1982 saw one of the strangest conflicts in imperial history as Britain found itself forced to come to the rescue of 1,800 subjects who were invaded and occupied by a major South American nation. In many ways, this was the last example of old-style gunboat diplomacy and certainly the last imperial war.
The ownership of the Falkland Islands has been in dispute since the 18th Century and even before that. See the Falkland Island entry for details of the early history of this archipelago. It was always hoped that the chain would provide a useful base for the Royal Navy, which indeed proved to be the case in the First and Second World Wars. However in a period of post-war decolonisation, the Argentinians expected and hoped that British interest in the South Atlantic would fade and sovereignty of the islands would be handed in their direction. The British did indeed seem to wish to shake off their responsibility for the islands and the 1,800 settlers (almost all of British stock) who lived there. The strategic necessity for naval bases scattered across the globe was no longer effective and the islands had no dockyard or repair facilities. In fact, they did not even have an airport until the 1970s (and that was constructed by the Argentinians). The island economy was tiny and could not even cover the costs of the 40 man Royal Marine garrison (NP8901) that had been stationed there since 1966.
