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Review of international travel to Falkland Islands


   The Falkland Islands, or the Islas Malvinas, as they are called in Argentina, which lies 40km (300mi) to the west, consist of two main islands, and more than 200 small ones.

The windswept islands were discovered in 1592 by the English navigator John Davis. The Falklands were first occupied nearly 200 years later by the French in 1764 and the British. The French interest, bought by Spain in 1770, was assumed by Argentina in 1806. The British, who had withdrawn in 1774, returned in 1832. They dispossessed the Argentinean settlers and founded a settlement of their own - one that became a colony in 1892. In 1982, Argentinean forces invaded the islands, but two months later the United Kingdom regained possession. In 1999, a formal agreement between Britain and Argentina permitted Argentineans to visit the islands.

The economy is dominated by sheep-farming. The prospect of rich offshore oil and natural gas reserves remains enticing, but may be uneconomic to extract and export.

Review of international travel and budget resorts
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