“Nuestras Malvinas”: Nation and Territory in Argentine Traveler Accounts, 1936-1971

Abstract

For almost two centuries, Argentines have disputed British claims to sovereignty over the Malvinas/Falkland Islands. This chapter asks how Argentine travelers to the islands represented them to their fellow Argentines and how, in turn, those representations came to shape visions and meanings of the Argentine nation. Despite Argentine diplomatic claims to the islands, popular calls for territorial sovereignty did not emerge until the 1930s when some nationalist figures began to make the case for the Argentine claim. By the 1960s, the lack of Argentine control over what a famous artist would call “the lost little sister” had led to the idea of an “amputated nation.” The chapter focuses on the views of Argentine travelers who shared their impressions in books, articles, talks, films, and interviews. Their chronicles of the territory and their discussion about the present and future of the island and its inhabitants contributed to forge the idea of a wounded nation awaiting healing. The incarnation of that idea in the mind of many Argentines helps to understand the popular support that the Argentine invasion of the islands in 1982.