The Foreign Service Journal, April 2006

over Stanley Harbor, his naturally warm face displaying concern for the implications of this reference to the con- tinent four hundred miles to the west. Among many islanders, lingering trauma from Argentina’s 1982 invasion and occupation of the islands reinforces a compulsion to remain isolated, to stick with the safe 8,000-mile link back to Mother Britain. But the young, globally-connected demographic of the Falklands is comfortable with another South America. Every Saturday a LAN Chile Airbus brings in a belly-full of freight, including retail goods and fresh fruit. The plane carries islanders out to Punta Arenas (in Chilean Patagonia), and on to bustling Santiago for shopping and medical appointments, and for business meetings con- ducted with personal digital assistants and laptops. Today’s Falkland Islanders — visibly prosperous, wired and well educated, with the possibility of oil looming off- shore — stand at a quirky edge of globalization, a critical juncture that oddly mirrors what the rest of the world is facing, with the same shades of uncertainty and promise. Disputed History The Falklands’ history is an ambiguous chronology of claims and counterclaims. The islands were uninhabited when sighted by European explorers in the 1500s. The British landed first, in 1690, though the first settlement was established on East Falkland in 1764 by the French explorer Antoine de Bougainville. Unaware of the French activity, British Captain John McBride set up a competing colony on West Falkland in 1766. Shortly thereafter, de Bougainville sold out to the Spanish, who appointed a governor under the captain- general of Buenos Aires. In 1770, a Spanish military expe- dition dislodged the British, sparking negotiations that resulted in Madrid agreeing to London’s return. Four years later, Britain abandoned the islands, leaving behind a plaque claiming continued sovereignty. Spain followed suit, pulling out in 1811, leaving the islands unoccupied. After gaining independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina claimed all previously associated colonial terri- tories — including Las Malvinas (the name comes from the French Malouins, a name for the Corsairs of Saint- Malo, whence came the first colonists to settle under de Bougainville). In 1826 Argentine civilian Louis Vernet established a small colony, finally eliciting a reaction from Britain in 1833, when warships forced the Argentines to leave and London effectively reclaimed full sovereignty under the 1770 agreement with Spain. Britain has peace- fully governed and populated the islands ever since. Argentina believes it holds uninterrupted sovereignty dating back to 1816, making Britain’s 1833 “invasion and occupation” illegal, and asserts that Argentina was simply “recovering” national territory in 1982. Britain maintains that the Falklands are British. This claim is reinforced by continuous occupation since 1833 and, most importantly, the fact that the islands’ population is British. Britain insists that “sovereignty is not negotiable,” while Argen- tina will not negotiate unless sovereignty is on the table. Argentine President Nestor Kirchner rekindled tensions in 2003 by publicly vowing that the Malvinas will once again be part of Argentina, following up by economically squeezing the islands. Behind these diplomatic positions are serious issues of control over important South Atlantic resources, which Falkland Islanders regard as vital to “self-determination.” 21st-Century Islanders Some 2,370 civilians live in this British overseas terri- tory the size of Connecticut, situated 400 miles east of Argentina and 850 miles north of the Antarctic Circle. Ninety-four percent claim British descent, and 80 percent trace their roots to mid-1800s immigration. Others are long-term temporary residents; nearly 150 “Saints” from the British South Atlantic island of St. Helena, and about 100 Chileans. The capital, Stanley on East Falkland, is home to 1,989 people; the rest are in “Camp” (a Falklands term derived from the Spanish campo, meaning country- side). Another 1,700 military personnel and civilian con- tractors serve at the Mount Pleasant Military Complex 35 miles west of Stanley. Today’s islanders are surprisingly young, connected and entrepreneurial. Access to the Internet and satellite TV is universal, even in Camp. Children abound and a new wing added to the junior school in Stanley is already too small because of higher-than-average birth rates. F O C U S A P R I L 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 47 Jim Dorschner is the spouse of FSO Sonya Tsiros, assigned to Embassy Bucharest. He is a correspondent for Jane’s Defense Weekly , and a principal contributor to Jane’s Sentinel . His work has also appeared in Armed Forces Journal , U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings and Military History Quarterly. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2004 and has lived for more than 22 years out- side the United States in Europe, Asia and Latin America.