Although they were formally claimed by the Spanish as being part of their American
possessions, the first actual occupants of (part of) the Malvinas/Falklands were
Frenchmen from Saint Malo (hence the name of Malouines = Malvinas) who established
the first settlement on East Falkland in 1764.
This was followed by the establishment of a British settlement on West Falkland in
1766 and by the cession of the French settlement to Spain in 1767.
In 1774 the British withdrew and for some time Spain now was the only occupant of
the islands.
Spanish rule ended in 1811 and the islands now became a kind of nomansland, only
visited by sealers. This situation lasted until 1820 when the new Argentine state
toke possession of the Malvinas.
In 1833 the Falklands were occupied by the British navy and in 1843, after a period
of military rule, they were organized as a British colony. (1)
(1) Argentina never gave up its claim, based on ancient Spanish titles (such
as the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494), the right of first discivery (while
the British claimed the islands were discovered by John Davis in 1592, the
Argentians claimed that they were allready touched by Américo Vespucio in
1502) and the periods of effective Spanish and Argentine rule.
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CHIEF ADMINISTRATORS
Governors
1843 - 1848 Richard Clement Moody 1813 - 1887
1848 - 1855 George Rennie 1802 - 1860
1855 - 1862 Thomas Edward Laws Moore 1819 - 1872
1862 - 1866 James George Mackenzie
1866 - 1870 William Francis Cleaver Robinson 1834 - 1897
1870 - 1876 George Abbas Kooli D'Arcy 1818 - 1885
1876 - 1880 Jeremiah Thomas Fitzgerald Callaghan 1830 - 1881
1880 - 1886 Thomas Kerr 1818 - 1907
1886 - 1887 Arthur Cecil Stuart Barkly* 1843 - 1890
1887 - 1891 Thomas Kerr (2x)
1891 - 1897 Sir Roger Tuckfield Goldsworthy 1839 - 1900
1897 - 1904 William Grey-Wilson 1852 - 1926
1904 - 1915 William Lamond Allardyce 1861 - 1930
1915 - 1920 Sir (1919) William Douglas Young 1859 - 1943
1920 - 1927 Sir (1924) John Middleton 1870 - 1954
1927 - 1931 Arnold Meinholt Hodgson
1931 - 1934 Sir James O'Grady 1866 - 1934
1934 - 1935 ...
1935 - 1941 Herbert Henniker Heaton 1880 - 1961
1941 - 1946 Sir (1943) Allan Wolsey Cardinall 1887 - 1956
The Falkland Islands Dependencies - an area also claimed by Argentina and Chile -
comprized five territories which had been proclaimed British dependencies by British
discoveres or sealers between 1775 and 1832 :
- South Georgia, annexed in 1775 by James Cook (1728 - 1779)
- The South Sandwich Islands, annexed in 1775 by James Cook
- The South Shetlands Islands, annexed in 1819 by William Smith
- The South Orkney Islands, annexed in 1821 by George Powell
- Grahamland, on the Antarctic continent, annexed in 1832 by John Biscoe.
Although these annexations were not immediately confirmed by the British government,
the territories were nevertheless considered as being within the jurisdiction of
the governors of the Falklands after 1843.
It was only in 1908 - when whaling had become very important and the Argentine and
Chilean activities in the area increased - that they were formally annexed.
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ADMINISTRATORS
There was no overall administration for the Falkland Islands Dependencies :
- the heads of the scientific missions and the whaling expeditions performed some
administrative tasks when necessary,
- from 1906 to 1931 a Magistrate was appointed on the South Shetland Islands for
the duration of each whaling season,
- after the establlshment of permanent settlements on South Georgia, a permanent
Magistrate was appointed on this island in 1909. (1)
- in 1944 the first permanent British scientific bases were established under a
separate administration (s.b.)
(1) He possibly also was in charge of the other whaling territories.
Before the establishment of permanent settlements the region was visited
by bands of unorganized sealers (ca 1786 - ca 1840) and by scientific
expeditions.
The establishment of permanent settlements was linked to the development
of industrial whaling in the region.
Although there already had been some whaling before, it only became really
important in 1904, when the first major industrial whaling company, the
Compañia Argentina de Pesca (CAP) was founded.
The company immediately established a permanent whaling station on South
Georgia at Grytviken. In 1906 the British formally confirmed this de facto
situation by grating the CAP a concession.
In the course of the following years different other companies - mostly
Norwegian - would also obtain similar concessions :
Norwegian companies :
1908 - 1920 : Sandefjord Hvalfangerselskab
1908 - 1929 : Bryde & Dahls Hvalfangerselskab
since 1908 : Tonsbergs Hvalfangeri
1909 - 1920 : Hvalfangerselskab 'Ocean'
1920 - 1945 : Vestfold Hvalfangers A. S. (formed by the merger of Sandefjord
Hvalfangerselskab and Hvalfangerselskab 'Ocean')
British companies :
since 1909 : Christian Salvesen Ltd.
1911 - 1934 : Southern Whaling and Sealing Co. (South Africa/UK)
since 1936 : South Georgia Company
(for more information on whaling and on the Norwegian presence in the
region see here)
Magistrates of South Georgia
(subordinated to the Governor of the Falklands)
1909 - 1914 J. I. Wilson
1914 - 1927 Edward B. Binnie
1927 F. B. Allison
1927 - 1928 none
1928 - 1941 William Barlas 1888 - 1941
1941 - 1942 none
1942 - 1951 A. I. Fleuret
ADMINISTRATORS OF THE BRITISH BASES
In 1943 the British Admirality dispatched a naval mission to Antarctica, formally
to watch German activities in the area and to provide weather information, but most
possibly also to counter Argentine presence in the region.
This mission - formally named Naval Project 475, but better known by its code-name
Operation Tabarin - also established the first permanent British scientific bases
in the area.
Commanders of the Tabarin Operations
(subordinated to the British Admirality)
Commanders of Operation Tabarin I
1943 - 1944 -Keith Allan John Pitt
-Victor Aloysius John Baptist Marchesi
Commanders of Operation Tabarin II
1944 - 1945 -Keith Allan John Pitt s.a.
-Victor Aloysius John Baptist Marchesi s.a.
-Robert Carl Sheppard
British Bases
Base A (Port Lockroy) established on Antarctica in 1944
Base B (Deception Island) established on the South Shetland Islands in 1944
Base C (Sandefjord Bay) established on the South Orkney Islands in 1945 (never
occupied)
Base D (Hope Ray) established on Antarctica in 1945
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