re: Milei goes all in for the Falkland/Malvinas islands

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During the Falkland War, the residents of the island were nearly unanimous wanting to stay a subject of the UK.

Has that changed?

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Argentina is a better ally than the UK

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Eh, more like a period of three and a half years before the British reasserted control in 1833.

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In 1770, Spain seized Port Egmont and expelled the British, citing the agreement with France. The British maintained that that agreement applied only to East Falkland. In 1771, a British naval force retook West Falkland, meeting no opposition. In 1774, faced with more urgent naval matters elsewhere, Britain withdrew from its base, albeit without relinquishing its claims. From 1800 until 1820, the Falklands were abandoned to feral cattle and to seal hunters of several nations. Meanwhile, the Spanish colonies proclaimed their independence. During the long process of consolidation and establishment of boundaries for the newly independent states, a naval officer in the service of Buenos Aires landed at Port Louis in 1820. He claimed the Falklands for his employers and left a garrison there. In 1826, the newly constituted Republic of Argentina granted a charter to Louis Vernet, a German-born immigrant, to found a settlement. By 1831, this settlement was a viable concern, with about one hundred civilian inhabitants cultivating the soil and exploiting wild cattle. Conflicts arose between Vernet and sealers who wantonly slaughtered seals and cattle. To combat this behavior, the Argentine government officially appointed Vernet governor and empowered him to seize offenders. In 1831, after repeatedly warning American sealers to stay away, he seized one of their ships and sent the crew to Buenos Aires for prosecution. America responded predictably. A gunboat under the command of Captain Silas Duncan attacked and sacked Port Soledad, formerly Port Louis. The U.S. government backed his actions, refusing to compensate Vernet. In 1832, the British reviewed the situation in the Falkland Islands and Argentina. The infant Republic of Argentina was engaged in a civil war, as its dictator, Juan Manuel de Rosas, consolidated his power. Thus, though Argentina arguably had a legitimate territorial claim, it lacked the ability to enforce it. Moreover, given the record of aggressive American territorial expansion and the rivalry between Britain and America over whale fisheries and access to markets on the Pacific coast of South America, the British viewed the attack on Port Soledad as a possible prelude to American occupation. They therefore dispatched the warship Clio, which arrived in January of 1833. Finding Port Soledad apparently deserted, the British declared the Falklands to be without effective sovereignty and raised the British flag over the islands. Argentina disputed the claim, as Vernet’s agent was still present, along with some of the settlers and a few troops.

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