Background Although first sighted by an English navigator in 1592, the first landing (English) did not occur until almost a century later in 1690, and the first settlement (French) was not established until 1764. The colony was turned over to Spain two years later and the islands have since been the subject of a territorial dispute, first between Britain and Spain, then between Britain and Argentina. The UK asserted its claim to the islands by establishing a naval garrison there in 1833. Argentina invaded the islands on 2 April 1982. The British responded with an expeditionary force that landed seven weeks later and after fierce fighting forced an Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982.
SOURCES: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
ALTERNATIVE NAMES:
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), falkland islands, falkland islands (malvinas), Falkland Islands
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