Talking of potted histories Falkland Islands British Acts of Sovereignty 1765 to 1841 1765 – January 22nd, Commodore John Byron formally claims the Falkland Islands for King George III and Great Britain. 1766 – January 8th, Captain John MacBride arrives at Port Egmont with 100 settlers and 25 marines. 1770/71 – in February, two Spanish frigates are ordered to leave Port Egmont. In June five warships of the Royal Spanish Navy, together with 1400 marines, eject the British garrison. Londons reaction is to prepare a fleet and threaten Spain with war. Spain quickly capitulates and an agreement is reached returning the islands to the status quo that existed in 1769 with a small Spanish garrison at Port Louis. A British garrison returns to Egmont in September. 1774 – May 21st, the British garrison is withdrawn leaving behind the; “ .. proper Signals and Marks of Possession, .. on its belonging to His Majesty.” British sealers take over Egmont. 1774 to 1800 – 100s of 1000s of gallons of seal and penguin oil shipped to London without interference by any other authority or claimant. 1801 – during negotiations in September, the French demand an establishment and access to the fishing (sealing grounds) on the Islands from the British. The British Governments rejects the demand. 1802 – France repeats its demand for an establishment and access to the fisheries on the islands at the peace conference at Amiens. Britain again rejects the demands. 1829 – following the assertion of a claim by the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata, Britain formally protests the pretensions of the Argentine. 1832 – a further formal protest is made warning Buenos Aires not to despatch a garrison to the Falklands in pursuit of its pretensions. 1833 – the trespassing garrison on East Falkland Island is ordered to leave in a minor police action undertaken by a Royal Navy ship. The trespassers leave as instructed. 1834 – a small garrison of seamen assert British authority over the archipelago after a murderous riot has resulted in the deaths of five employees of the Buenos Airean businessman, Luis Vernet. Lord Palmerston dismisses complaints from Buenos Aires regarding the ejection of their garrison the year before. 1841 – August 23rd, Lieut. Richard Moody is appointed Lieutenant-Governor to head the administration of a British colony on the islands. The colony on the Falkland Islands lasted from 1841 until 1946 when it was identified as a Non-Self Governing Territory by both the United Nations and the British Government. As the people of a NSGT, the Falkland Islanders have the right in international law to determine their own future. In 2013 the Islanders chose to retain their links with Britain.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 22:11:36 +0000
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