The Falkland Islands, or the Malvinas as they are known throughout the Spanish speaking world, are a chain of islands almost 500 kilometers off the cost of Argentina . Over the course of history the islands have been the subject of many disputes; first between the British and the Spanish and later between the British and the Argentines. From the discovery of the islands in the early 17th century until 1833, the custody of the islands shifted back and forth between the British and the Spanish/Argentines. In 1892, the Falkland Islands were granted official British colonial status. …