The British government regarded the action as an invasion of a territory that had been a Crown colony since 1841.
However, the islands continue to operate as a self-governing British Overseas Territory. == Prelude == ===Failed diplomacy=== In 1965, the United Nations called upon Argentina and the United Kingdom to reach a settlement of the sovereignty dispute.
When news of a proposed transfer broke in 1968, elements sympathetic with the plight of the islanders were able to organise an effective Parliamentary lobby to frustrate the FCO plans.
A Communications Agreement signed in 1971 created an airlink and later YPF, the Argentine oil company, was given a monopoly in the islands. In 1980, a new Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Nicholas Ridley, went to the Falklands trying to sell the islanders the benefits of a leaseback scheme, which met with strong opposition from the islanders.
A Communications Agreement signed in 1971 created an airlink and later YPF, the Argentine oil company, was given a monopoly in the islands. In 1980, a new Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Nicholas Ridley, went to the Falklands trying to sell the islanders the benefits of a leaseback scheme, which met with strong opposition from the islanders.
On returning to London in December 1980 he reported to parliament but was viciously attacked at what was seen as a sellout.
Barker believed that Defence Secretary John Nott's 1981 Defence White Paper (in which Nott described plans to withdraw the Endurance, the UK's only naval presence in the South Atlantic) had sent a signal to the Argentines that the UK was unwilling, and would soon be unable, to defend its territories and subjects in the Falklands. == Argentine invasion == On 2 April 1982 Argentine forces mounted amphibious landings, known as Operation Rosario, on the Falkland Islands.
The Falklands War (link=no|Guerra de las Malvinas) was a 10-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial dependency, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The conflict began on 2 April, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands, followed by the invasion of South Georgia the next day.
The newspaper La Prensa speculated on a step-by-step plan beginning with cutting off supplies to the islands, ending in direct actions late in 1982, if the UN talks were fruitless. The ongoing tension between the two countries over the islands increased on 19 March, when a group of Argentine scrap metal merchants (which had been infiltrated by Argentine Marines) raised the Argentine flag at South Georgia Island, an act that would later be seen as the first offensive action in the war.
Barker believed that Defence Secretary John Nott's 1981 Defence White Paper (in which Nott described plans to withdraw the Endurance, the UK's only naval presence in the South Atlantic) had sent a signal to the Argentines that the UK was unwilling, and would soon be unable, to defend its territories and subjects in the Falklands. == Argentine invasion == On 2 April 1982 Argentine forces mounted amphibious landings, known as Operation Rosario, on the Falkland Islands.
Operations lasted from 1 April 1982 to 20 June 1982. On 6 April, the British Government set up a War Cabinet to provide day-to-day political oversight of the campaign.
However, once a decision was reached she "did not look back". ===United Nations Security Council Resolution 502=== On 31 March 1982, the Argentine ambassador to the UN, Eduardo Roca, tried garnering support against a British military build-up designed to thwart earlier UN resolutions calling for both countries to resolve their Falklands dispute through discussion.
The final British negotiating position was presented to Argentina by UN Secretary General Pérez de Cuéllar on 18 May 1982.
The cultural and political effect of the conflict has been less in the UK than in Argentina, where it has remained a common topic for discussion. Diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina were restored in 1989 following a meeting in Madrid, at which the two governments issued a joint statement.
In 1994, Argentina adopted a new Constitution, which declared the Falkland Islands by law as an Argentine province.
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