Tensions over the Falkland Islands have ratcheted up in recent months, reigniting sovereignty disputes which date back centuries.
While the isolated and sparsely-populated outcrop famously became the subject of a bitter war between Britain and Argentina in 1982, the territory first came to international attention in the 16th century.
An Englishman, Captain John Davis of the Desire, is credited with the first recorded sighting of the archipelago as early as 1592.
John Strong, another English captain, made the first recorded landing in 1690, naming the channel between the two main islands Falkland Sound after Viscount Falkland, then treasurer of the Royal Navy.
The Argentinian claim to the islands originates in that of the Spanish crown when it controlled much of South America.
A French settlement was established on East Falkland in 1764 by the explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville but the following year Commodore John Byron landed on West Falkland and laid claim to the islands for Britain.
In 1766 – the year a British settlement was established at Port Egmont on West Falkland – France withdrew in favour of Spain.
Eight years on, Britain – occupied with the looming American War of Independence – itself withdrew, leaving only a plaque declaring sovereignty.
A new settlement was established under the control of Buenos Aires, by then independent from Spain, in 1826.
But five years later, Britain returned. Those who settled made up the islands’ first permanent population.
Passions flared in the 1960s, and in 1965 the UN designated the territory a “colonial problem”, calling on both countries to resolve their dispute.
But 17 years of discussions failed to reacha solution. Argentine troops landed on the islands – famous also as a breeding ground for millions of penguins – on April 2 1982, prompting Britain to dispatch forces to oust them.
More than 600 Argentinians died during the Falklands War – more than twice the British death toll.
In December, the Argentine Parliament passed a law laying claim to the Falklands and in February 2010, tensions escalated further when a British rig began drilling for oil near the Falklands’ waters. It came after President Cristina Fernandez made a decree requiring any boat travelling to or from the islands to seek prior permission from Argentina.
Last year, David Cameron pledged Britain would never surrender sovereignty against the wishes of the islanders.
More recently he insisted he wanted to send a “strong message” to Argentina, accusing the country of “colonialism”.
The latest developments mean the 30th anniversary of the war is likely to come amid heated political rhetoric, with the issue of sovereignty still very much a bone of contention.