ABSTRACT
Before the war the British Government had been faced with two options, neither of which was attractive, and policy had been to avoid the choice. One option was to negotiate a deal with Argentina to hand over the Falkland Islands and the Dependencies in return for some protection for the islanders. A promise, regularly repeated, to the islanders that their wishes would be paramount made the negotiating option look increasingly hopeless. British governments were not beyond ruthlessness in such situations, especially when wider economic and political interests argued for a deal, but in this case the islanders, though small in number, were articulate and well organised and it was not hard to imagine the outcry if they were to be handed over to a disagreeable Argentina regime. The other option was to invest in the Falklands and defend them against any aggressive Argentine action. Successive governments balked at the cost and the diplomatic consequences of so firmly ruling out a negotiated solution.
