Colonial Confusion
The sovereignty conflict over the Falkland Islands
by Jasmijn Visser
On June 11, 2014, Argentinean president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner opened the Malvinas Museum in what she called “a living commitment to end colonialism.” The location of the museum is, without intended irony, the ESMA detention center, a former concentration camp where thousands of prisoners where illegally held and tortured during Argentina’s 1976–1983 military dictatorship – the exact activities that the Falklands War was supposed to distract from. Kirchner has, on more than one occasion, called Great Britain out for “blatant exercises of 19th century colonialism.” But, what exactly are these colonial roots in the Falkland conflict that are exercised over and over again? The Falkland Islands are quintessentially peripheral, not only in location – they are close to the Antarctic Peninsula, 500 miles from the coast of Argentina – but also in appearance; the 778 islands are mostly made up of either rock or peat grounds covered in tough Tussaic grass. They’re home to a wide range of Antarctic Fauna, among which there are five penguin species. The unrelenting wind prevents any original tree growth to develop, which causes the emblematic look of the islands, that of seemingly unending barren hills. THE TORDESILLAS MERIDIAN The Falklands Conflict originates about a 100 years prior to its discovery with the signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. This was an important project of Pope Alexander VI. Around this time the seeds were sown for religious reform in Northern European countries, caused by excessive corruption of the Catholic Church. Alexander VI especially contributed to these sentiments when he illegally fathered seven children with two different women. Reportedly, he was so corrupt that he inspired Martin Luther to nail his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of a Wittenberger Church. The pope needed to find a way to broaden the sphere of influence of his church again and sought to find it over the borders of Europe. In a shrewd move he put himself forward as mediator between the two main Catholic maritime powers; Spain and Portugal. He wanted to make sure both countries conquered as much of The New World as possible without the risk of them sabotaging this process by waging a war on each other. All present parties agreed on the drawing of a line from the North to the South Pole over the 46th meridian line on the world map, which would be known as the Toresillas meridian. The Spanish West side of this line would contain every newly discovered land in most of the Americas and beyond. The Portuguese East Side of this line would contain parts of what are now Brazil, Africa, and Asia. Every inhabitant of these newly founded colonies should be Catholic. The Falkland Islands, not yet discovered, were situated just on the West Side of the Tordesillas meridian and therefore theoretically belonged to Spain. The first official sighting of the island group was in 1600 by Dutch explorer Sebald de Weert who stumbled upon several islands crowded with pygmy-like birds when his ship Geloof [faith] had been thrown out of the Strait of Magellan on a disastrous journey towards the Maluku Islands. Although the Dutch captain did not get the chance to set foot ashore, he and his crew had accurately plotted three islands of the archipelago; nautical maps until the mid-18th century had depicted them as the Sebald de Weert’s Islands. The second recorded sighting was in 1683 by buccaneer William Ambrose Cowley with his ship Bachelors Delight, who mixed up the coordinates of one of the smaller Falkland Islands and claimed to have found a brand new paradise-like island, filled with trees and “a large number of birds the size of small ducks, and seals, which rise out of the water and blaff [bark] like a dog.” After Cowley’s encounter with what he called Pepy’s Island, multiple expeditions set out to locate the island again, to no avail. Pepy’s Island ended up as a phantom island on nautical maps until the 1800s. THE ACADIAN DREAM The first settlement on the Falkland Islands was initially founded as a refuge for French Acadians in 1764. The North American legendary colony named Acadia existed for over 150 years. In a dispute with the British over The French and Indian War of 1754, the British Governor and the Nova Scotia Council decided to deport the entire population of Acadians back to France and burn down their settlements. The expulsion of at least 11,500 Acadians was a disastrous venture; two of the ships perished at sea and many on the remaining vessels would succumb to the unhygienic circumstances on board. In 1759, about 1,100 survivors came ashore, more dead than alive, at the Saint-Malo harbor. These colonists wanted nothing more than to peacefully set up a new colony in order to continue their rural life. The Duc de Choiseul, at this time Foreign Minister of France, planned what he called the “colonial renaissance.” He selected new destinations for the Acadians such as French Guiana and Martinique, but also the uninhabited Sebald de Weert’s Islands. Aware of the Tordesillas Treaty, De Choiseul knew this undertaking would create problems with Spain. His main problem was that Spain and France had entered a Family Compact in 1761 and King Louis XV, famous for his pacifism, would not want to wage war with this ally. So De Choiseul went rogue and sent out a secret expedition to the islands. Navigator, Antoine Louis de Bougainville, and some 150 Acadians headed South. At arrival, the colonists had traveled 17,000 kilometers to reach their new Acadia. De Bougainville called the archipelago îles Malouines, after Saint Malo and founded a settlement called Fort Saint Louis, in name of the French king. THE FALKLAND CRISIS The fact that De Choisuel kept the venture a secret might seem a minor detail, but it complicated the retracing of the sovereignty rights of the Falklands. The colonization of Les îles Malouines was not only unknown to the Spanish, but also to the British. Around the same time of the founding of Fort Saint Louis, the British were looking to establish a strategic colony close to the Straight of Magellan. First an expedition by Lord Byron, grandfather of the eponymous famous poet, scanned the Patagonian coast in search of Pepy’s Island. After a couple of futile attempts Byron decided to head towards the Sebald de Weert’s Islands (incidentally the real Pepy’s Island). He established a settlement in 1765 on the archipelago, ignorant about the French presence on the other side, and named it Port Egmont. The British explorer John Strong had already called the islands the Falkland Islands in 1760, after Viscount Falkland, an Admiralty Commissioner. Byron held on to that name. Thus, the two equally large colonies lived side by side for a couple of years without ever encountering one another. To its discontent, Spain discovered the secret French colony in 1766. Reluctant to go into war with their ally, the Spanish compensated De Bougainville for his expenses, took over Fort Saint Louis and renamed it Puerto Soledad. The French Les îles Malouines were transformed into Islas Malvinas. The newly arrived Spanish garrisons were up for a surprise when they discovered the British presence in 1769. This led to what is know known as The Falkland Crisis. An astonished Duc de Choiseul promised Spain French aid with the expulsion of the British. Meanwhile, the governor of Buenos Aires (still part of Spain) had send five frigates carrying some 1600 men. This threat instantly had the British fleeing. Now the United Kingdom, Spain, and France were on the verge of war. This was until King Louis XV found out that his foreign minister had been plotting war against the British behind his back. He fired De Choiseul, and retreated France from the Family Compact, leaving Spain to deal with the British on its own. The Spanish decided that the Malvinas were not important enough to start a new Anglo-French war over. They allowed the British to resettle and rebuild their settlements. At this time United Kingdom had already lost interest in their windy colony and decided to hold off on a return. Still, they couldn’t resist placing a plaque at Port Egmont claiming the Falklands under the British crown. The Spanish tried to keep a permanent base on the Islas Malvinas, but they could not stand the constant rough winds, the throttling island fever and the desolate surroundings. Even with the offer of a year of double pay, the stationed soldiers refused to stay. In 1811 the Spanish deserted the islands indefinitely. At the moment of abandonment there was no treaty or agreement on the final sovereignty of the island group and it is often claimed that the Falklands became terra nullius - no man’s land. ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS The Germans - or at least one German - stepped up in 1828. Luis Vernet was a merchant from Hamburg who actually claimed to be French, and of Huguenot descent. To further contribute to this confusion, he fluently spoke German, French, English, and Spanish. After conducting business in Portugal, Brazil, and the United States of America, he had set up a base in the recently declared Independent Republic of Argentina in 1808. Together with Jorge Pancheo, an Argentine independence hero, he had developed a plan to colonize the Malvinas. Aware of the British claim on the islands, he contacted the British Admiralty to state that his enterprise was purely commercial. Vernet provided annual reports to the British and requested their protection in case of their return to the archipelago. This led to the remarkable event that both Argentina and the United Kingdom granted Vernet official permission for his venture. Vernet established a colony in 1828, in order to set up a base for whale and seal hunting. Upon arrival he rebuilt Puerto Soledad and renamed it Port Luis. The settlers were a motley group, including gauchos to tend cattle, Dutch farmers to produce milk and butter, African American slaves, South American Indians, Englishmen, and a German family. After approximately one year, Vernet was appointed Governor of the Malvinas by Argentina, inciting British protests. This was not long before Vernet overconfidently exercised his territorial monopoly, exceeding the authority that the British had granted him. He went too far when he seized three American ships and arrested their crews. In a fury, the American navy sent the USS Lexington to destroy Vernet’s settlement and forced him to flee. The United States of America declared the Malvinas free from government, making the islands a no man’s land once again. Argentina tried to restore what was left of the settlements, but there was severe uproar in Port Luis due to lack of rations and other circumstances. On August 26, 1833, Antonio Rivero, two fellow gauchos, and five Charrúa Indians, led a raid on Port Louis. In what must have been a horrific site, they cut open the throats of the newly installed captain and his subordinates, chopped off limbs, and let their half-alive corpses get dragged by horses and devoured by dogs. The remaining inhabitants, fifteen adults and two children, escaped to the small, remote Hog Island, where they lived solely off bird eggs until they were found two weeks later by a British ship. As retaliation to the murders, the British Government cleaned out Port Luis and established a permanent presence on the islands in January 1834. Subsequently, the governmental authorities on the islands initiated a process of upgrading the Falklands from the status of a minor naval outpost to a full-fledged colony, which it became in 1841. In about one century the population steadily grew to around 2,500 citizens. THE FALKLANDS WAR Only since the 1960s has Argentina has truly pressed their claim to be the rightful owner of the Falkland Islands. After failed negotiations they took over the Falklands by force in 1982 and renamed the capital, Port Stanley, to Puerto Rivero, after the murderous gaucho – a hero in Argentina. After the sudden Argentinean invasion of May, 1982, the wheels all over the globe were set in motion. The United Kingdom made an alliance with the United States of America and France. But their most important (and secret) ally was Chile; they allowed British radars on their territory in order to trace Argentinean movements. As part of the ground troops they put in the Gurkha Rifles, a battalion of Nepalese soldiers recruited by the British. The United Kingdom’s complete task force of 127 ships, including two aircraft carriers and three (nuclear) submarines, had to travel for nearly 13,000 kilometers, finally reaching the Falklands after a journey of two weeks. Argentina allied with Israel, Peru, Russia, Brazil, and Libya. Muammar Gaddafi sent two Boeing 707 planes in two shifts stashed with missiles, guns, mortars, mines, and launchers from Libya. And, with the surprisingly large task force of the United Kingdom approaching the islands, Argentina laid 25,000 mines over 120 minefields at various strategic points. The approximately two months of war took the lives of 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel and three Falkland Islanders. ZIMBABWEANS In the aftermath of the war, another ghost from the United Kingdom’s colonial past has set foot on the Falklands. Now, thirty years after the Falklands War, groups of Zimbabwean mine clearance experts are deployed to clear the roughly 25,000 Argentinean laid landmines leftover from the war. These workers have gained their expertise from clearing the minefields of the Zimbabwean borders. During the Zimbabwean Freedom War between several rebel armies against their former British overlords, the government laid 1.5 million land mines over 766 square kilometers of land, exhausting the national budget. Since Mugabe’s victory in 1980, Zimbabwe has raised generations of mine clearance experts, who are deployed all over Africa, as more than a million landmines remain in Zimbabwean soil. On the Falkland Islands the Zimbabwean workers lay in water filled trenches, patiently poking for mines with special tools. Not withered by the harsh circumstances, two Zimbabweans decided to stay on the Falkland Islands; one currently works as a carpenter and the other as a waiter at the Malvina House Hotel. Approximately 1,000 landmines per year are cleared in irregular sessions. All mined areas on the Falkland Islands are fenced and marked to protect civilians. Although animals such as sheep are killed occasionally, there has never been a civilian casualty. In fact, the minefields offer protection to the penguins, which are light enough to walk over mines. In the aftermath of the Falklands War, mined beaches around Stanley have turned into penguin reservations; a small victory for the true indigenous inhabitants of the Archipelago. Photographs by Peter Lipton, 2013
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Pamphlet. Magazine - 2014 -