[14] In 1965, at the 20th session[15] of the United Nations General Assembly, the Fourth Committee determined that, in all languages other than Spanish, all UN documentation would designate the territory as Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

[20] European claims of discovery date back to the 16th century, but no consensus exists on whether early explorers sighted the Falklands or other islands in the South Atlantic.

[29] The British and Spanish settlements coexisted in the archipelago until 1774, when Britain's new economic and strategic considerations led it to withdraw the garrison from the islands, leaving a plaque claiming the Falklands for King George III.

[32][D] Since the islands had no permanent inhabitants, in 1823 Buenos Aires granted German-born merchant Luis Vernet permission to conduct fishing activities and exploit feral cattle in the archipelago.

[E] Vernet settled at the ruins of Puerto Soledad in 1826, and accumulated resources on the islands until the venture was secure enough to bring settlers and form a permanent colony.

[36] Buenos Aires named Vernet military and civil commander of the islands in 1829,[37] and he attempted to regulate sealing to stop the activities of foreign whalers and sealers.

[31] Vernet's venture lasted until a dispute related to fishing and hunting rights led to a raid by the American warship USS Lexington in 1831,[38][F] when United States Navy commander Silas Duncan declared the dissolution of the island's government.

[39] Buenos Aires attempted to gain influence over the settlement by installing a garrison in October 1832, which mutinied within a month and was followed the next year by the arrival of British forces, who reasserted Britain's rule.

[46] Vernet's deputy, the Scotsman Matthew Brisbane, returned to the islands that year to restore the business, but his efforts ended after, amid unrest at Port Louis, gaucho Antonio Rivero led a group of dissatisfied individuals to murder Brisbane and the settlement's senior leaders; survivors hid in a cave on a nearby island until the British returned and restored order.

[47] Four years later, nearly everyone relocated to Port Jackson, considered a better location for the government, and merchant Samuel Lafone began a venture to encourage British colonisation.

[49] Early in its history, Stanley had a negative reputation due to cargo-shipping losses; only in emergencies would ships rounding Cape Horn stop at the port.

[50] Nevertheless, the Falklands' geographic location proved ideal for ship repairs and the "Wrecking Trade", the business of selling and buying shipwrecks and their cargoes.

After 1870 it declined as the replacement of sail ships by steamships was accelerated by the low cost of coal in South America; by 1914, with the opening of the Panama Canal, the trade effectively ended.

[56] After the war ended, the Falklands economy was affected by declining wool prices and the political uncertainty resulting from the revived sovereignty dispute between the United Kingdom and Argentina.

[50] Simmering tensions between the UK and Argentina increased during the second half of the century, when Argentine President Juan Perón asserted sovereignty over the archipelago.

[60] Concerned at the expense of maintaining the Falkland Islands in an era of budget cuts, the UK again considered transferring sovereignty to Argentina in the early Thatcher government.

[69] Landmine clearance work restarted in 2009, in accordance with the UK's obligations under the Ottawa Treaty, and Sapper Hill Corral was cleared of mines in 2012, allowing access to an important historical landmark for the first time in 30 years.

[75] The Legislative Assembly, a unicameral legislature, consists of the chief executive, the director of finance and eight members (five from Stanley and three from Camp) elected to four-year terms by universal suffrage.

[80] Since the 2013 general election, members of the Legislative Assembly have received a salary and are expected to work full-time and give up all previously held jobs or business interests.

[82] The islands' judicial system, overseen by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, is largely based on English law,[83] and the constitution binds the territory to the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights.

[95][L] 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.

[98] In March 2013, the Falkland Islands held a referendum on its political status: 99.8% of votes cast favoured remaining a British overseas territory.

[92][101][102] However, in May, 2024, newly elected Argentine president Javier Milei, expressed general acceptance and tolerance for British rule, for the time being, noting it could take decades for Argentina to gain control of the islands.

[105] The islands are predominantly mountainous and hilly,[106] with the major exception being the depressed plains of Lafonia (a peninsula forming the southern part of East Falkland).

[107] The Falklands consists of continental crust fragments resulting from the break-up of Gondwana and the opening of the South Atlantic that began 130 million years ago.

In 2023, Rockhopper (working with Tel Aviv-listed Navitas Petroleum) indicated that it had been presented with a new development plan for its Sea Lion project that aimed to cut costs and proceed in phases.

[145] Tourism, part of the service economy, has been spurred by increased interest in Antarctic exploration and the creation of direct air links with the United Kingdom and South America.

[146] Tourists, mostly cruise ship passengers, are attracted by the archipelago's wildlife and environment, as well as activities such as fishing and wreck diving; the majority find accommodation in Stanley.

[148] Despite COVID-19 pandemic restrictions causing suspensions of flights from Santiago and São Paulo and prohibited cruise ship tourism, the economy of the islands remains stable and healthy.

[166] Social activities are, according to Wagstaff, "typical of that of a small British town with a variety of clubs and organisations covering many aspects of community life".