Themes

"Here are many good harbours - fresh water in plenty…an abundance of geese and ducks. As for wood there is none"
Captain John Strong, on the first landing on the Falkland Islands, 1690

Discovery and Settlement
The English seafarer John Davis made the first recorded sighting of the Falkland Islands in 1592. No one actually set foot ashore until 1690. This landing was the first of many claims to ownership over the next 300 years. In the 1770s the islands nearly caused a war between Britain and Spain. They featured in major British naval engagements in both world wars.

In the 18th century Spain, France and Great Britain all created small settlements for short periods. The newly independent Argentina staked a claim in 1820, but in 1831 an American ship removed many of the Argentinian settlers by force. Two years later the British returned to take the Iislands. A The government built a dockyard was built in the capital Stanley with a garrison of Royal Marines.

During the 19th century the Falklands became an important centre for ship repairs and provisions. Stanley became one of the world's busiest ports.

Argentina continued to claim the islands. Successive British governments' attempts at appeasement in the 1960s and 1970s convinced them that Britain was no longer interested in maintaining sovereignty.