Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic are a renowned tourist area for wildlife. However, they are better known as the site of one of the most famous wars of the last quarter of the 20th century.

History of The Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands, also know as the Malvinas Islands or Spanish Islas Malvinas, are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic Ocean. The population is around 2,500 people over an area of 4,700 square miles. Around 4/5ths of the population live in the capital, Stanley, with the rest living in small, isolated sheep-farming communities.

From 2 April until 14 June 1982, Argentine troops occupied the Falkland Islands, claiming them as their own territory, Las Malvinas. The British Task Force was sent to recover the Islands from the Argentine troops. Their landing on 21 May 1982 is now commemorated each year as “Landing Day”.

Argentine Forces, after the battles in the lands around Port Stanley, surrendered to Major General Jeremy Moore of the British Forces. The surrender document was signed at the Secretariat Building, in the room now named the “Liberation Room”. Liberation Day is commemorated by a public holiday on 14 June with services in Christchurch Cathedral and at the Liberation Monument.

The Falkland Islands today

Other, smaller memorials are situated at locations around the Islands relevant to battles that took place. The site of the major battle, Goose Green is accessible, with its stone memorial to those who died there, and other battlefields can also be visited.

There are memorials to the conflict in Argentina, notably one in Ushaia, which reads: “The people of Ushuaia who, with their blood, irrigated the roots of our sovereignty over the Malvinas (Falklands) … We will return!!!”

Other cultural monuments include the Falkland Islands Museum and National Trust, which is dedicated to the history of the islands.

Getting to The Falkland Islands