Curiosity, Kevin.

When the subject exploded in my life, i immediately realized everybody was talking about it but no one had a solid clue.

So i dedicated the following years of my life to try to understand it the best i could. With passion.
Wrote a 400 pages thesis for my PhD in Sciences Politiques et Relations Internationales at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
Learned a few interesting things along the way.

Columbus had no other choice but to sail straight past a predefined meridian.
Papal decrees had previously split the world for all territories known and yet to be discovered among catholic/christian kings (followed by the Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal).

Basically, that is why i grew up speaking spanish.

The History i learned while being educated was closer to a story than what you find on real history books.

Discovery, claims, colonisation/decolonisation, , geostrategics, modern politics….
When i was done with the subject, in 1987, i concluded the Islands were never the real object but the future exploitation of the area’s resources and the projection (?) over Antartica’s when the time came was. Left unspoken.

Maybe we’re getting close to that time.

0-0

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:

When i was done with the subject, in 1987, i concluded the Islands were never the real object but the future exploitation of the area’s resources and the projection (?) over Antartica’s when the time came was. Left unspoken.

I would agree with that conclusion. Most territorial claims and territorial conflicts come down to resources.

With the Falklands it was initially fishing, whaling, and sealing rights in the surrounding territorial waters, with the use of the land itself for raising livestock being a smaller secondary concern.

And more recently there has been an emphasis on oil, gas, and mineral rights in the surrounding territory too.

Plus for a period in the 19th and 20th centuries, it was a semi-important naval resupply and fueling station for commercial shipping and for the Royal Navy in the South Atlantic.

Perhaps still only a minor economic factor is the cruise tourist income. Cruises to the Antarctic are increasing, with port stops including the Falklands. Port fees and revenues from a couple thousand tourists each day buying food, drinks, and souvenirs can become significant. Many ports have been seduced by the revenues, though many later regret the effects of being overrun with tourists.

It wouldn’t surprise me if growing tourism is in the calculations for either government.

I have a buddy, who is retired now, but he was a somebody in the British/UK government. He traveled with a diplomatic passport, and he was considered flag officer level on military bases, even in the US.

He and, sometimes, his wife would come over here yearly where he was a member of our group of hobbyists. I went over to the UK twice, both times staying with him and his wife just outside of London.

We had a lot of discussions over our times together, and he would reiterate just how close the US and his government were. What struck me most was him saying the relationship was even closer than the US and Canada.

It has been several years since he’s come over, and I wouldn’t doubt he would have something to say of the changes and challenges of our current relationship.

Also, back in ‘83 -‘85, I was in a USMC A-4M attack squadron. Every now and then, I’d see pilots from at least one other country at our squadron. One such group was from Argentina, and I was surprised they were there for training. I thought that very strange due to our relationship with GB/UK. As y’all remember, this was time of Ronnie and Maggie.

Argies, generally speaking, are quite favorable to both US and UK. There’s no good reason not to be friendly.

1982 was the wrong conflict, at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons.

I put all the blame for all the pain caused to all sides on the politicians (military and civilian) appointed or self appointed that ignited that mess. It was NOT about rights, ownership, self determination, decolonization, Law or proving who carried the biggest stick and knew how to use it.

Argentina is not US biggest ally but we are always remote allies, regardless of what some governments might scream for the masses. We think mostly alike and would never lean any other way.
I would almost say the same for the UK.

1982 was a monstruosity, an aberration.

0-0