{"title":"Falkland Islands - news reports \u0026 naval dispatches","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis collection brings together contemporary reports from The Gentleman’s Magazine (1770–71) and The Nautical Magazine (1832–34), tracing the early colonial history of the Falkland Islands and the foundations of Britain’s claim to sovereignty. France established Port Louis in 1764; Britain formally claimed the islands in 1765 and founded Port Egmont the following year, before Spain acquired the French settlement in 1767. Spain’s seizure of Port Egmont in 1770 brought the two powers close to war, but it agreed to restore the settlement to Britain in 1771. When Britain withdrew in 1774, it left a plaque expressly reserving sovereignty. After Spain’s own departure in 1811, Buenos Aires asserted a claim by succession, and Vernet established a settlement in 1826. The later reports survey the islands’ harbours and record HMS Clio’s 1833 repossession, the raising of the Union flag and the reassertion of British authority. They continue through Henry Smith’s appointment and the establishment of permanent British administration in 1834, while challenging later revisionist portrayals of the Port Louis killings as an Argentine nationalist uprising.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"falkland-islands-early-claims-british-settlement-nautical-mag-report-1833-p-6-112053","title":"Falkland Islands—Early claims \u0026 British settlement—Nautical Mag report 1833","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e[Substantial account of Falklands early history \u0026amp; settlement, Port Egmont and the islands’ maritime resources. Reviews French, British and Spanish occupation]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn original July 1833 article from The Nautical Magazine, accompanied by its dated monthly title page, reviewing Benjamin Morrell’s voyages while presenting an early history and commercial survey of the Falkland Islands. It records France’s settlement at Port Louis in 1764 and Britain’s claim in 1765 and colony at Port Egmont in 1766; importantly, British possession therefore preceded Spain’s first settlement, established when France transferred Port Louis in 1767. The narrative then jumps to Britain’s withdrawal in 1774, entirely omitting Spain’s seizure of Port Egmont in 1770 and its restitution to Britain in 1771. Although the article describes Port Egmont as abandoned “as useless,” the withdrawal was an economy measure connected with imperial redeployment before the American War, and the departing garrison left a plaque expressly maintaining George III’s sovereignty. It also passes over Spain’s evacuation of Puerto Soledad in 1811 and the ensuing fifteen years without a permanent colony before Vernet’s settlement began in 1826, merely noting that Buenos Aires now claimed the islands. Published months after Britain reasserted authority in January 1833, this selective chronology is itself revealing. Observations on climate, harbours, cattle, seals, whales, penguins and albatross rookeries explain the islands’ maritime and commercial value.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53643199578459,"sku":"P-6-112053","price":115.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0923\/9583\/1643\/files\/P-6-112053a.jpg?v=1784807971"},{"product_id":"falkland-islands-governor-smith-port-louis-british-colony-nautical-magazine-1834-p-6-112057","title":"Falkland Islands—Governor Smith—Port Louis British colony—Nautical Magazine 1834","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e[Appointment of Lieutenant Henry Smith as Falkland Islands Governor and report of establishment of a British settlement at Port Louis]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn original February 1834 notice from The Nautical Magazine, accompanied by its dated monthly title page, announcing Lieutenant Henry Smith’s appointment as “Governor of these [Falkland] Islands”. Smith was the first resident British administrator appointed after the repossession of 1833 and was, in practical terms, the islands’ governor. More precisely, his official status was naval officer in charge, or British resident, and he is generally listed as Military Administrator of the British Settlement of Fort Louis. He landed on 9 January 1834 and served until 6 April 1838. Formerly first lieutenant of HMS Tyne, Smith proceeded from Rio with four volunteer seamen; the report expected this “little nucleus party of a new colony” to be reinforced by Royal Marines. Port Louis was selected as headquarters. Countering assumptions that the Falkland Islands were unproductive, the notice cites extensive pasture, approximately 7,000 wild cattle and 500 horses, abundant game, fish, whales and seals, peat, kelp and good anchorage. It records the transition from naval repossession to permanent British administration and organised colonisation.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53643199643995,"sku":"P-6-112057","price":130.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0923\/9583\/1643\/files\/P-6-112057a.jpg?v=1784807971"},{"product_id":"falkland-islands-port-edgar-survey-proposed-colony-nautical-mag-report-1832-p-6-112055","title":"Falkland Islands—Port Edgar survey \u0026 proposed colony—Nautical Mag report 1832","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e[Captain W. F. W. Owen’s hydrographic account and recommendation of the harbour of Port Edgar, West Falkland, shortly before Britain’s 1833 reassertion of authority]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn original October 1832 report from The Nautical Magazine, accompanied by its dated monthly title page, identifying Port Edgar on West Falkland as a haven for shipping and a site for settlement. Captain W. F. W. Owen entered the harbour after storms forced HMS Eden northward while sailing from Cape Horn to Rio de Janeiro. He records its coordinates, entrance, depths, tides and surrounding headlands, corrects charting, and warns mariners about kelp. Owen found fresh water, peat, good soil and livestock, and believed English trees might flourish in sheltered valleys. Emphasising the absence of a refuge on the southern coast of West Falkland, he argues that Port Edgar could shelter storm-damaged vessels rounding Cape Horn. He proposes its development by an independent company as a free port. Published shortly before Britain’s 1833 repossession of the Falkland Islands, the report presents a practical hydrographic and commercial case for permanent British settlement.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53643199676763,"sku":"P-6-112055","price":85.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0923\/9583\/1643\/files\/P-6-112055a.jpg?v=1784807971"},{"product_id":"falkland-islands-first-report-of-port-louis-massacre-nautical-magazine-1834-p-6-112058","title":"Falkland Islands—First report of Port Louis massacre—Nautical Magazine 1834","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e[First published report of the August 1833 massacre at Port Louis, Falkland Islands]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn original March 1834 report from The Nautical Magazine recording the first news to reach Britain of the August 1833 killings at Port Louis. A merchant captain relays second-hand information that some of a party “left in possession of the Falkland Islands” by HMS Clio—had been murdered. The report is questioned because no confirmation had reached the British flagship in South America and one of the victims was misidentified. These doubts proved misplaced: a subsequent letter from Henry Rea, published in the June issue, confirmed the murders. Later Argentine revisionism portrayed the ringleader, Antonio Rivero, as a patriotic gaucho leading an uprising against British occupation, but Rea’s account records murder, wholesale plunder and the seizure of livestock, but no patriotic declaration, Argentine flag, attempt to restore Argentine government or attack upon a British garrison. The consensus historical interpretation instead associates the violence with grievances over wages, Vernet’s depreciated paper currency and working conditions within his former settlement. This immediate but imperfect report documents both the slow communications of the South Atlantic and the contemporary understanding that the settlement remained a British possession after HMS Clio’s intervention.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53643199742299,"sku":"P-6-112058","price":70.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0923\/9583\/1643\/files\/P-6-112058a.jpg?v=1784807971"},{"product_id":"falkland-islands-british-possession-strategic-case-gents-mag-news-report-1770-p-6-112050","title":"Falkland Islands—British possession strategic case—Gents Mag news report 1770","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e[The strategic case for British possession of a Falklands harbour]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn original page from the October 1770 issue of The Gentleman’s Magazine, accompanied by its dated monthly title page. “Some Account of Falkland Islands” combines a strategic argument for British possession with evidence of Britain’s prior physical presence in and claim to the archipelago. Britain formally claimed the islands in 1765, and established Port Egmont in 1766, before Spain established a presence of its own. Puerto Soledad originated as the French colony of Port Louis, founded in 1764, which it ceded to Spain in 1767. Thus, although French settlement preceded Britain’s, British occupation preceded Spanish occupation. When Spain seized the British settlement at Port Egmont in June 1770, the article notes the prescence of HMS Favourite and the surviving crew of the wrecked HMS Swift. The writer argues that recovering and retaining a secure harbour would allow British vessels rounding Cape Horn to refit, obtain provisions and rendezvous, while strengthening the Royal Navy against France, Spain and Portugal. Noting the absence of an indigenous population, the article provides an early printed justification for restoring Britain’s settlement, naval position and asserted sovereignty. Six months after the eviction, the Spanish agreed to restore Port Egmont to the British. The announced map is not included. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53643199807835,"sku":"P-6-112050","price":115.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0923\/9583\/1643\/files\/P-6-112050a.jpg?v=1784807971"},{"product_id":"falkland-islands-we-have-now-taken-possession-british-claim-nautical-mag-1833-p-6-112054","title":"Falkland Islands—“We have now taken possession” British claim—Nautical Mag 1833","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e[A climatic discussion of the Southern Regions including an editorial footnote declaring British possession of the Falkland Islands]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003ePublished months after Britain repossessed the Falkland Islands, this September 1833 article from The Nautical Magazine, accompanied by its dated monthly title page, contains the very important editorial declaration: “We have now taken possession of these islands.” The footnote appeared after HMS Clio expelled the Buenos Aires garrison and raised the British flag at Port Louis. It anticipates colonisation, proposes a supply station for vessels rounding Cape Horn, asserts British priority of discovery, notes no indigenous population and rejects American title. The principal article considers claims that the Southern Hemisphere became progressively colder toward the pole, citing climatic observations from Spanish, French and British Falklands establishments. Its scientific discussion provides the setting for an unusually immediate statement of British possession. The combination of dated title page, climatic evidence and emphatic editorial footnote makes this an important contemporary record of the transition from British naval repossession to prospective permanent British settlement.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53643199938907,"sku":"P-6-112054","price":130.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0923\/9583\/1643\/files\/P-6-112054a.jpg?v=1784807971"},{"product_id":"falkland-islands-british-repossession-of-port-egmont-gents-mag-news-report-1771-p-6-112052","title":"Falkland Islands—British repossession of Port Egmont—Gents Mag news report 1771","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e[Report of Spain’s formal restoration of Port Egmont, Falkland Islands, to Great Britain, and the departure of the Spanish]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn original December 1771 account from The Gentleman’s Magazine, accompanied by its dated monthly title page, documenting the formal restitution of Port Egmont to Britain. France had founded Port Louis in 1764; Britain independently claimed the islands in 1765 and established Port Egmont in 1766. Although French settlement came first, British possession preceded Spain’s first settlement, created when France transferred Port Louis to Spain in 1767. In June 1770, an overwhelming five-ship Spanish expedition compelled Port Egmont’s small garrison to capitulate and leave aboard HMS Favourite. The seizure brought Britain and Spain close to war. Following British mobilisation and intense diplomacy, Spain disavowed the “violent enterprise” of its Buenos Aires governor and, under the declarations exchanged on 22 January 1771, agreed to restore the port, fort, artillery and stores exactly as held before 10 June 1770, without resolving the competing sovereignty claims. This report records implementation of that settlement: Captain John Stott arrived with HMS Juno, Hound and Florida; on 16 September Don Francisco de Orduna formally restored “Falkland’s Island, Port Egmont, its fort, and other dependencies.” British colours were hoisted, Stott “took possession accordingly,” and the Spanish troops departed. An important contemporary record of restitution and renewed British occupation.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53643199971675,"sku":"P-6-112052","price":180.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0923\/9583\/1643\/files\/P-6-112052a.jpg?v=1784807971"},{"product_id":"falkland-islands-spanish-capture-of-british-port-egmont-gents-mag-report-1770-p-6-112051","title":"Falkland Islands—Spanish capture of British Port Egmont—Gents Mag report 1770","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e[Detailed contemporary account of Spain’s expedition against Port Egmont, Falkland Islands, to forcibly remove the British garrison]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn original December 1770 report from The Gentleman’s Magazine, accompanied by its dated title page, describing Spain’s forcible seizure of Britain’s Port Egmont settlement. France founded Port Louis in 1764; Britain independently claimed the Falklands in 1765 and established Port Egmont in 1766. Although France settled first, British possession preceded Spain’s first settlement, created by France’s 1767 transfer of Port Louis. Using War Office, Spanish and eyewitness accounts, the article enumerates the expedition sent from Buenos Aires—1,103 sailors, 524 soldiers, warships, heavy artillery, mortars, shells and powder—against a small British establishment. It records Spanish demands, the winter passage, bombardment, capitulation and surrender of the fort, armaments and stores on 10 June 1770. The British garrison was expelled aboard HMS Favourite. The attack brought Britain and Spain close to war. Under British diplomatic and naval pressure, Spain disavowed the “violent enterprise” of its governor and agreed in January 1771 to restore Port Egmont exactly as previously held, while leaving sovereignty unresolved. Formal restitution followed on 16 September 1771, when Captain John Stott raised British colours and the Spanish troops departed. A detailed contemporary record of dispossession and conquest that precipitated the diplomatic crisis and Britain’s restoration to Port Egmont in 1771.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53643200004443,"sku":"P-6-112051","price":160.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0923\/9583\/1643\/files\/P-6-112051a.jpg?v=1784807971"},{"product_id":"falkland-islands-port-louis-massacre-british-possession-nautical-mag-report-1834-p-6-112059","title":"Falkland Islands—Port Louis massacre—British possession—Nautical Mag report 1834","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e[Henry Rea’s report confirming the Port Louis massacre, and confirmation of the establishment of \"a settlement of His Britannic Majesty\"]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn original June 1834 report from The Nautical Magazine, accompanied by its dated monthly title page, confirming earlier reports of the massacre at Port Louis. It prints a letter written by Henry Rea, RN, recording that Antonio Rivero and associates murdered five leading members of the settlement, plundered its buildings and drove away livestock. The document possesses particular historiographical importance. In Argentine revisionist history and popular memory, Rivero was subsequently recast as a patriotic gaucho who led an uprising against British occupation. Rea’s near-contemporary account, however, describes not an organised nationalist revolt but a violent breakdown within the former settlement of Luis Vernet, for whom Rivero had worked; Rea records plunder and murder, but no patriotic declaration, Argentine flag, attempt to restore Argentine government or attack upon a British garrison. The prevailing consensus among academic historians, including Argentine scholars, associates the violence principally with grievances over wages, Vernet’s depreciated paper currency and working conditions. The looting also sits uneasily with the later heroic interpretation. Having inspected the bodies and secured the graves, Rea “hoisted the English jack... and have cautioned [them] to respect it, and consider themselves in a settlement of His Britannic Majesty”.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53643200069979,"sku":"P-6-112059","price":180.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0923\/9583\/1643\/files\/P-6-112059a.jpg?v=1784807971"},{"product_id":"falkland-islands-hms-clio-reasserts-british-sovereignty-nautical-mag-report-1833-p-6-112056","title":"Falkland Islands—HMS Clio reasserts British sovereignty—Nautical Mag report 1833","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e[Report of correspondence relating to the occupation by HMS Clio and assertion of sovereignty by Great Britain over the Falkland Islands, and competing claims, as published by Buenos Aires]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn exceptionally important October 1833 documentary report from The Nautical Magazine, with its dated title page, printing official papers and diplomatic correspondence concerning Britain’s repossession of the Falkland Islands. It records HMS Clio’s January 1833 arrival at Port Louis and Commander James Onslow’s notification to José María Pinedo that he was instructed, in the name of His Britannic Majesty, to exercise Britain’s “rights of sovereignty over these islands”. On 3 January British boats landed, raised the Union flag and lowered the Buenos Aires colours; Pinedo departed with the military establishment on 5 January, while civilian settlers remained. The documents reproduce Pinedo’s account, the Buenos Aires decree and protest, and British diplomatic responses, allowing rival claims to be read in contemporary form. Britain relied upon earlier discovery, formal possession and settlement at Port Egmont, together with Spain’s restoration of the British post in 1771 following its forcible seizure in 1770; Buenos Aires asserted succession to Spanish rights. Published within months of the event, this is early documentary evidence of the ceremony by which British sovereignty was reasserted and the foundation laid for permanent British administration. An important primary source for the establishment of modern British possession of the Falkland Islands.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53643200102747,"sku":"P-6-112056","price":280.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0923\/9583\/1643\/files\/P-6-112056a.jpg?v=1784807971"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.antiquemapsandprints.com\/collections\/falkland-islands-news-reports-naval-dispatches.oembed","provider":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}