The Falklands

What right does any body have over a country, nobody owns them, they were here befor any of us, and still will be when we are gone, who will own them then?

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by Spiderman

Thats pretty lame reasoning isnt it? The british empire was huge but slowly shrank away to almost nothing - what right did britain have over those places?

So what right does britain have over the flaklands now?

The islands were deserted, there's no sob story about sharpened mango wielding natives being cut down with the fire of massed rifles.

The right we have over them is historical, what makes it right to hang on to them is the population which is British by blood and by culture, which makes them worth defending.
Which is to say, a sh*tsight more of a right to them than any uppity Johnny foreigner.


As for the oil, that's worth a scrap over too. Like it or lump it our current way of life is dependant on it, as guilty as some bloody muppets feel about our Imperial past, that is not some woolly left wing reason to allow some upstart nation to commit daylight robbery against us.

[mattSV]

[MisterTommyH]

Originally Posted by Spiderman

Its wierd to me to own something so close to another country yet so far away from you own.

Except they're not 'so close' to another. They're over 250 miles out - in international waters (well actually British waters as that's what the islanders want to be).

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

The islands were deserted, there's no sob story about sharpened mango wielding natives being cut down with the fire of massed rifles.

Unfortunately it's not that simple:

The Dutch discovered them, the British got Lost there and named them. The french settled on the East, the British (unaware of the French) settled on the west. The Spanish took over the French settlement, attacked the British and chucked them out. We nearly went to war, but a treaty was signed and the British allowed to return.

The war in America forced the British to leave, but left a plaque stating our claim. The Spanish also left, but also left their own plaque stating their claim. All other settlers left and went to mainland South America.

A privateer was driven there by a storm and raised the flag of the then South American nation. A man of German descent (who had emigrated to said South American nation) established a colony on the islands with permission from both Argentina and Britain.

Everyone fell out over hunting rights and the settlers were arrested by a US ship, but never charged. They were released and the settlement was declared Free from all Government. The settlement was (supposedly) dismantled.

Argentina tried to establish a prison colony, but the captain was killed. Soon the British turned up and made them leave. The 'destroyed' settlement was still inhabited.

These settlers encouraged the British to interact and flew a British flag. The settlement leaders were murdered and the islands were ruled as a naval based until the start of the modern settlement was established.

There you go. A short history of the Falklands. It's far from as simple as it was an empty rock, but as long as the inhabitants consider themselves British I'll support their protection. Maybe I'd feel differently if it was a Dutch, French or Spanish claim (maybe even German), but the way I see it the Argentinean claim is the weakest.

Originally Posted by Tommy H

.....but the way I see it the Argentinean claim is the weakest.

A bit like their navy hopefully!

[Biker Biggles]

Originally Posted by Spiderman

Thats pretty lame reasoning isnt it? The british empire was huge but slowly shrank away to almost nothing - what right did britain have over those places?

So what right does britain have over the flaklands now?

The only valid test is what the inhabitants want.Just as the former British Empire faded away because the various parts of it wanted independance,and got it,so the inhabitants of Los Malvinas want to remain as they are,and not be Argentinian.There would no doubt be a similar debate about Jersey if they wanted to be French,but if the majority voted to stay British,thats what would happen.It no longer really matters who got there first or exactly what happened in 1865,just what the people want now.

[Spiderman]

Originally Posted by Tommy H

Except they're not 'so close' to another. They're over 250 miles out - in international waters (well actually British waters as that's what the islanders want to be).



Unfortunately it's not that simple:

The Dutch discovered them, the British got Lost there and named them. The french settled on the East, the British (unaware of the French) settled on the west. The Spanish took over the French settlement, attacked the British and chucked them out. We nearly went to war, but a treaty was signed and the British allowed to return.

The war in America forced the British to leave, but left a plaque stating our claim. The Spanish also left, but also left their own plaque stating their claim. All other settlers left and went to mainland South America.

A privateer was driven there by a storm and raised the flag of the then South American nation. A man of German descent (who had emigrated to said South American nation) established a colony on the islands with permission from both Argentina and Britain.

Everyone fell out over hunting rights and the settlers were arrested by a US ship, but never charged. They were released and the settlement was declared Free from all Government. The settlement was (supposedly) dismantled.

Argentina tried to establish a prison colony, but the captain was killed. Soon the British turned up and made them leave. The 'destroyed' settlement was still inhabited.

These settlers encouraged the British to interact and flew a British flag. The settlement leaders were murdered and the islands were ruled as a naval based until the start of the modern settlement was established.

There you go. A short history of the Falklands. It's far from as simple as it was an empty rock, but as long as the inhabitants consider themselves British I'll support their protection. Maybe I'd feel differently if it was a Dutch, French or Spanish claim (maybe even German), but the way I see it the Argentinean claim is the weakest.

thank you for posting that, its always nice to know the real history as opposed to the xenophobic "we're british so its ours" version.

Can anyone point me to where I can download a bigger version of this?

Originally Posted by mattSV