Oil and British Policy towards the Falkland/Malvinas Islands

Abstract

British historians have tended to discount British interest in oil around the Falkland Islands as a factor in the sovereignty dispute, while Argentine scholars and politicians have emphasized British economic interests in the Islands. Using newly-opened British government archives, this article shows that British companies and the British government were very interested in potential oil deposits around the Falkland Islands and that at every stage of sovereignty negotiations with Argentina in the 1970s and 1980s, ministers considered how a potential deal would af ect Britain’s access to potential oil deposits in the South Atlantic. While domestic political factors were the primary reason Britain failed to reach a sovereignty deal with Argentina before the Falklands war, Britain’s economic interests should not be overlooked.