ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

History of the Falkland Islands

So, you know how different countries have different places that they call their own, right? Well, a long time ago, the Falkland Islands were just a bunch of empty islands in the middle of the ocean, and nobody really owned them.

Then, in 1690, this guy named Captain John Strong, who was from England, sailed to the Falkland Islands and put up a flag to say that England owned them. But nobody really paid much attention to the islands after that, and there weren't any people living there or anything.

That is, until the 1800s, when some different countries started to get interested in the Falkland Islands because they had lots of seals and other animals that could be sold for meat and fur. So, different countries, like France and Spain, would send people to the islands to try and catch these animals.

But then, in 1833, Argentina, which is a country in South America that's pretty close to the Falkland Islands, said that they actually owned the islands, and they sent some soldiers to try and take them over. But the soldiers from England, who still said that England owned the islands, fought back and were able to keep control of the Falkland Islands.

After that, the Falkland Islands became a British colony, which means that they were still owned by England, but people started to live there and build towns and schools and all of that stuff. Things were pretty peaceful for a while, but in 1982, there was a big war between Argentina and England over the Falkland Islands, and lots of people got hurt and even died.

In the end, England was able to win the war and keep control of the Falkland Islands. Today, the islands are still a British territory, and people live there and have their own government and everything. So, that's the story of the Falkland Islands!