The Falklands - MiniWars 1

Casualties| * 255 killed
* 775 wounded
* 115 captured
* 1,657 wounded
* 11,313 captured

**The Falklands - MiniWars #1** is an OverSimplified video about the history of the Falkland Islands, including a war between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the island.

## Summary

Fifth Viscount Anthony Cary tasked English Mariner John Strong to go to Chile and find the wreckage of a Spanish treasure ship. In his search, he found some islands near South America. They described that the islands were cold, wet, and miserable, just like Britain. They established a colony on the west side of the island, not knowing the French had discovered the islands long before the British did establish a colony on the other side. Then, the Spanish found the island and told the French that their colony on the island was Spanish territory per the Treaty of Tordesillas. Since France and Spain were allies, the French gave the island to Spain. Before leaving, France warned Spain about the English since they had defeated the French in the Seven Years' War. Thus, Spain visited the side of the island where the English settled and said that the island was theirs. After a brief war, the Spanish kicked the British off the island. However, the British threatened to go to war, so Spain went to France and asked for help. The French Minister of War wanted to go to war, but the king said that France wasn't ready for war. The king then fired the Minister of War. As a result, Spain gave its settlement to the UK. Then, several English colonies in North America revolted. Hence, Britain left the Falklands to focus on that. However, Britain left a plaque saying that the island was theirs. The island was in Spanish hands for a while. However, when Napoleon took over Spain and captured the Spanish king (leading to massive independence movements in Latin America), Spain had to leave the islands. The Falklands were almost completely uninhabited for a few decades, except for some penguins, fishers, and the Gauchos.

A merchant from Hamburg (Vernet), living in the United Provinces of the Rio De La Plata (present-day Argentina), heard about the cattle in the Falklands. He thought it was an excellent way to earn some money, so he got permission to set up trade there. Then, some American ships began hunting seals and whales near the islands. The merchant wasn't too happy about it; he asked the government of the United Provinces of the Rio De La Plata for help. Still, the government didn't want to get involved, so they gave him some weapons and made him Governor of the Island. He then took control of the American ships and arrested the crew. Because of this, the US sailed down to destroy the settlement. Also, the British learned that Vernet was now governor of the island. As a result, the United Provinces of the Rio De La Plata, now called the Argentine Confederation, claimed the islands. Hence, the UK showed up and kicked them off the island, so the Falklands were in British hands for the next century.

In 1840, they became a crown colony. Port Stanley was the colony's capital in 1845, and the British imported sheep for people to get money. Two World Wars went by, and Argentina never claimed the islands for this time. Now, it's 1976, and after a few civil wars, a new dictatorship has taken power in Argentina. In 1981, a guy called Leopoldo Galtieri took control. The economy has been struggling for a while, and Galtieri couldn't improve the situation, so to solve this situation, he started a war. Galtieri knew that he would be very popular if he made the Falklands part of Argentina, as Britain has dramatically reduced the size of the military over the years.

He started by quickly capturing the island of South Georgia and sent 600 Argentine troops to the Falklands. A handful made some small resistance of British soldiers there. Still, the Argentines kicked the British soldiers off the Falklands in the end. People in Argentina celebrated the news, but they didn't know that the British would do something about it. The Prime Minister declared an exclusion zone and went to war with Argentina to take back the islands. The US had no choice but to support it, even though Argentina was their ally. They did so successfully, and the islands chose to remain in Britain. The UK also discovered that the island had some oil.

## Trivia

* The episode is the first MiniWars Episode of the OverSimplifed channel.
* This video is the fifth video uploaded to the OverSimplified channel.