The Falkland war

The Falkland War was fought between Argentina and England in 1982. The two nations were having a dispute over the Falkland Islands. Although the Falklands are located 300 miles east for Argentina's mainland, and Argentina is the closes nation the islands are part of the UK.


In 1982 Argentina had been under a military dictatorship for several years. During this time the country had experienced a decrease in their economy, and people were starting to get angry with the leaders. So to try to take attention off the domestic problems the military leaders decided to invade the Falklands. By doing this they were hoping to get the people's support, and build up their status within the people. They assumed that Margaret Thatcher and her government would not interfere much since the Falklands were (and still are) an unimportant group of islands in the south Atlantic. This was not the case. The United Nations urged the UK and Argentina to solve their issues trough diplomacy, but Thatcher said that this was not an option. She stated that Argentina would have to face the consequences trough war, not diplomacy.


The war itself only lasted from 2. April till 14. June. During this time more than 650 Argentinean and 250 British soldiers were killed. More than 1000 thousand were wounded and several thousands were taken as Prisoners of War. After the war the military regime in Argentina lost the little support it had left within the people. The regime was pushed over and Argentina once again became a democratic republic. In Britain the war helped Margaret Thatcher in the upcoming election. From being an underdog candidate and seeing as she would lose the election she became the winner. The war helped Thatcher to win the election and to remain prime minister in the UK until 1990.