Pez Dispens3r

About Me

Native speaker of English and insofar as these things are important I am of thoroughly European stock (basically the only place I've been where I was less white than everyone else was Denmark), born and raised in Adelaide, Australia. Completed a bachelor or Arts with a History major and English minor in 2007 and currently doing further studies. Has also dabbled in Classical Studies, Anthropology, Geology and Physics. Has travelled around the world to the United States, Canada, Denmark, Germany and India. Same person as User:Justinboden86.

Argentinian colonial aspirations

In October of 1820, the Frigate Heroína under the command of American privateer Colonel David Jewett arrived in Puerto Soledad following an 8 month voyage and with most of her crew incapacitated by scurvy and disease. A storm had resulted in severe damage to the Heroína and had sunk the prize Carlota forcing Jewett to put into Puerto Soledad for repairs.

Captain Jewett chose to rest and recover in the islands seeking assistance from the British explorer James Weddell. Weddell reports only 30 seamen and 40 soldiers out of a crew of 200 fit for duty, and how Jewett slept with pistols over his head following an attempted mutiny. On 6 November 1820, Col Jewett raised the flag of the United Provinces of the River Plate and claimed possession of the islands. Weddell reports the letter he received from Jewett as:

Sir, I have the honor of informing you that I have arrived in this port with a commission from the Supreme Government of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata to take possession of these islands on behalf of the country to which they belong by Natural Law. While carrying out this mission I want to do so with all the courtesy and respect all friendly nations; one of the objectives of my mission is to prevent the destruction of resources necessary for all ships passing by and forced to cast anchor here, as well as to help them to obtain the necessary supplies, with minimum expenses and inconvenience. Since your presence here is not in competition with these purposes and in the belief that a personal meeting will be fruitful for both of us, I invite you to come aboard, where you'll be welcomed to stay as long as you wish; I would also greatly appreciate your extending this invitation to any other British subject found in the vicinity; I am, respectfully yours. Signed, Jewett, Colonel of the Navy of the United Provinces of South America and commander of the frigate Heroína.

Many modern authors report this letter as the declaration issued by Jewett. Weddell did not believe that Jewett was acting with the interests of the United Provinces of the River Plate in mind, rather Jewett had merely put into the harbour in order to obtain refreshments for his crew, and that the assumption of possession was chiefly intended for the purpose of securing an exclusive claim to the wreck of the French ship Uranie that had a few months previously foundered at the entrance of Berkeley Sound. Weddell left the islands on 20 November 1820 noting that Jewett had not completed repairs to the Heroína.

Luis Vernet's enterprise

Luis Vernet

In 1823, the United Provinces of the River Plate granted fishing rights to Jorge Pacheco and Luis Vernet. Traveling to the islands in 1824, the first expedition failed almost as soon as it landed, and Pacheco chose not to continue with the venture. Vernet persisted but the second attempt delayed until Winter 1826 by a Brazilian blockade was also unsuccessful. The expedition intended to exploit the feral cattle on the islands but the boggy conditions meant the Gauchos could not catch cattle in their traditional way. Vernet was by now aware of conflicting British claims to the Islands and sought permission from the British consulate before departing for the islands.

In 1828, Vernet was granted all of East Falkland including all its resources, and exempted him from taxation if a colony could be established within three years. He took settlers, including British Captain Matthew Brisbane (who had sailed to the islands earlier with Weddell), and before leaving once again sought permission from the British Consulate in Buenos Aires. The British asked for a report for the British government on the islands, and Vernet asked for British protection should they return.

On June 10, 1829, Luis Vernet was formally designated as governor of the islands and granted a monopoly on seal hunting rights. A protest was lodged by the British Consulate in Buenos Aires. By 1831, the colony was successful enough to be advertising for new colonists, although, the Lexingtons report suggests that the conditions on the islands were quite miserable. Darwin's visit in 1833 confirmed the squalid conditions in the settlement, although Captain Matthew Brisbane (Vernet's deputy) later claimed that this was the result of the Lexington raid.

USS Lexington raid

In 1831, Vernet attempted to assert a monopoly on seal hunting rights. This led him to capture the American ships Harriet, Superior and Breakwater. As a reprisal, the United States sent Captain Silas Duncan of the USS Lexington to recover the confiscated property. After finding what he considered proof that at least four American fishing ships had been captured, plundered, and even outfitted for war, Duncan took seven prisoners aboard the Lexington and charged them with piracy.

Also taken on board, Duncan reported, "were the whole of the (Falklands') population consisting of about forty persons, with the exception of some 'gauchos', or cowboys who were encamped in the interior." The group, principally German citizens from Buenos Aires, "appeared greatly rejoiced at the opportunity thus presented of removing with their families from a desolate region where the climate is always cold and cheerless and the soil extremely unproductive".

Brisbane's capture and the destruction of the settlement caused quite a stir among government officials in Buenos Aires, and a long dispute between U.S. and Argentine diplomats followed.

Attempted establishment of a penal colony

Afterwards, Major Esteban Mestivier was commissioned by the Buenos Aires government, as the new governor of the islands, to set up a penal colony. He arrived at his destination on November 15, 1832 but his soldiers mutinied and killed him. Lt. Col. José María Pinedo quelled the rebellion and took charge as governor.

Argentine claim

Luis Vernet

The "Malvinas" as claimed by Argentina, as part of the Tierra del Fuego province

Argentina declared its independence from Spain in 1816, although this was not recognised by Britain until 1825 with the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, and by Spain until 1859.

The new state (United Provinces of the River Plate) was formed from former provinces of the Viceroyalty of the River Plate and as such claimed sovereignty over the Falklands. In October 1820, the frigate Heroína under the command of American privateer Colonel David Jewett arrived in Puerto Soledad following an 8 month voyage and with most of her crew incapacitated by scurvy and disease. A storm had resulted in severe damage to the Heroína and had sank the prize Carlota forcing Jewett to put into Puerto Soledad for repairs. The captain chose to rest and recover in the islands seeking assistance from the British explorer James Weddell. Weddell reports only 30 seamen and 40 soldiers out of a crew of 200 fit for duty, and how Jewett slept with pistols over his head following an attempted mutiny. On 6 November 1820, Jewett raised the flag of the United Provinces of the River Plate and claimed possession of the islands. Weddell reports the letter he received from Jewett as:

Sir, I have the honor of informing you that I have arrived in this port with a commission from the Supreme Government of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata to take possession of these islands on behalf of the country to which they belong by Natural Law. While carrying out this mission I want to do so with all the courtesy and respect all friendly nations; one of the objectives of my mission is to prevent the destruction of resources necessary for all ships passing by and forced to cast anchor here, as well as to help them to obtain the necessary supplies, with minimum expenses and inconvenience. Since your presence here is not in competition with these purposes and in the belief that a personal meeting will be fruitful for both of us, I invite you to come aboard, where you'll be welcomed to stay as long as you wish; I would also greatly appreciate your extending this invitation to any other British subject found in the vicinity; I am, respectfully yours. Signed, Jewett, Colonel of the Navy of the United Provinces of South America and commander of the frigate Heroína.

Many modern authors report this letter as the declaration issued by Jewett. Weddell did not believe that Jewett was acting with the interests of the United Provinces in mind, rather Jewett had merely put into the harbour in order to obtain refreshments for his crew, and that the assumption of possession was chiefly intended for the purpose of securing an exclusive claim to the wreck of the French ship Uranie. However, many modern historians have taken the claim seriously, under the misaprehension that Jewett was specifically sent by the Argentine state to make a claim of possession. They have justified the claim under the legal principle of uti possidetis, but Dolzer has pointed out that the event does not fit the criteria of the legal principle invoked.

In 1823 the Argentines granted land on East Falkland to Luis Vernet, who first travelled to the islands in 1824. The first expedition failed almost as soon as it landed, and the second attempt, in 1826, sanctioned by the British (and delayed until Winter by a Brazilian blockade), arrived, but was also unsuccessful. In 1828 Vernet was granted all of East Falkland including all its resources, and exempted him from taxation if a colony could be established within three years. He took settlers, including British Captain Matthew Brisbane, and before leaving once again sought permission first from the British Consulate in Buenos Aires. The British asked for a report for the British government on the islands, and Vernet asked for British protection should they return.

On Vernet's return, Puerto Soledad was renamed Puerto Luis. Vernet was appointed governor in 1829, an action to which the British objected as it was an attempt by the Argentine government to foster its political and economic ties to the islands. One of Vernet's first acts was to curb seal hunting on the Islands to conserve the dwindling seal population. In response the British consul in Buenos Aires protested the move and restated the UK's claim. Islanders were born during this period (including Malvina María Vernet y Saez, Vernet's daughter).

Vernet later seized the US ship, Harriet, for breaking his restrictions on seal hunting. Property on board the ship was seized and the captain was returned to Buenos Aires to stand trial. The American Consul in Argentina protested against the actions by Vernet, stating that the United States did not recognise Argentine sovereignty in the Falklands. The consul dispatched a warship, USS Lexington, to Port Louis to retake the confiscated property.

In 1831 the colony was successful enough to be advertising for new colonists, although the Lexington's report suggests that the conditions on the islands were quite miserable. The captain of the Lexington destroyed the Argentine settlement at Port Louis. On leaving, the captain declared the islands to be res nullius (free of all government) and returned to Montevideo. Darwin's visit in 1833 confirmed the squalid conditions in the settlement, although Captain Matthew Brisbane (Vernet's deputy) later claimed that this was the result of the Lexington raid. Governor Vernet returned to Buenos Aires after the attack but appointed an interim governor, Esteban José Francisco Mestivier, who arrived with his family to Port Louis on the schooner Sarandí in October 1832.

After this the Sarandí, commanded by captain José María Pinedo, went to patrol the surrounding seas. But as they returned to Port Louis on 29 December 1832, they found the colony in uproar. In Pinedo's absence there had been a mutiny led by a man named Gomila; Mestivier had been murdered and his wife raped. The captain of the French vessel Jean Jacques had meanwhile provided assistance disarming and incarcerating the mutineers. Pinedo dispatched the mutineers to Buenos Aires with the British schooner Rapid. Gomila himself would be condemned to exile, while six other mutineers were executed.

On 2 January 1833, Captain John Onslow arrived and delivered a written request that Pinedo lower the Argentine flag in favour of the British one, and that the Argentine administration leave the islands. Pinedo asked if there had been a war declared between Argentina and Great Britain, and Onslow replied there was none. Nonetheless, Pinedo, heavily outmanned and outgunned, chose to leave the islands under protest. The Argentines also claim that the population of the Port Louis was expelled at the same time, though sources from time appear to dispute this, suggesting that the colonists were encouraged to remain under Vernet's deputy, Matthew Brisbane. ♦ Pinedo faced military trial and was suspended for four months and transferred to the land army, until he was called back to the navy in 1845. An open conflict with France and Great Britain, including a long Anglo-French blockade on Buenos Aires, prevented the Argentines from sending any expeditions to the islands, but they never renounced their claim to sovereignty.