Lili Monk's 2013 NCGE presentation APHG strand

1. Malvinas or Falklands?
Lili Monk
Walter Johnson High School
National Council For Geography Education (NCGE)
Denver, Colorado
August 3, 2013

2. Presentation outline“Location, location, location”: does geography have a role to play in the
conflict?
Background and history of islands; toponyms
More than one conflict: Beagle Channel, Malvinas
1982 War between Argentina and Great Britain
Outcome for both countries
Role of UN, UNCLOS
Referendum and self -determination; reaction of MERCOSUR countries
Impact of conflict on Argentine education
“Landscapes of Memory”
Malvinas/Falklands Activities
Geographic Hotspots Assignment

3. Questions:
Sovereignty
Territoriality
Self-determination
Irredentism
Nationalism
Referendum
Boycott

4. Remember these
words.... uttered by a
former president in
1982?
“I cannot understand
why two allies...were
arguing over that little
ice cold bunch of land
down there.”
President Ronald
Reagan

5. The little ice cold land Down there!

6. The Geographic Perspective

7. A bit of history
The Age of Exploration
Amerigo Vespucci
(1501)
Ferdinand Magellan
(1520)
Alonso Camargo
(1540)
John Davis (1592)
Richard Hawkins
(1594)
Sebald de Weert
(1600)

8. Competing claimsTreaty of Tordesillas
(1494)
French claims/ bought by
Spain
Argentine Independence
(1816)
British independently set
up colony in western
island
1833: in British control

9. Falklands: named after Anthony Cary, the 5th Count of
Falkland
Malvinas: derived from the French settlers from Saint-
Malo who named the islands Iles Malouines ,and then
Malvinas.
Toponyms: or what is in a name?

10. WHAT ARE THE FALKLANDS?
Located in the South Atlantic Ocean some 298 miles east of the tip of South
America
Total land area is approximately 4,700 miles, close to size of the state of
Connecticut.
Much of the land is used for sheep farming, and the islands’ leading export is
wool, with an extensive fishing and tourism industries.
Oil Reserves
Around 3,000 people now live on the Falkland Islands, and about 70 percent of
them are of British descent.

11. A Restless military: conflict over beagle
channel
1881: Chile-Argentina border
dispute over islands, Beagle
Channel; both countries share a
5.300 km border
1980: Argentina almost goes to war
against Chile over territory
Papal intervention: rejected by
Argentina in 1980
Shift of attention:Military begins
planning on take over of Malvinas
Beagle island conflict later settled
during Democratic government of
Raúl Alfonsín (1984)

12. War Stats:
Timeline: 2 April – 14 June 1982:
47 days
Argentine Losses:
•649 killed
•1,657 wounded
•11,313 taken prisoner
British Losses:
•255 killed
•775 wounded
•115 taken prisoner

13. Argentina: Wag the dog!
Argentine motivation for invading the islands
National “reorganization” and economic chaos
Elicited patriotism before the war
Led to the ouster of the military regime and return to
democracy
To 'wag the dog' means to purposely divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater
importance, to something else of lesser significance. By doing so, the lesser-significant event is
catapulted into the limelight, drowning proper attention to what was originally the more important
issue.
The expression comes from the saying that 'a dog is smarter than its tail', but if the tail were smarter,
then the tail would 'wag the dog'.
Using English.com

14. Argentina: Nationalism and irredentism
Argentine Constitution Changed
The Argentine Nation ratifies its legitimate and non-prescribing
sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich
Islands and the corresponding maritime and insular areas, being part
of the national territory.The recovery of said territories and the full
exercise of sovereignty, respecting the way of life of their inhabitants
and according to the principles of international law, are a permanent
and unwavering goal of the Argentine people.

15. Britain: Conservative victory
Interpreted the invasion as an attack on British dependent
territory
Increased popularity of Margaret Thatcher and the
Conservative party
The Empire still stands!
Patriotism increased during and after the war

16. A major change in how a country sees itself

17. UNCLOS and UN roleBoth countries have signed and ratified the United
Nations Convention on Law of the Seas (UNCLOS),
which defines ownership and legal rights for the waters
surrounding coastal countries. According to the UNCLOS,
each country is entitled to three basic zones of control in
its surrounding seas:
*Internal Waters
*Territorial Sea

19. unclos and the
case of Argentina
Resolution III of the Final Act provides that in
the case of disputes between States concerning
sovereignty over a territory over which the
United Nations has recommended certain means
of settlement, the parties shall consult and take
into consideration the same INTERESTS OF THE
PEOPLE OF THE TERRITORY AND ATTEMPT
TO COME TO A FUNDAMENTAL
CONSIDERATION.
(After 1984, Argentina revised its position to the
following:

20. unclos and the
case of Argentina
In 1984, Argentina clarified its position and noted
that its signature of UNCLOS III did NOT apply
to its position regarding the Falklands/Malvinas,
the South Atlantic, Antarctica, Georgia and
Sandwich Islands.
NOTE: In its statement to UNCLOS III,Argentina
also reiterated the “duplicity” of the British
government in advocating the position of self-
determination for the inhabitants of the islands.
Argentina also emphasized that the present
inhabitants of the islands (the "Kelpers") do not
fall within the category of " indigenous peoples"
or citizens prior to the British conquest, but
rather a population injected by the colonial
country after “usurping” the territory.

21. competing for a
slice of Antarctica
1959 treaty signed in Washington,
D.C.
* Ends claims of sovereignty over
Antarctica
*Prohibits use for military purposes
* Countries must exchange vital
scientific information conducted
there
*No nuclear testing
*Argentina signed agreement in 1961
Other countries which signed
agreement include Chile, Great
Britain, Norway, France, Australia
and New Zealand

22. The 2013 Referendum
March 11, 2013
Votes to remain one of
Great Britain’s 14
Overseas Territories
Self-Determination?
Reject Argentina’s claims
that the population was
“injected” by the British

23. Maritime Boycott
Confederation of
Transportation Workers in
Argentina vote to boycott
any ship carrying the
British or any “territorial”
flag
Other MERCOSUR
countries supported the
boycott

24. Landscapes of Memory

25. Argentina: Nationalism and irredentism
Teaching on the issue of sovereignty in the Malvinas is
now mandated by law in Argentine schools
Summary of Law: Law 3761
What are some of the significant aspects of the law?

27. Geopolitical hotspotsMs. L. Monk Name: ____________
AP Human Geography A Date: _____________
Geographical Hot Spots!
Our recent study of culture has underscored the fact that many conflicts around the world are based on religious, political, ethnic, linguistic or territorial disputes
among people in one country or one region. In preparation of our political geography unit, you will conduct research and produce a one pager to help your classmates
understand the underlying issues behind the conflict. Keep in mind the following:
• You will have three days in the Media Center to research and gather materials
• You can only use sources provided in the Pathfinder by Mrs. Way in the Media Center
• You need to incorporate vocabulary as appropriate from our previous units (especially from Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8) and from the vocabulary lists we have provided
• You will include two maps: one at the world scale/ and one at the regional scale of your conflict
• You will also attach to this project 5 comprehensive articles on the crisis that you have analyzed using the OPTIC technique. These should be articles that you found
particularly helpful: they can show different points of view/they should be scholarly articles, yet easy to read
o A reminder when analyzing OPTIC is
♣O- overview of the article
♣P- parts of the article that connect to what we are studying in APHUG or parts of the article that talk about concepts that we have already studied in APHUG
♣T- TITLE (include the author and source too please)
♣I- Implications (Inferences) that can be made from the article
♣C- Conclusion- so what is this important? What is the big deal? How does this connect to the bigger picture of our study of Human Geography.
• This will be due………………….FRIDAY DECEMBER 23rd
or EARLIER

28. Please follow the following format to complete the project. You can even type your information into the
template.
Side One

29. Where is the
Conflict?
Who is
Involved?
Origin
of Crisis
Resolution
or
Current
Status
Political
Geo.
Vocabul
ary
Political
Geo.
Vocabul
ary

30. O = Overview of Article
P = parts of the article that connect to what we are studying in APHUG or
concepts that we have already studied in APHuG
T= Title
I = Implications (Inferences) that can be made from the article
C =Conclusion. So why is this important? What is the big deal? How does this
connect to the bigger picture of our study of Human Geography?
Creating an “Optic”

31. Sharing Hotspots
Prezi
Powerpoint
VoiceThread
Picture Gallery
Meograph
Online!

33. Go visit the islands!
...or to learn more about the conflict, please contact me:
Liliana_B_Monk@mcpsmd.org
monk.lili@gmail.com
Please don’t forget to complete the evaluations!
Thanks so much!