Falklands Wars – the History of the Falkland Islands: with particular regard to Spanish and Argentine pretensions and taking some account of South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and Britain's Antarctic Territories by Roger Lorton 1 Paper 92 1900 – 1959 Pin Pricks & Antarctic Pretensions “I do not think that the Argentine Government will seriously raise the question unless we force their hands by taking umbrage at their periodical pin pricks, and their periodical reassertions of their claim.”3 ◈ This paper examines what were known, for a period, as the Falkland Islands Dependencies and in particular, South Georgia – claimed for Britain in 1775. British territories in the South Atlantic, sub-Antarctica and in Antarctica itself that were administered for convenience from the Falklands despite each having very separate histories. The diplomatic manoeuvring that led to the signing of the Antarctic Treaty is considered. together with Argentina's policy of 'pin pricks' – its attempts to goad Great Britain into a reaction in the South Atlantic. This period is also important for the founding of the unsuccessful League of Nations and its successor the United Nations. Argentina's claims were not placed before the League of Nations as they should have been. Would the UN's International Court of Justice offer a better opportunity? 1900 – February 20th, Dr. Severo Salcedo applies to the Falkland Islands government for a twenty-year lease of South Georgia. 4 “In return, the Crown would receive two percent of net profits from his sheep farming, sealing and mining operations. Demonstrating its lack of knowledge of the island, the government considered these activities appropriate. Nonetheless it rejected the application, preferring to give Falkland residents the first opportunity to implement such initiatives....” 5 At Stanley, William Harding is appointed Consul for both Chile and Italy. 6 July 29th, in the Falklands, Charles McLeod is shot dead by Joseph Jenkins in a dispute over racial taunts. October 2nd, a 'Mining and General Lease of South Georgia' is advertised in the Falkland Islands Gazette. On offer are twenty-one year renewable leases at a £10 annual fee backed by a £200 security deposit. “Nobody was interested.” 7 1 Falklands Wars – the History of the Falkland Islands: with particular regard to Spanish and Argentine pretensions and taking some account of South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and Britain's Antarctic Territories Roger Lorton LL.B(Hon), M.Phil. 2011 – 2019. Roger Lorton has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 2 Citation = Lorton, Roger. Falklands Wars: Timeline History of the Falkland Islands. Wordpress 2011 Paper 9 3 Sir Malcolm Robertson November, 1928 4 PRO CO 78/99. The nationality of Salcedo is not stated. 5 Seal Fisheries of the Falkland Islands & Dependencies: A Historical Review A. B. Dickinson 2007 p.129 6 The London Gazette No.27155 & No.27205 7 Dickinson 2007 p.129 1 1901 – 2,043 people are noted as resident in the Falklands census; the Stanley Comet newspaper is established and Hugo Schlottfeldt becomes German Consul. 8 In October, rumours circulate that Argentina intends to send a gunboat to the South Shetland Islands. “No action was taken at Buenos Aires on this occasion, and correspondence with the Colonial Office, Admiralty and Board of Trade showed that there was little ground for moving in the matter. The Colonial Office were unaware of the extent to which British subjects resorted or were likely to resort to these islands for fishery or other purposes, ... The Admiralty were in no way interested in the control of the islands, which did not possess any navigational or strategical advantages. The Board of Trade were unable to ascertain that sealing and whaling vessels starting from the United Kingdom made use of these islands.” 9 December 23rd, Canadian pelagic sealer Beatrice L. Corkum, arrives in Stanley bound for “Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands” to hunt seals. She is joined by Edward Roy. 10 “They were able to take some 7700 skins before returning to Halifax in May 1902. This began an industry which continued from Nova Scotia for the next decade.” 11 1902 – March 27th, Carl Anton Larsen, captain of Antarctic, arrives in the Falkland Islands with the Swedish South Polar Expedition. Two Welsh colonies in Patagonia – Y Wladfa (founded 1865) and Cwm Hyfryd (founded 1889) – petition the British Colonial Office for annexation by Britain. 12 April 22nd, the Swedish Expedition arrives at South Georgia. “Larsen, a Norwegian who had previously visited South Georgia during a pioneer whaling voyage in the Jason in 1893-94. Larsen recognised the possibilities of the island as a whaling base.” 13 May 14th, Larsen takes Antarctic into a sheltered cove in Cumberland East Bay. “In 1901-3 Larsen captained the Swedish Nordenskjöld expedition, which visited the Falklands and South Georgia – on South Georgia a shore party named a bay "Grytviken" ["The Pot Bay"] after some old trypots they found there.” 14 May 28th, Chile and Argentina sign the Pactos de Mayo – brokered by Britain. 15 Boundary disputes are to be arbitrated by either Britain or Switzerland; “It would have been contradictory to appoint a territorial arbitrator with whom Argentina had a territorial dispute,..” 16 In October, the objectives of a Scottish expedition to Antarctica, are laid out in The Scotsman. 8 The London Gazette No.27304 9 Memorandum on the Falkland Islands Dependencies 1947 in LCO 2/490 at para.20 10 Pelagic sealing involved taking seals in the ocean rather than at their breeding grounds. 11 Dickinson 2007 p.96 12 Britain and Latin America in historical perspective Leslie Bethell 1989 in Britain and Latin America: a changing relationship Victor Bulmer-Thomas (ed.) 1989. The petition was unsuccessful, resulting in several hundred colonists emigrating to Canada. 13 Memorandum on the Falkland Islands Dependencies 1947 in LCO 2/490 at para.20. See also 1894 & 1896 14 Falklands Facts and Fallacies: The Falkland Islands in History and International Law Graham Pascoe 2020 p.270 15 There were actually 4 pacts: 1. Renouncement of interference with Chilean affairs in the Pacific; 2.A framework for the resolution of territorial controversies; 3. An arms control treaty; 4. Agreement requesting that King Edward VII of the UK head a demarcation arbitration panel. cf. 1977 16 Pascoe 2020 p.263 2 “The leader and all the scientific and nautical members of the expedition are Scots; the funds have been collected for the most part on this side of the Border; it is a product of voluntary effort, and unlike the expedition which will be simultaneously employed in the exploration of the Antarctic, it owes nothing to Government help.”17 1903 – January 6th, the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, led by Bruce, arrives off Stanley in Scotia. January 26th, Scotia sails for the South Orkneys. February 12th, Antarctic is crushed by sea ice, stranding Larsen and his crew. March 26th, after venturing as far as the Weddell Sea, the Scottish Expedition returns to Laurie Island (South Orkney Islands), where a pre-fabricated, 6mx6m, meteorological station is erected. It is named 'Ormond House.' In August, work on a Falklands depot and repair facilities ceases. Coal supplies are to be reduced. “... when the existing stock of coal maintained by them at the Falkland Islands is used up no more will be kept for naval purposes.” 18 “The appointment of Admiral Sir John Fisher as Second Sea Lord in June 1902 resulted in a naval revolution which greatly diminished the perceived military value of the Falklands. In August 1903 the Admiralty ceased work on the coaling depot ... The decision reflected Fisher's redistribution of the fleets to meet the threat from Europe. ... The South American station was disbanded and its area of responsibility absorbed into the South Atlantic station with its base at Freetown – 5,000 miles from the Falklands.” 19 November 18th, HMS Nymphe is sent from Stanley to investigate allegations of illegal sealing at New Island. “Although Canadian sealing was primarily pelagic, the crews were not averse to taking animals onshore and illegally on both the Falkland and Lobos Islands when the opportunity arose. … The sealers were often able to carry out poaching with impunity since the Royal Navy and its Uruguayan counterpart only provided sporadic protection for the breeding animals. The improbability of surprising illegal sealers and the high cost of fuel were given by the Colonial Office as the main reasons for not stationing a vessel at the Falkland breeding sites; "the value of the property is hardly equal to the cost of protection."...” 20 After being rescued by an Argentine corvette, Uruguay, Carl Larsen arrives in Buenos Aires where he presents his ideas about a whaling venture to members of the local business community. “Thus began the activity of Argentina in Antarctica! .., Captain Carl Anton Larsen asked why Argentina was not dedicated to hunt cetaceans in the vicinity of its coasts. From there was born the initiative to create a company...” 21 December 2nd, after 9 months making weather observations, the Scottish Expedition returns to Port Stanley. December 8th, from the South Orkneys, Dr. Bruce sails for Buenos Aires aboard Orissa. 17 Organised by Dr. William Spiers Bruce, a ship, Hekla, had been purchased and fitted out at great cost. The vessel was renamed, Scotia. Bruce took six scientific staff, although, unusually, this expedition did not have the approval of the Royal Geographical Society. These included David Wilton (zoologist), Robert Rudmose-Brown (botanist). James Harvie Pirie (geologist/medical officer), and Robert Mossman (meteorologist). Scotia’s captain was Thomas Robertson. 18 Quoted in British Interests in the Falkland Islands: Economic Development, the Falkland Lobby and the Sovereignty Dispute, 1945 to 1989 C.