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Who first owned the Falkland Islands?
The dispute over ownership of the south Atlantic islands has been blowing hot and cold for several centuriesAs Britain and Argentina sound off yet again about their rival claims to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, it would not be completely fanciful to blame the Borgias for a dispute that has been blowing hot and cold for more than 300 years. More precisely, the root of the problem can be traced to the celebrated Bulls of Donation by which the Borgia pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) exercised what medieval doctrine still told him was a God-given right to divide between Spain and Portugal all the distant lands that European navigators were starting to discover.
published date:Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:35:04 GMT