British Soldiers in Ascension Island, Getty images, 1982
Despite mutual desire to diplomatically end their long-standing debate over the sovereignty of the Falklands Islands and its territorial dependencies, Great Britain and Argentina's inability to compromise due to concerns for diplomatic principle and political self-preservation, along with poor United States mediation, led to ineffective negotiations in April 1982. Failed diplomacy sparked the Falkland Islands War, an event that helped shape modern British and Argentine politics into what it is today.
Falkland Islands Beach by Cheryl Ramalho, iStock Images
Grytviken, SGSSI by Richard I'Anson, Getty Images, 2014
Stanley, Capital of the Falklands by Jeremy Richards, iStock Images
Falkland Islanders, Getty Images
The Falkland Islands, or Islas Malvinas, are an archipelago located in the South Atlantic Ocean. The Falklands lie almost 300 miles (480 kilometers) off the coast of Argentina, along with its territorial dependencies, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI). The islands are split into two parts: the West and East Falklands, both of which have several ports. The capital city, Stanley, is located on the East Falklands.
"Great Britain, will now have to determine its attitude toward the conflict, and it has the following possibilities: It can accept that the situation will never return to what it was before April 2, in which case we would maintain an attitude of negotiating for the recovery of our sovereignty. Or it can proceed toward the restoration of its colonial regime, with which there would be no security or definitive peace, and the responsibility of deepening the conflict would fall on Great Britain."
~ President Leopoldo Galtieri, The New York Times, 1982
Falklands Satellite Map by Jeff Schmaltz, Goddard Space Flight Center
"We must find an element that brings cohesion to society and the country. That element is Malvinas."
~Admiral Jorge Isaac Anaya, 1982