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This is a list of English and Spanish language placenames in the Falkland Islands . Most of the Spanish language names are quite different in origin to their English equivalents, and many have religious resonances. Some names were given by the Spanish conquistadores , while others were given later by the Argentine government.
The Spanish names are almost never used by residents of the islands themselves, and some, such as Malvinas and Puerto Argentino, may be considered offensive by them due to their association with the 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands. [1] Under a declaration issued jointly following the 1999 agreement lifting travel restrictions to the islands, Argentina undertook to review the Argentine place names for Falkland Island locations, imposed under decree by General Galtieri. [2] However, to date, Argentina still continues to use these placenames to the frustration of the islanders. [3] Many are not generally in use as Spanish names, rather they are names conferred by an Argentine Government committee where there is no Spanish language equivalent.
The Falkland Islands take their name from the Falkland Sound, a strait separating the archipelago's two main islands. [4] The name "Falkland" was applied to the channel by John Strong, captain of an English expedition, which landed on the islands in 1690. Strong named the strait in honour of Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland, the Treasurer of the Navy who sponsored their journey. [5] The Viscount's title originates from the town of Falkland, Scotland, whose name comes from "folkland" (land held by folk-right). [6] The name was not applied to the islands until 1765, when British captain John Byron of the Royal Navy, claimed them for King George III as "Falkland's Islands". [7] The term "Falklands" is a short name used to refer to the islands.
The Spanish name for the archipelago, Islas Malvinas, derives from the French Îles Malouines — the name given to the islands by French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1764. [8] Bougainville, who founded the islands' first settlement, named the area after the port of Saint-Malo (the point of departure for his ships and colonists). [9] The port, located in the Brittany region of western France, was in turn named after St. Malo (or Maclou), the Christian evangelist who founded the city. [10]
At the twentieth session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Fourth Committee determined that, in all languages other than Spanish, all UN documentation would designate the territory as Falkland Islands (Malvinas). In Spanish, the territory was designated as Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands). [11] The nomenclature used by the United Nations for statistical processing purposes is Falkland Islands (Malvinas). [12]
A few names have the same form in both English and Spanish; for example Darwin, San Carlos, Salvador and Rincon Grande.
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| English language name | Spanish language name | Notes |
| Falkland Islands | Islas Malvinas | The Spanish name for the islands, "Islas Malvinas", is derived from a French original "Îles Malouines" (St Malo/Maclevine Islands) |
| West Falkland | Isla Gran Malvina | Despite the Spanish name, East Falkland is larger |
| East Falkland | Isla Soledad | |
| Barren Island | Isla Pelada | Direct translation |
| Beaver Island | Isla San Rafael | |
| Beauchene Island | Isla Beauchéne | |
| Bleaker Island | Isla María | |
| Carcass Island | Isla del Rosario | |
| Eddystone | Roca Remolinos | English name commemorates Eddystone off Devon and Cornwall |
| George Island | Isla Jorge | Direct translation |
| Great Island | Isla Grande | Direct translation |
| Jason Islands | Isla Sebaldes | "Sebald Islands" was once applied to the whole archipelago, and is derived from Sebald de Weert, the first European explorer widely credited with sighting the islands. The Jason Islands are subvided into two groups in Spanish. |
| Leeward part of Jason Islands | Islas los Salvajes | Grand Jason and Steeple Jason |
| Windward part of Jason Islands | Islas las Llaves | Flat Jason, Seal Rocks and North Fur Island |
| Keppel Island | Isla de la Vigía | |
| Lively Island | Isla Bougainville | |
| New Island | Isla Goicoechea | |
| Pebble Island | Isla (de) Borbón/Isla Bourbon | |
| Ruggles Island | Isla Calista | |
| Saunders Island | Isla Trinidad | |
| Sea Lion Island | Isla de los Leones Marinos | Direct translation |
| Sedge Island | Isla Culebra | |
| Speedwell Island | Isla Águila | Formerly "Eagle Island" in English |
| Staats Island | Isla Staats | Direct translation |
| Weddell Island | Isla San José | Formerly "Swan Island" in English (cf Swan Islands) |
| West Point Island | Isla Remolinos | Formerly "Albatross Island" |
| English language name | Spanish language name | Notes |
| Stanley | Puerto Stanley (Puerto Argentino) | Both Spanish names are currently used, "Puerto Argentino" was first used during the Falklands War and is favoured by supporters of the Argentine claim. "Port Stanley" persists in unofficial English usage [13] |
| Port San Carlos | Puerto San Carlos | Direct translation |
| Goose Green | Pradera del Ganso, Ganso Verde [sic] | |
| Port Louis | Puerto Luis | Both names derive from the original French name of "Port St Louis", during the Spanish occupation it was renamed "Puerto Soledad", the settlement was briefly named "Anson's Harbour" by the British but reverted to Port Louis [14] |
| Port Howard | Puerto Mitre | |
| Teal Inlet | Caleta Trullo | |
| Johnson's Harbour | Puerto Johnson | Indirect translation |
| English language name | Spanish language name | Notes |
| Cape Dolphin | Cabo Leal | |
| Mount Usborne | Cerro Alberdi | |
| Mount Adam | Monte Independencia/Monte Beaufort [13] | |
| Mount Robinson | Monte Independencia until it was found Mount Adam was higher [13] | |
| NA | Peninsula de Freycinet | The peninsula north of Port William (no English equivalent) |
| NA | Peninsula de San Luis | The north east peninsula containing Johnson Harbour, Port Louis and Rincon Grande (no English equivalent) |
| English language name | Spanish language name | Notes |
| Falkland Sound | Estrecho de San Carlos | English name comes from the Sound, San Carlos Water has a narrower meaning in English |
| Scotia Sea | Mar del Scotia | The name Scotia Sea was conferred in about 1932 after the Scotia, the expedition ship used in these waters by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1902–04). |
| Choiseul Sound | Seno Choiseul | Originally named by Louis de Bougainville after the French Foreign Secretary, the Duc de Choiseul |
| Berkeley Sound | Bahía de la Anunciación | |
| Adventure Sound | Bahía del Laberinto | |
| Bay of Harbours | Bahía de los Abrigos | |
| Grantham Sound | Bahía de Ruiz Puente | |
| Foul Bay | Bahía Sucla | |
| Port Albemarle | Bahía Santa Eufemia | |
| Port William | Puerto Groussac | |
| Queen Charlotte Bay | Bahía San Julián | |
| Port Edgar | Puerto Edgardo | |
| King George Bay | Bahía 9 de Julio | |
| Byron Sound | Bahía San Francisco de Paula | |
| Keppel Sound | Bahía de la Cruzada | |
| Stanley Harbour | Originally known as "Beau Porte" (French), [15] and later as "Port Jackson" by the British. Occasionally called Port Stanley. |
The history of the Falkland Islands goes back at least five hundred years, with active exploration and colonisation only taking place in the 18th century. Nonetheless, the Falkland Islands have been a matter of controversy, as they have been claimed by the French, British, Spaniards and Argentines at various points.
Stanley is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a population of 2,460. The entire population of the Falkland Islands was 3,398 on Census Day on 9 October 2016.
Saint-Malo is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany.
Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he took part in the Seven Years' War in North America and the American Revolutionary War against Britain. Bougainville later gained fame for his expeditions, including a circumnavigation of the globe in a scientific expedition in 1763, the first recorded settlement on the Falkland Islands, and voyages into the Pacific Ocean. Bougainville Island of Papua New Guinea as well as the Bougainvillea flower are named after him.
West Falkland is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falkland Sound. Its area is 4,532 square kilometres, 37% of the total area of the islands. Its coastline is 1,258.7 kilometres long.
Sovereignty over the Falkland Islands is disputed by Argentina and the United Kingdom. The British claim to sovereignty dates from 1690, when they made the first recorded landing on the islands, and the United Kingdom has exercised de facto sovereignty over the archipelago almost continuously since 1833. Argentina has long disputed this claim, having been in control of the islands for a few years prior to 1833. The dispute escalated in 1982, when Argentina invaded the islands, precipitating the Falklands War.
The Marcha de las Malvinas is a patriotic anthem of Argentina. It is sung in demonstrations to assert Argentina sovereignty claims over the Falkland Islands and was prominently broadcast by the military government.
Malvinas Day, officially Day of the Veterans and Fallen of the Malvinas War, is a public holiday in Argentina, observed each year on 2 April. The name refers to the Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Islas Malvinas.
Saint Malo was a Welsh mid-sixth century founder of Saint-Malo, a commune in Brittany, France. He was one of the seven founding saints of Brittany.
Puerto Soledad was a Spanish military outpost and penal colony on the Falkland Islands, situated at an inner cove of Berkeley Sound.
The Skirmish at Top Malo House took place on 31 May 1982 during the Falklands War between Argentine special forces from 602 Commando Company and the British Royal Marines of the Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre (M&AWC). Top Malo House was the only planned daylight action of the war, although it was intended to take place in darkness. The Argentine commandos were part of an attempt to establish a screen of observation posts. A section that occupied Top Malo House was sighted by a British observation post of the Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre that was screening the British breakout from the lodgement around San Carlos. The action at Top Malo House was one of a series of mishaps and misfortunes that afflicted the Argentine effort.
The Falkland Islands is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about 300 mi (480 km) east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about 752 mi (1,210 km) from Cape Dubouzet at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, at a latitude of about 52°S. The archipelago, with an area of 4,700 sq mi (12,000 km2), comprises East Falkland, West Falkland, and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, but the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs. The capital and largest settlement is Stanley on East Falkland.
The Malo River, is a river in East Falkland, Falkland Islands. Its name is derived from the Breton port of St Malo, due to the French settlement established at Port Louis in 1764.
The Falklands Crisis of 1770 was a diplomatic standoff between Great Britain and Spain over possession of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. These events were nearly the cause of a war between Britain and Spain—backed by France—and all three countries were poised to dispatch armed fleets to defend the rival claims to sovereignty of the barren but strategically important islands.
The region of the Beagle Channel, explored by Robert FitzRoy in the 1830s, was one of the last to be colonized by Chile and Argentina. The cold weather, the long distances from other inhabited regions, and the shortage of transport and subsistence, kept it far from the governmental task.
The Falkland Islands have a complex history stretching over five hundred years. Active exploration and colonisation began in the 18th century but a self-supporting colony was not established till the latter part of the 19th century. Nonetheless, the islands have been a matter of controversy, as due to their strategic position in the 18th century their sovereignty was claimed by the French, Spaniards, British and Argentines at various points.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 502 was a resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 3 April 1982. After expressing its concern at the invasion of the Falkland Islands by the armed forces of Argentina, the council demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities between Argentina and the United Kingdom and a complete withdrawal by Argentine forces. The council also called on the governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom to seek a diplomatic solution to the situation and refrain from further military action.
The Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation Between Argentina and the United Kingdom was an 1825 treaty between the United Provinces of the River Plate and the United Kingdom). With this treaty, the United Kingdom accepted the 1816 Argentine Declaration of Independence. As the United Kingdom was the most powerful world power of the time, and the United States had announced the Monroe Doctrine, this treaty limited the chances of Spain to reconquer its former colony.
Bobs Island is an island of the Falkland Islands. It is located in the western part of Salvador Water, north of East Falkland. It is located near the mouth of the Pedro River and Punta Acantilado on the Olivieri peninsula.
The flag of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands Province is an Argentinian provincial flag representing Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina and its constituent parts. The flag was adopted by the provincial government on November 9th, 1999 after it was selected as the winning design in a public contest. It was designed by Teresa Beatríz Martínez.
