What are the Falkland Islands?
The Falkland Islands, or ‘Islas Malvinas’, are an archipelago of small islands located in the South Atlantic Ocean, approximately 300 miles east of the South American mainland (Argentina and Chile). The Islands are widely considered an ‘Overseas British Territory’, and the constitutional status of the islands, with supreme authority vested in HM the Queen, reflects this status. The Islands are governed by a a Governor appointed by the Crown, aided by an elected executive and legislative council, in accordance with the Falkland Islands constitution. Background The islands have long been the subject of territorial dispute, first between the Spanish and English in the 1760s, and subsequently between the UK and Argentina, the UK having established a naval garrison on the island in 1833 to assert sovereignty over the Island from an interim Argentine administration. Since this time the Islands have remained under UK administration with a largely English speaking population living on the Isla
The Falkland Islands, or ‘Islas Malvinas’, are an archipelago of small islands located in the South Atlantic Ocean, approximately 300 miles east of the South American mainland (Argentina and Chile). The Islands are widely considered an ‘Overseas British Territory’, and the constitutional status of the islands, with supreme authority vested in HM the Queen, reflects this status. The Islands are governed by a a Governor appointed by the Crown, aided by an elected executive and legislative council, in accordance with the Falkland Islands constitution. Background The islands have long been the subject of territorial dispute, first between the Spanish and English in the 1760s, and subsequently between the UK and Argentina, the UK having established a naval garrison on the island in 1833 to assert sovereignty over the Island from an interim Argentine administration. Since this time the Islands have remained under UK administration with a largely English speaking population living on the Isla
