The Falkland Islands

On 2 January 1833, Captain John Onslow steered the Royal Navy sloop HMS Clio into the waters off Port Louis on East Falkland. Buenos Aires had sent a governor and garrison to the islands the previous October, formalising a sovereignty claim the United Provinces had asserted since Argentina's 1816 independence from Spain. Onslow ran up a signal declaring the islands belonged to Great Britain, a claim reaching back to a 1690 landing and a settlement occupied between 1765 and 1774. The Argentine garrison, small and unsupported, withdrew under protest rather than fight. No shots were fired. Instead of a battle there was a departure by ship, the Argentine flag lowered and the British one raised over Port Louis. Britain formally reestablished rule in January 1834, sending Lieutenant Henry Smith to govern the islands it had just retaken without firing a shot. That January morning opened a dispute that is still, nearly two centuries on, the episode both governments point to first when the question of who owns the Falklands comes up.