How Do You Understand The Falklands War?
Almost 1,000 people died fighting in the Falklands War of 1982. The trigger of this unlikely war between Britain and Argentina was the disputed ownership of the Falkland Islands, a small archipelago off the South American coast. Here’s how the war kicked off in the spring of 1982 and came to an end 3 months later. Understand that Argentina was ruled by a military junta. In the early 1980s, Argentina was in bad shape both economically and politically. In the face of civil unrest and protests against the government, the country’s dictator–Leopoldo Galtieri–whipped up Argentine nationalism by initiating a military campaign to regain control of the Falklands (a British protectorate). First, 50 Argentinian soldiers were ordered to the South Georgia Island on March 19, 1982, where they made the symbolic declaration of hostilities by planting Argentinian flag. Two weeks later, Galtieri launched a full-scale invasion. The British built up their military presence. Over that time, the British
