Argentina

Argentina is our latest stop on our quasi-alphabetical round-the-world tour. I would like to discuss Las Islas Malvinas, aka The Falkland Islands. Argentina claims 'em, Britain occupies 'em, and the rest of the world wonders what the bloody hell could be so damned important about 'em that the aforementioned countries would go to war. 

   In a nutshell:
-The Argentine claim is based on several points. First, the Jason Islands, located just off of the northwest coast of the Falklands, were first sighted by a Spaniard (1519). These were the first parts of the future British territory to be discovered by Europeans. Second, the first European settlement on the Falklands was by the French, who later abandoned their claim in favor of their ally, Spain. Third, the Spanish placed the administration of the Falklands under their governor at Buenos Aires. Of course, Argentina is the successor state to Spanish claims. Fourth, the Falklands lie on the Spanish side of the line of control established by the Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal.
-The British claim stems from the fact that they were the first country to make it to the Falklands proper (1592). Well, that and stubbornly clinging to the belief that once some land is claimed, a country's gotta do whatever it takes to actually occupy said land (i.e. "national honor").

Why such persistence by the French, Spanish, and British? Well, Cape Horn is a very hazardous place, with sudden severe storms, icebergs, shallow rocky bits, and penguins. The nearby Falklands are a good place for ships to recuperate after being battered. In addition, the islands made a good naval base of operations for controlling the nearby passages, which were the only way to sail past the American continents. This is of the utmost importance to a global power, so even though the Falklands are so very far away from Great Britain, or France, or Spain, and they have no important minerals or plants, they are still to be desired. Later on, after the onset of the Industrial Revolution, various tiny islands (the Falklands included) assumed new importance by being places that steamships could load up on coal for fuel. Of course, now there is the Panama Canal and air travel, so really, up until recently the only reason the Falklands were still British and not a part of the much closer Argentine Republic is because all of the inhabitants are English, Welsh, Scots, Irish (and have been for well over 150 years) and have no desire to be a part of a coup-ridden Latin American country. Also, British honor is still partially tied up in having these little reminders of how great and widespread the kingdom once was.


Well, lucky for us, there's a new reason for this stupid machismo affair to raise its ugly head once again. It wasn't known in the early 1980s, when Argentina invaded the Falklands, but there's a good amount of oil down thataway. That is a much better reason to go to war than "national honor". National honor doesn't make the cars run, you know. Nonetheless, national honor was the reason that Argentina invaded the Falklands in 1982. The Argentinian economy was a shambles at that time and the military government needed something to distract the population. Patriotism always gets used to sucker people into doing something they should know better than to do. Since being re-evicted from the Falkands, various Argentine governments have pressed their case, while other Argentine governments have backed off of the topic. That's going to be harder once those oil fields begin to get developed.