The
Falkland Islands (pronounced
/'f?kl?nd/;
Spanish Islas Malvinas)
[4] are an
archipelago in the
South Atlantic Ocean, located approximately 300&_160;
mi (480&_160;
km) from the coast of mainland South America, 700&_160;
mi (1,100&_160;
km)
[5] from mainland Antarctica, and 3,800&_160;
mi (6,100&_160;
km)
[6] from Africa. There are two main islands,
East Falkland and
West Falkland, as well as 776 smaller islands.
[7] The islands are a self-governing
Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom and
Stanley, on East Falkland, is the capital.
Ever since the re-establishment of British rule in 1833[8] Argentina has claimed sovereignty. In pursuit of this claim, which is rejected by the islanders,[9] Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982. This precipitated the two-month-long undeclared Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom and resulted in the defeat and withdrawal of the Argentine forces.
Since the war, there has been strong economic growth in both fisheries and tourism.
The English name of the islands is "[The] Falkland Islands". This name dates from 1690 when John Strong, who led an expedition to the islands, named the channel between the two main islands after his patron, Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland. The Spanish name for the islands, "Islas Malvinas", is derived from the French name "Îles Malouines", after the mariners and fishermen from the Breton port of Saint-Malo who were the island's first known settlers, and bestowed on the islands by Louis Antoine de Bougainville in 1764. The ISO designation is "Falkland Islands (Malvinas)".
