Falkland Islands Falklands from Spain when it achieved independence in 1816, and that, in 1833, the UK expelled Argentine authorities and settlers from the islands with a threat of "greater force" and, afterwards, barred Argentines from resettling the islands. In 2009, the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, had a meeting with the Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and said that there would be no further talks over the sovereignty of the Falklands. In March 2013, the Falkland Islands held a referendum on its political status: 99.8% of voters favoured remaining a British overseas territory. Argentina does not recognise the Falkland Islanders
Geography of the Falkland Islands Geography of the Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands are located in the South Atlantic Ocean between 51°S and 53°S on a projection of the Patagonian Shelf, part of the South American continental shelf. In ancient geological time this shelf was part of Gondwana, and around 400 million years ago split from what is now Africa and drifted westwards from it. Today the islands are subjected to the Roaring Forties, winds that shape both their geography and climate. The Falklands comprise two main islands, West Falkland and East Falkland, and about 776 small islands. The geological history of the Falkland Islands