To not understand why some Argentinians seem to want the Falkland Islands so much?

None of this makes any sense. What is the basis of any Argentinian claim to the Falklands, over any other country’s?

@DebbieSavage

After that the Islands should be handed to Argentina alongside a frank and honest apology for the war

Now you are unwisely getting into "you started it" territory but if you really want to go there have a think about who first used lethal force in 82.

The museum is a propaganda wonderland!

Why has the IoW got dragged into this?! I can't stop laughing! I'm certainly not Brazilian, I don't know any of my friends and neighbours who are Brazilian and we're not just a holiday destination. 143000 of us call it home!

Agree - the possibility of oil/gas being present certainly was a subject of discussion in 82 both in the context of the Islands themselves and in the context of Antartica.

The British claim originates in the fact that it was a British sailor who discovered the uninhabited islands in 1690. The French first set up a colony (the technical term is "planted") in the 1700s but abandoned it after a few years. The Spanish had a short lived penal settlement (abandoned in 1811) and then the British had a go.

The Argentine republic has only ever set foot on the islands once. In 1982.

Genuine question - does some of the Argentinian fixation on the Falklands link back to the historic presence of British people in mainland Argentina?

My understanding is that Britain sought economic influence there, British settlers claimed land, British companies exploited natural resources, there were small but powerful Anglo-Argentine elites - obviously Spanish-Argentines were part of colonial exploitation too, I'm not blaming the British solely here. The Peronist regime blamed the Anglos for a lot of the countries problems, nationalised British companies, tried to end British influence completely. I don't know enough to know if some of the current Argentine rhetoric about the Falklands harks back to this.

Argentina used to be one of the richest countries in the world. Until 1930 it was in the top 10 of nations per capita (although very unequal) and it had massive gold reserves. A series of military coups from the 1930s onwards (including Peron in 1943) together with a very export-dependent economy led to massive instability and poverty.

Argentina feels that it should be a stronger country than it is. Some of the other former basket case economies are now really stable and doing well on the international stage and there is a feeling that Argentina needs to be more respected on the world stage.

In 1982, the Thatcher government was reducing the number of colonial outposts that qualified for British citizenship. Most residents of the Islands relied upon Argentina for life events such as serious healthcare. People flew back and forth. There had once been quite a strong British influence in Argentina and links were close. A failing military junta in Buenos Aires thought that the UK had essentially turned its back on the islands and saw an opportunity for a military win and a surge in support.

The Falklands is Argentina's Vietnam. They still cannot believe they lost and it is a visceral wound. All over the country there are memorial gardens and monuments. When we went to Rosario (Argentina's second city) there was a massive building with views over ornamental ponds in the shape of the islands and inside there was a display of the "heroic defence" of Government House at Port Stanley, including the Argentinian flag that had flown there and some soil. There are pictures of the islands on every bus in Buenos Aires. There is huge museum outside the city devoted to the Malvinas Argentinas. Every army barracks we passed had a beautifully tended memorial garden. We saw a government office in central BA which was devoted to the islands. The people are convinced the islands are theirs and it is a huge insult to their dignity and national pride.

And given where the economy is (and has been for decades) lots of people need a boost to that pride and that's why so many voted for Milei. They are people who need something to believe in.

I'm not saying that the vulture capitalists haven't got their eyes on the oil and the fish, but for many people in Argentina, it's about pride.

Britain rightly wants to protect its citizens. You be grateful for that if you lived there, I suspect.

Gary Lineker eat your heart out 😆 🤣

🙄

If oil and gas is the issue why isn’t anyone drilling for it there? (Genuine question).

That seems very unlikely. And even if it was a factor it would have been so minor as to be irrelevant.

Your ignorance of South American political history is profound.

As I said above, Argentina has never actually owned the islands at any time in its history as an independent nation.

The Spanish only ever used them as a penal colony and that was abandoned before Argentina became an independent state.

Argentina has never actually owned the islands at any time in its history as an independent nation.

Yes, I thought hedgehog was somebody else.

Deepest apologies - I got you mixed up with another poster I was thinking of.

I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick.

They were known about, or at the very least, there were strong, and generally accepted, indications that they were there.

Oil and gas was a factor in the 1982 invasion.

How would you get that from my posts defending ownership of the Falklands?

You really do hate Britain, don't you?

What, 300 miles out in the sea? Shall we just declare France to be part of Britain (again) as it's only 20 miles away?

Ok then, let's just return all lands around the world to their pre-colonial past. I'm sure that won't cause any bother or unneccessary wars. North and South America will be rather interesting.