Falkland Islands (redirected from Demographics of the Falkland Islands)

Falkland Islands (fôk`lənd), Span. Islas Malvinas, officially Colony of the Falkland Islands, group of islands (2005 est. pop. 3,000), 4,618 sq mi (11,961 sq km), S Atlantic, c.300 mi (480 km) E of the Strait of Magellan. The islands are administered as a British crown colony with the capital at Stanley. There are two large islands (East Falkland and West Falkland) and some 200 small ones. From 1908 to 1985 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands were dependencies of the colony. The Falklands are rather bleak, rocky moorlands, swept by wind and drenched by chill rain. The population is almost entirely British, Christian, and English-speaking.

The islands are flourishing sheep-raising centers, and the economy was long dependent on the export of wool and the sale of Falkland Islands postage stamps and coins. Since the late 1980s, however, the rich fishing grounds surrounding the islands have become the economic mainstay, as a result of the sale of licenses to foreign commercial fishing operations. Whales and seals also abound in the littoral waters and formerly were heavily hunted. Tourism also contributes to the economy. Oil exploration around the islands began in the early 1990s, but no commercially significant deposits have been found.

The British have long claimed the islands, based on probable discovery by the navigator John Davis in 1592, but they settled until 1764 by France. Spain, Britain, and Argentina subsequently had colonies on the islands at various times. When the seizure of an American sealing vessel in 1832 led to a U.S. punitive expedition, the British, claiming sovereignty, occupied the islands in 1832–33 and expelled the Argentinian colonists. Near the Falklands, in one of the most stirring naval engagements of World War I, the British under Sir Frederick Sturdee destroyed (Dec. 8, 1914) a German squadron under Graf von Spee. Argentina invaded the islands in 1982 over a sovereignty dispute with Great Britain, but British forces responded quickly, forcing a surrender by the Argentines within six weeks. Since the invasion Falkland Islanders have opposed negotiations with Argentina concerning the islands' sovereignty.

---

Falkland Islands

 Spanish Islas Malvinas

British overseas territory (pop., 2001: 2,491), in the southwestern South Atlantic Ocean. Located about 300 mi (480 km) northeast of the southern tip of South America, the Falklands are made up of two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, and about 200 smaller islands. The islands are spread out over some 4,700 sq mi (12,200 sq km). The capital is Stanley, on East Falkland. The population is English-speaking and of British descent. The economy is based on sheep raising. The French founded the islands' first settlement, on East Falkland in 1764, and the British settled West Falkland in 1765. In 1770 the Spanish purchased the French settlement and expelled the British, but the latter's settlement was restored in 1771. In 1820 Argentina proclaimed its sovereignty over the Falklands, but the British took them back in 1833. Argentina invaded in 1982, and the British reclaimed the islands after a brief conflict (see Falkland Islands War).

---

Falkland Islands 

(also Islas Malvinas), an archipelago in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. The Falkland Islands, which cover an area of 12,000 sq km, consist of two large islands, West Falkland and East Falkland, and approximately 200 small islands and rocks. They belong to Great Britain, although Argentina disputes its right to possession. Population, 1,900 (1973).

The Falkland Islands are composed primarily of metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. Elevations reach 706 m. The coasts are sharply indented. The climate is oceanic and cool, with an average monthly temperature that varies from 2.5° to 10°C. Precipitation falls evenly throughout the year, averaging between 600 and 700 mm annually; the islands are subject to strong winds and frequent fogs. The islands are covered by oceanic meadows of tussock and pampas grasses, heaths of the red crowberry Empetrum rubrum and Ericaceae, pulvinate plants, and peat bogs. There is abundant seabird life. The economy is devoted to sheep raising and the hunting of marine mammals. The capital is Stanley.

The islands were discovered in 1592 by the English navigator J. Davis. During World War I, the battle of the Falkland Islands, involving German and British naval squadrons, took place near the islands on Dec. 8, 1914.