Falkland History

69 Journal of Georg Forster, German Naturalist, on the 'Resolution'.

70 The War against the Seals:A History of the North American Seal Fishery by Briton Cooper Busch 1985

71 Report of the Political, and Military Commandant of the Malvinas, Buenos Ayres, Luis Vernet, 10 th August, 1832

72 After this date, Puerto Soledad is commanded by a succession of 'Military Administrators'.

73 The revolting colonies being a bad example to her own.

74 Edgar sailed with Capt. Cook on his 3 rd voyage. His chart is referred to by James Weddell in, 'A voyage towards the south pole, performed in the years 1822-24'. Port Edgar is named in honour of this work.

75 This, the first of 3 Conventions, was intentionally vague and only sought to resolve the dispute in general terms. The insertion of the word ‘adjacent’ undoubtedly placed the Falkland Islands outside the agreement. Eighteenth Century dictionaries refer to, 'lying near', 'near or bordering upon', 'contiguous or touching', 'meeting so as to touch', etc. The Falklands are 300 nautical miles from Patagonia, a distance greater than that lying between London and Paris. Nor were there any Spanish settlements on the mainland coast opposite the Falklands at this time.

76 ".. it is evident that by no stretch of imagination can a point on the continental shelf situated say a hundred miles, or even much less, from a given coast, be regarded as “adjacent” to it' - North Sea Continental Shelf Cases, International Court of Justice, 1969.

77 Nootka forms one of the foundations for Argentina's argument for sovereignty rights over the Falklands on the basis that the British action of 1833 was prohibited by this Treaty. Spain, under Article 7, did not complain in 1833.

78 Rarely mentioned by Argentina, this clause is believed by some commentators to justify Britain's reassertion of its claim.

79 Memoir, historical and political, on the northwest coast of North America, and the adjacent territories, illustrated by a map and a geographical view of those countries – Robert Greenhow, United States. Dept. of State 1840

80 Britain was almost constantly at war with France between 1792 and 1814. The shifting alliances between Spain and France had a direct effect on Spain's relationship with Britain, and on its ability to govern its colonies.

81 Treaty of IIdefonso (3rd)

82 March 9 th 1846 Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856. From Gales and Seatons' Annals of Congress; from their Register of debates; and from the official reported debates, by John C. Rives (Volume 15) 1860

83 Popham was convinced that the residents of Buenos Aires were ready for a change of Government, and he was fully acquainted with the Maitland Plan. His information seems to have been provided by the Captains of American ships.

84 Popham was with his small fleet at this time and was not in a position to assist Beresford. British casualties were put at 48 dead and 107 wounded, and 10 missing. Spanish casualties were estimated at 700.

85 Something akin to an 'open house arrest'; hunting and shooting were apparently permitted.

86The European Magazine, and London Review Vol. 51 1807

87 This unusual demand was the subject of one of the charges against Whitelocke at his court-martial.

88 British losses have been put at 311 dead, 679 wounded and 1,808 captured or missing, although Liniers believed that the British had 2,500 dead when he proposed the terms of surrender. cf. The English in South America, M.G.Mulhall 1924

89 Robert Craufurd to his wife . Quoted in Rifles, Mark Urban 2003. Famous for a strict approach to discipline, and for marching 3 battalions 62 miles to Talavera in 26 hours, Craufurd was killed in 1812 at the seige of Ciudad Ridrigo.

90 Trial of Lieutenant General John Whitelocke Commander in Chief of the Expedition against Buenos Ayres Samuel Tipper 1808

91 Some historians suggest that declaring for the King was merely a ruse, called the Mask of Ferdinand VII, to gain and consolidate power, hence the rejection of the royalist Council of Regency.

92 T he Grande Junta followed the Primera Junta and also voted to stay loyal to Ferdinand.

93 There were 3 Representatives from the Rio de la Plata.

94 An area covering modern day Uruguay plus other territory which is now a part of Brazil.

95 “ Esta isla con sus Puertos, Edificios, Dependencias y quanto contiene pertenece a la Soberanía del Sr. D. Fernando VII Rey de España y sus Indias, Soledad de Malvinas 7 de febrero de 1811 siendo gobernador Pablo Guillén.” This plate is reminiscent of the lead plaque left by the British in 1774, with the exception that it only refers to 'island' (singular) and not 'islands' (plural).

96 Although declaring the legitimacy of Ferdinand VII, the Constitution effectively reduced the power of absolute monarchy and attacked the powers of both Church and Nobles. Under this constitution the concept of sovereignty resided in the nation, rather than the monarch, raising the hope of self rule in the Americas.

97 The Articles were amended on August 28 th. The Nootka Sound agreement was thus only partially reinstated; as, indeed, it was only partially concerned with commerce.

98 The United Provinces comprised most of the former Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata dependencies and, for much of the period, had Buenos Aires as its capital city. The Federal League was made up of Montevideo and its surrounding areas. The Spanish Viceroyalty had included, in addition to Buenos Aires and its surrounding lands, modern Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and parts of Chile and Peru. Argentina would form from some, but not all, of these ‘Provinces’.

99 Later to become the 'Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata'

100 Effectively 'backdating' independence.

101 Revista del Archivo Nacional de Historia, Sección del Azuay, Issue 5, pp. 120-121

102 The Argentine National Archives have been searched repeatedly, but no 'Order' for Jewett to claim the Falkland Islands on behalf of the United Provinces has ever been found. Indeed, the archives in Buenos Aires contain no information about the 1820 'claim' in any regard. cf Pascoe & Pepper 2008.

103A voyage towards the south pole, performed in the years 1822-24, James Weddell 1825.

104 Weddell 1825

105 Some Captains of vessels which received Jewett's letter considered confronting him, as they recognised that even with a force reduced in number and sickly, he was still a dangerous pirate/privateer, At least one suggested that they band together to attack Jewett's crew. Weddell claimed to have talked them out of it. cf Weddell 1825

106 Between 1784 and 1820 more than a million seal skins were taken from the South Atlantic. The British garrison may have been removed in 1774, but Britain's whaling industry grew in the period following and the British were still to be found on the Islands.

107 Some texts claim that Jewett and Mason were Governors of the Falkland Islands in 1820/21, however there is no record of any such title being granted to either man. No settlement, or marks of sovereignty, were left behind by either.

108 There is no official reaction to the newspaper reports either by Buenos Aires or the British Government and at this time there are no diplomatic channels between the two countries. The political situation in the United Provinces between 1814 and 1826 is very complex with a centralist approach being taken by Buenos Aires, and resisted by the federalists in the other Provinces. This resulted in civil conflict in 1814, a Supreme Directorship between 1814 and 1820 and little or no central authority amongst the Provinces between 1820 and 1826. It is hardly surprising that there was no official reaction to a newspaper article which remained unconfirmed in the official report subsequently submitted by Jewett.

109 Report of the trial in Lisbon, in the Morning Chronicle, London, dated Friday, June 7, 1822

110 There is no mention of Jewett's part in the newspaper report, although he was the captain of the Heroina till March 1821. Much of what is known about Jewett's actions during his voyage, and in the Falkland Islands, is as a result of a letter Mason sent from prison, complimented by the account from James Weddell.

111 James Weddell 1825.

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