Falklands War
In 1982, Argentina and the United Kingdom fought a brief but intense war over the Falkland Islands, a small archipelago in the South Atlantic that Argentina calls the Islas Malvinas. The conflict lasted about ten weeks, ended in an Argentine surrender, and had political consequences in both countries that far outlasted the fighting. It remains one of the last conventional wars fought between a European power and a Latin American state.
The roots of the dispute go back to the early nineteenth century. Britain has administered the islands continuously since 1833, when it reasserted control, while Argentina maintains that it inherited sovereignty from Spain and that the British takeover was illegitimate. The islanders themselves, numbering roughly two thousand in 1982 and mostly of British descent, consistently wished to remain British. Diplomatic talks over the islands' status had dragged on for years without result. By 1982 Argentina was ruled by a military junta led by General Leopoldo Galtieri, which faced economic troubles and growing unrest. Many historians believe the junta hoped that recovering the islands would rally national feeling behind it, though they disagree about how much calculation lay behind the decision.
Argentine forces landed on the Falklands in early April 1982 and quickly overcame the small garrison of Royal Marines. They also occupied South Georgia, a dependency to the east. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government responded by assembling a naval task force and sending it some 8,000 miles from home. The United Nations Security Council demanded an Argentine withdrawal, and attempts at mediation failed. In May the British submarine HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, and Argentine aircraft retaliated, sinking several British ships, including HMS Sheffield, with Exocet missiles and bombs. British troops landed at San Carlos Bay on East Falkland and advanced across difficult terrain toward the capital, Stanley. Argentine forces there surrendered in mid-June.
The human cost was significant for such a short war: roughly 650 Argentine and 255 British servicemen died, along with three islanders. Defeat discredited Argentina's junta, which gave way to civilian rule and democratic elections in 1983. In Britain, the victory boosted Thatcher's standing and is often cited as a factor in her landslide re-election in 1983, though economic recovery also played a part.
The sovereignty question was never settled. Argentina still claims the islands, a position written into its constitution, while Britain maintains that the islanders' right to self-determination decides the matter. A 2013 referendum on the islands produced an overwhelming vote to remain a British territory. The war is still commemorated in both countries, and its veterans remain a powerful presence in public memory.