The Falklands War: Britain vs. the Past in the South Atlantic Book

	Preface	1
	Introduction	5
1	Background to the Falklands War	13
	The Islands and Their People	14
	Historical Background: Discovery and Settlement, 1492-1833	21
	Legal Standing of Conflicting Claims to Sovereignty	30
	Bases of Argentine Claims	33
	Bases of British Claims	39
	General Assessments of the Disputants' Claims	42
	Britain's Relationship to the Falklands Prior to 2 April 1982	44
2	The Falklands War and the Use of Military Force	53
	The Road to Conflict: The Junta's Decision to Invade the Falklands	57
	British Military Response: The Task Force	73
	Legal Dimensions of the Use of Force in the Falklands War	83
3	British Motivations to Recapture the Falkland Islands	89
	A North-South Conflict?	91
	Economic, Geopolitical, and Strategic Importance of the Falklands	96
	Domestic Economic and National Honor Considerations	103
	Defense of Democratic Principles	110
4	British Defense Policy After the Falklands War	121
	British Defense Policy Before the Falklands War: The Way Forward, 1979-81	123
	Cost of the War and "Fortress Falklands" Policy	129
	Politicostrategic Lessons	137
	Military and Technological Lessons	143
	Effects on British Defense Policy	151
5	Conclusion	161
	The Political Nature of the Falklands Issue in Britain	161
	The Time Frame of the British Decision to Recapture the Islands	163
	The Issue of Economic Constraints on British Defense Policy	164
	The Salience of Wider Politicostrategic Developments on British Defense Policy	166
	Conclusion	167
	Notes	169
App. A	British Naval Vessels Involved in the South Atlantic During the Falklands War	185
App. B	British Ship and Aircraft Losses	187
App. C	The Falklands War Cabinet	188
	Bibliography	189
	Index	201