Hook (Geolayers, Vintage Map Animation)

Narrate
Video edit
On April 1, 1982, the British Governor of the Falkland Islands, Rex Hunt, was informed of an
imminent Argentinian invasion. With only 85 Royal Marines forming the Falkland Islands
defense force, he knew that not much could be done to repel a full scale Argentinian army
invasion.
So in a last ditch effort, he strategically concentrated defenses around the government house in
Stanley to put up a resistance.

As Argentinian commandos landed at Lake Point on the Falkland Islands at midnight on April 2,
they moved inland and attacked Moody Barracks, only to find it empty. Soon after, they
repositioned quickly to Government House and engaged the Royal Marine garrison.
As bullets and shrapnel pierced the wooden government house, the Argentinian invasion force
amassed troops ashore in Port Stanley. By 8:30 a.m., 800 soldiers were already on land, and
another 2,000 incoming.
Faced with an overwhelming force, Governor Hunt had to make a hard choice:
Head out to mount a guerilla campaign or Surrender to an overwhelming Argentinian force.

Insert clip of British governor announcing surrendor

[Governor Rex Hunt: "Dear friends I'm afraid I'm not being given the time to say farewell to you
all as I would have wished.
But the new Argentine governor has kindly given me permission to send you this last message of
good wishes and thanks for all your support. I shall never forget you and hope that we shall meet
again someday".]

For the first time since World War II, the United Kingdom was invaded by a foreign military,
which became known as the Falklands War.
It wasn't until 4 p.m. in London, more than 7,000 miles apart, that the invasion news was made
public. Many people were taken aback and perplexed because they had never heard of, let alone
visited, the Falkland Islands.
In Argentina, however, the reclamation of what is known as the Islas Malvinas, prompted wild
celebrations in Buenos Aires. But they had no idea that their joy would be short-lived, a mere 74
days before Britain's intervention.
Up until today, the debate over what to call these islands remained unresolved, with a backstory
lasting for hundreds of years.
So why was Argentina so eager to claim the islands by using armed force? What did Britain need
to defend these far flung islands across the Atlantic so urgently, to the extent of sailing almost
8000 miles to the southernmost tip of South America? How are the British forces able to overturn
a battle at a location so far away from the UK yet strategically advantageous to the opposing
forces?
In the first part of this three-part series, we'll look at how history, politics, and actions (or lack of
actions) in the South Atlantic started this war.
History of the Falkland Islands
(Geolayer Animation, Flag over Island Animation, Timeline elements)
Islas Malvinas, also known as the Falkland Islands, are situated in the hostile South Atlantic
Ocean and serve as a strategic site for the rest and refitting of ships. The islands were initially
discovered by the British in 1690 but remained uninhabited until the late 1700s, when France,
Britain, and Spain occupied them at different periods.
Britain erected a plaque claiming ownership of the islands but left a few years later, leaving the
Spanish in control, as they were in much of South America.
As the Spanish colony broke up in the early 1800s, Argentina quickly claimed the Malvinas
Islands, but not before British Marines came back in 1833 to permanently establish British
sovereignty.
Even though Argentina has always claimed the territory, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and
the South Sandwich Islands were all run by the Falkland Island Dependencies until the 1980s.
Consequentially, people living in Stanley, the world's most southerly capital, are all of UK origin.
Many, being descendants of settlers who first came to the islands over 150 years ago.

Argentina's Claim (Geolayer Animation, Flag over Island Animation)

Since the end of the Second World War, most of the world, including Britain, had been
busy undoing colonialism.
The Argentine government expected the Falkland Islands to return to their control, like other
territories that returned from former colonizers to former colonies.
In 1965, the UN passed Resolution 2065, which acknowledged the dispute over sovereignty and
asked the UK and Argentina to find a peaceful way to settle it.
It was a problem that the British government would rather not have had.
The Argentinian claim is based on the concept of territorial integrity, which holds that the islands
are part of Argentina's territory, as well as a sense of injustice that the British Colonialism
presence was a bygone era with no place in the modern world.
And this condenses into the main argument: how can these islands, almost 7000 miles away from
Great Britain and so near Argentina, be British?
On paper, the principle of Argentina's claim seems relatively straightforward.

Falkland Islanders (Geolayers Animation, Vintage Footages)

However, it seems that the people living on these islands are strongly against this, and for good
reasons.
They were the direct descendants of British citizens, so they saw that as part of who they were.
On top of that, Argentina was not an appealing nation to go back to, despite the geographic
proximity, supply dependencies, and communication.
Since the mid-1970s, Argentina has been ruled by a right-wing authoritarian government known
as the Military Junta.
People designated enemies of the state were tortured horribly with the help of successive US
governments committed to eradicating communism in South America.
This was known as "the dirty war," in which around 30,000 civilians known as "the vanished"
were killed, some of whom were drugged and dumped into the water. Argentina had also gone
dangerously close to conflict with Chile over the Beagle Straits, and as social turmoil mounted, so
did economic problems.
With the economic and political instability in the Argentine government, opposing the
decolonization process is a reasonable and pragmatic choice for Falkland Islanders.

Negotiations (Geolayers Animation, Vintage Footages)

Throughout the 1970s, the Argentine and British governments continued to negotiate on the
Falkland Islands, despite the islanders' discontent.
The British were primarily motivated to reduce the economic impact of maintaining Falkland
Islands.
One option included a deal similar to the return of Hong Kong to China by returning the islands
to Argentina and having them leased to the United Kingdom for a set period of time.
They even considered relocating each Falkland Islander to New Zealand, but none of the options
took off.
Thats because of the powerful islanders' lobby in the British Parliament. The desires of the people
living on the Falkland Islands to remain a part of the United Kingdom were honored.
Unfortunately, this means that both the British and Argentine governments have reached an
impasse. With either side having strong motivations to claim the Falkland Islands;
The British's, were based on historical precedent and the right to choose their preferred form of
government, while the Argentine's, were based on territorial integrity and historical injustice.
With the negotiations coming to a standstill, the British government was left with few choices.
They could transform the Falkland Islands into a fortress and make it almost impossible for
Argentina to take them over. However, this will be an expensive endeavor and could potentially
escalate into military action.
Instead, the British preferred to keep negotiating in the belief that circumstances would change
and things would work out in the future. The lack of a concrete plan for returning the islands led
to distrust, with each side trying to second-guess the other.

Why Argentina invaded (Geolayers, Timeline, Vintage Footage)

The British response may have been the strongest invitation that Argentina needed for the
invasion.
One could even argue that the fact that they were willing to negotiate at all was the most telling
sign that they are thinking about giving up control of the islands, even though it goes against what
the people who live there want.
Another glaring sign was the absence of defenses on the Falkland Islands themselves. A mere 40
Royal Marines protected the islands, and incoming defense budget cuts would only serve to
worsen the situation.
With only a few months of deployment in the South Atlantic Ocean in a given year, the Royal
Navy's HMS Endurance was the only naval support around these islands.
This ship isn't even a traditional warship. It's an ice patrol ship that can't fire depth charges or do
heavy bombardment.
As the British government continues to cut defense budgets, the only royal navy vessel that
patrols the islands faces a short-lived future, and this sends a strong message.
From Argentina's point of view, it looks like the British are giving up control of the Falkland
Islands.
As a result, in 1976, Argentina took action by building a military base on Southern Thule in the
Sandwich Islands, which Britain owned.
But the British didn't do much about it because they were afraid of escalating the situation with
Argentine government.
Then, in March of 1982, things took a turn for the worse.
A group of Argentinian marines put up their country's flag in South Georgia during their mission
to escort scrap metal workers as they took apart an old whaling station.
The HMS Endurance and 22 Royal Marines were sent right away to deal with this breach of
British sovereignty.
The flag was taken down, but HMS Endurance was then ordered to stand down.
It was clear to Argentina at this point that an invasion of the Falkland Islands would not be met
with any British resistance.
With the support of Latin American nations, US support in fighting communism, and even a UN
resolution, it seems that the time is ripe.
When you add in the fact that the UK is over 7,000 miles away, it seems unlikely that the UK
could have a strong military defense force, given that Argentina has advantages in terms of
logistics and location.
So, the Argentine government decided that there was almost no chance that Britain would strike
back.
And if they want to solve the issue of sovereignty over Islas Malvinas and correct the injustice of
colonization, now is the time to do so.
So on April 2, 1982, they did just that.

Conclusion
The Falkland Islands have been referred to as a "small war," which is a misnomer given their
importance.
The issue surrounding the Falkland Islands is not new, and one doesn't have to look very far to
find similar geopolitical situations, such as the one between China and Taiwan.
Even though the conflict has ended, the issue is largely unresolved.
The Falkland Islanders' strong desire to stay part of Britain made it impossible for Argentina to
reclaim Islas Malvinas as part of its territory.
Both claims seem irreconcilable.
The only issue is that Argentina decided to make a move using its military, and for many around
the world, that is a move that cannot be undone.

In the next video in this series, we'll look at the military decisions each side took, or lack thereof,
that shaped the outcome of the Falkland Islands conflict. And for the first time since World War
II, the British Armed Forces deployed all three modes of warfare: air, sea, and land.

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