East Falkland
East Falkland
Isla Soledad (Spanish) | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 52°0′0″S 59°0′0″W / 52.00000°S 59.00000°W | |
Location | Atlantic Ocean |
Archipelago | Falkland Islands |
Area | |
• Total | 6,605 km2 (2,550 sq mi) |
• Rank | 1st[a] |
Population (2016)[1] | |
• Total | 2,829 |
• Rank | 1st[b] |
• Density | 0.43/km2 (1.1/sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 705 m (2,313 ft) |
Highest point | Mount Usborne |
Polity | Falkland Islands |
Largest settlement | Stanley |
a. ^ All islands in the Falkland Islands. b. ^ All inhabited islands in the Falkland Islands. |
East Falkland (Spanish: Isla Soledad) is the largest island of the Falklands in the South Atlantic, having an area of 6,605 km2 (2,550 square miles) or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two main land masses, of which the more southerly is known as Lafonia; it is joined by a narrow isthmus where the settlement of Goose Green is located, and it was the scene of the Battle of Goose Green during the Falklands War.
The two main centres of population in the Falklands,
Geography
East Falkland, which has an area of 6,605 km2 (2,550 square miles), a little over half the total area of the islands[2] consists of two land masses of approximately equal size. The island is almost bisected by two deep fjords, Choiseul Sound and Brenton Loch-Grantham Sound, which are separated by the 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi)[3] wide isthmus that connects Lafonia in the south to the northern part of East Falkland. The island's 1,668.7 km (1,036.9 miles) coastline has many smaller bays, inlets and headlands.[2]
The northern part of the island, apart from the coastal strip bordering the
In contrast, Lafonia is underlain by Mesozoic rocks (sandstone), a younger rock than the Palaeozoic rock to the north, giving a flatter landscape than is seen elsewhere on the island.[4]
Other scenery includes
Population and infrastructure
Port Louis, at the head of Berkeley Sound, was once the seat of government. However, the anchorage there was found to be rather too exposed, and about 1844 a town was laid out, and the necessary public buildings were erected, on Stanley Harbour, a sheltered recess within Port William.
Other settlements include
.East Falkland also has two airports with paved runways, Port Stanley Airport and RAF Mount Pleasant. There is a lighthouse at Cape Pembroke near Stanley. East Falkland contains most of the archipelago's few roads.
Economy
The main industries on the island are fishing, sheep farming, and tourism. Some oats are also grown, but due to high humidity and acidic soil, the land is mainly used for grazing.
As Stanley is the capital, and East Falkland is the most populous island, it performs an economic role as the hub of the archipelago. Many cruise ships now stop there.
A large economic role is also played by RAF Mount Pleasant, which has a number of British military personnel based there. Although these number a few hundred, their economic role in a population of under two thousand is significant.
Smaller industries include horse and cattle farming, and there is also recent evidence to suggest possible valuable mineral deposits on the island.
Wildlife
Due to more intensive human settlement, East Falkland has the corresponding conservation problems. The
- "The only quadruped native to the island is a large wolf-like fox (Canis antarcticus), which is common to both East and St. Salvador Bay and Berkeley Sound. Within a very few years after these islands shall have become regularly settled, in all probability this fox will be classed with the dodo, as an animal which has perished from the face of the earth."
Rats have also been introduced, but despite this, the island has a great deal of marine life, including penguins of various kinds.
Guanacos were unsuccessfully introduced in 1862 to East Falkland south of Mt Pleasant where Prince Alfred hunted them in 1871.[7] They have since become extinct, but are still on Staats Island
Charles Darwin surveyed the area's wildlife, while on HMS Beagle.
History
The first permanent settlement on East Falkland began with
In October 1820, Colonel
In 1823, Argentina granted fishing rights to Jorge Pacheco and Luis Vernet. Their first expedition to the islands ended in failure and Pacheco abandoned the venture. Vernet persisted with a second expedition in 1826. also ending in failure due to the combination of the Brazilian blockade of Argentina and the conditions encountered. Vernet finally succeeded in establishing a settlement at Puerto Soledad in 1828. Prior to both expeditions, Vernet had approached the British consulate in Buenos Aires, seeking permission for his venture in the islands. Subsequently, Vernet furnished the consulate with progress reports and urged the establishment of a permanent British garrison in the islands.
In 1829, Vernet approached the Government of Buenos Aires requesting the settlement be supported by a naval vessel. The request was refused, and instead Vernet was proclaimed to be Governor and authorised to act using his own resources. The British consul lodged a formal protest over the proclamation, which went unanswered. Vernet assured the British consul that his interest was purely commercial and once more urged the British to establish a permanent presence in the islands. Vernet was the first person to be proclaimed Governor, although modern Argentine texts claim the captains of the Heroina and Pachego as "governors".
"
The American consul dispatched the USS Lexington to Puerto Luis to retake the confiscated property, as well as the ships "Superior" and "Breakwater", which had also been seized. In 1832, the USS Lexington attacked Puerto Luis, an act which was later condoned by the American ambassador in Buenos Aires, who declared the Falkland Islands to be free from any ruling power. Modern Argentina claims the Americans destroyed the settlement, but Captain Duncan's log tells of only spiking the cannons and destroying the powder store. Duncan arrested the seven senior members of Vernet's settlement for piracy and provided transport to Montevideo for any member of the settlement who wished to leave. The majority of the population decided to leave, claiming Vernet had misled them about the miserable conditions in the islands. Following these events, Vernet resigned as Governor. The Argentine Government then appointed Esteban José Francisco Mestivier as governor, and sought to establish a penal colony in the islands. (Mestivier's appointment was in fact the only Argentine appointment to follow the norms of the time and was properly gazetted.). Shortly after his arrival, however, Mestivier was murdered by his own men and the settlement was in chaos.
These events spurred Britain to return to the islands, (See
Shortly after this, the second voyage of HMS Beagle surveyed the island. The names of two settlements on East Falkland, Darwin and Fitzroy, commemorate Charles Darwin and Robert FitzRoy. On 15 March 1833, an unimpressed Darwin wrote
- After the possession of these miserable islands had been contested by France, Spain, and England, they were left uninhabited. The government of Buenos Aires then sold them to a private individual, but likewise used them, as old Spain had done before, for a penal settlement. England claimed her right and seized them. The Englishman who was left in charge of the flag was consequently murdered. A British officer was next sent, unsupported by any power: and when we arrived, we found him in charge of a population, of which rather more than half were runaway rebels and murderers. (The Voyage of the Beagle.)
In November 1836, the island was surveyed by Admiral George Grey, and further in 1837 by Lowcay. Admiral Grey described their first view of East Falkland –
- We anchored a little after sunset off a creek called ' mid-summer temperature.
In 1845 Samuel Fisher Lafone, a wealthy cattle and hide merchant from Montevideo, obtained a grant of the southern portion of the East Falkland from the British government. He purchased the peninsula, 600,000 acres (2,400 km2) in extent, together with all the wild cattle on East Falkland, for a period of six years, for the sum of £10,000 down, and £20,000 in ten years from 1 January 1852. In 1851 the Falkland Islands Company, which had been incorporated by charter in the same year, paid £30,000 for Lafone's interest in Lafonia, as the peninsula came to be called. Lafone had never even visited the islands. The only remaining signs of this venture are the ruins at Hope Place and the stone corral at Darwin.
In 1859, the town of Darwin was founded.
Although used for sheep farming since the early nineteenth century, East Falkland was dominated by cattle farming until the 1850s.
In 1925 the
1982 invasion and Falklands War
In April 1982, East Falkland was
East Falkland was also the location of the bulk of the land-based action in the Falklands War. As a result, some areas of the "Camp" in East Falkland are still heavily mined. Areas that saw intensive combat included Goose Green, San Carlos, Mount Longdon and the Two Sisters ridge.[8]
List of East Falkland battles
- Battle of Goose Green
- Battle of Mount Harriet
- Battle of Two Sisters
- Battle of Mount Longdon
- Battle of Mount Tumbledown
- Battle of Wireless Ridge
Present day
Following the Falklands War, Britain increased its military presence on the East Falkland. The Falkland Islands Government has invested heavily in improving facilities in Stanley and transportation around the islands, tarmacking many roads. The population has risen, because of the growth of Stanley, but has declined in the Camp. Most of the improvements in the islands have taken place on East Falkland.
References
- ^ "2016 Census Report". Policy and Economic Development Unit, Falkland Islands Government. 2017. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018.
- ^ a b Pichon, Hervé; Rolland, Nicolas; Orlova, Nadège; Lombardo, Stéphane (2002). "D2.1.1 Inventory Report". European Coastal Erosion database. European Commission. p. 122. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ Measured on Google Earth
- ^ a b Otley, H; Munro, G; Clausen, A; Ingham, B. "Falkland Islands State of the Environment Report 2008" (PDF). Stanley: Falkland Islands Government and Falklands Conservation: 16–18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
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(help) - ^ P Turnbull (2 March 2004). "Falkland Islands". South Seas: South Seas Companion. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- ^ "(Falkland Island) Location". The Falkland Islands Government. 2009. Archived from the original on 5 March 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- .
- ^ Major Timothy J. Hannigan, USMC (1 April 1984). "British Triumph on East Falkland". War since 1945 seminar. Marine Corps Development and Education Command, Quantico, Virginia 22134: Marine Corps Command and Staff College. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
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: CS1 maint: location (link)
- General
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Falkland Islands". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 151–153. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Southby-Tailyour, Ewen: Falkland Island Shores.