Las Islas Malvinas

I had wanted to write about the Tour de France, but the recent scandal concerning Floyd Landis' win provided a rather cynical story, and though I'm not opposed to those in principle I figured I wanted something with a grim sense of humor rather than an almost Greek tragedy of hubris.

So today I looked at a lovely article which talked about recent problems between Britain and Argentina over some remote rocky islands in the South Atlantic, a few hundred miles off the Argentine coast. These islands were the cause of the Faulklands War in 1982, when I was all of a year old. The upside of this war was enshrining Prime Minister Thatcher as the "Iron Lady" and the collapse of the military dictatorship in Argentina (always a cause for celebration). Of course, this did not settle the issue.

After all, the Fauklands (called by South Americans Las Islas Malvinas) have been an international issue since at least the 1770's. At that time they were empty islands belonging to the crown of Spain. During the collapse of Spain's colonial empire, England began to increase their presence in that part of the world. For example, St. Helena, an island only a few hundred miles away in an equally barren part of the South Atlantic, was the final prison of Napoleon. So some British settlers came to eke out a rough existence of fishing and sheepbreeding (woot) while Argentina was fighting for its independence.

Of course, once Argentina had its independence and government settled (a task that lasted until the 1860's) they wanted the islands back, but it was tough luck, as the British were not interested in returning the islands. Once the British Empire itself fell apart, the Faulklands took on an intense symbolic meaning for both nations, far beyond its actual value (it is a net money loser for England, but that hardly matters when national pride is at stake). For Argentina, the islands symbolize a part of the Argentine homeland that has been taken from them. For the British, the Faulklands are a symbol of glory and empire that has not yet completely died out.

So, what will come of this round of what is currently economic warfare? It is hard to say, but such cases as this are ones I tend to find great amusement (perhaps that is the wrong word) in. How about you?