Falkland Islands
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Falkland Islands or Malvinas are a group of islands in the South Atlantic ocean, off the coast of South America. They are a dependency of the United Kingdom, but Argentina has claimed them since 1833. A war (the Falklands war) was fought over their possession. This means that the UK must protect the islands. There are many islands in the group but the two biggest are East Falkland and West Falkland. About 3,000 people live on them. The people of the islands are British and speak English. The main income for the people is from fishing and sheep farming.
The Falkland Islands are about 300 miles (480Km) east of Argentina. Argentina and the UK had a short war in 1982 because Argentina claims to own the islands. The war lasted 6 weeks and about 1,000 soldiers were killed. The UK defeated Argentina and after this the governments of the two countries would not negotiate (talk) with each other. In 1990 they began to have talks again. Oil and gas has been found below the sea around the islands. Argentina and the UK have agreed to share the oil and gas. There is also oil and gas outside the sea area that belongs to the UK. This is owned by Argentina.
[edit] References
- L.L. Ivanov et al, The Future of the Falkland Islands and Its People, Double T Publishers, Sofia, 2003, 96 pp. (Complete text. Capítulo principal en inglés y castellano.) ISBN 9549150313
- Carlos Escudé and Andrés Cisneros, eds., Historia de las Relaciones Exteriores Argentinas, Work developed and published under the auspices of the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI), GEL/Nuevohacer (Buenos Aires), 2000. (Complete text in Spanish) ISBN 9506945462
| Countries and territories of South America |
|---|
| Independent: Argentina | Bolivia | Brazil | Chile | Colombia | Ecuador | Guyana | Paraguay | Peru | Suriname | Uruguay | Venezuela |
| Governed by other countries: Falkland Islands | French Guiana | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands |
