colony · South America
Falkland Islands
Origins
France, Britain and Spain had established rival settlements in the islands in the 18th century. In the 1820s the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata appointed Louis Vernet as governor. In January 1833 a British warship expelled the Argentine garrison, and Britain took control. A crown colony was formed in 1841, and Stanley became the capital in 1845.
Rule and society
The islands developed as a sheep-farming colony, much of it owned by the Falkland Islands Company, with a small population of British descent. Port Stanley served ships rounding Cape Horn. Argentina maintained its claim. On 2 April 1982 Argentina's military government invaded; a British task force retook the islands, and Argentina surrendered on 14 June after a war that killed over 900 people.
To the present
Fishing licences from 1987 transformed the economy. In a 2013 referendum over 99 per cent of voters chose to stay British. The islands remain a British Overseas Territory, and Argentina still claims them.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Falkland Islands was a colony of British Empire1833 CE – 1997 CE
- Falkland Islands was part of United Kingdom1922 CE – 2030 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Falkland Islands. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/falkland-islands
- MLA
- “Falkland Islands.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/falkland-islands. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Falkland Islands.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/falkland-islands.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Falkland Islands’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/falkland-islands (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻