But even the British do not believe that the royal family and the Prime Minister's Cabinet will be determined to keep the Falklands, and most countries in the world are now inclined to believe that the British will eventually return the Falklands to Argentina.

For Argentina, there are still troubles. Generally speaking, when the territory returns, most of the people on the land should belong to their own people. For example, Russia's territorial claims to several regions in eastern Ukraine, at least the majority of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine, can also be justified in the name of referendums.

The current inhabitants of the Tajima are British, and almost 200 years since 1833, there are almost no people of the Falklands in Argentina. The distance between the Falklands and the Argentine coastline is 500 kilometers is not too close.

Another problem is that as an economy, the Falklands have a GDP per capita of $70,800, which is much higher than Argentina and other countries in South America. Given the current poor economic situation in Argentina, the residents of the Falklands are probably reluctant to return to Argentina.

For various reasons, it will not be easy for Argentina to get back the Malvinas Islands. Maybe it won't be possible until Argentina really becomes a world power.

Shanglin Academy: Yang Fei, Ph.D. in Economics, university teacher, in-depth observation of industrial economy and financial events.

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