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I don’t think these two things are the same. Taiwan or HK are/were large scale democratic societies, economic hubs, cultural centers etc. The Falklands are a co

I don’t think these two things are the same. Taiwan or HK are/were large scale democratic societies, economic hubs, cultural centers etc. The Falklands are a couple of strategically located islands in the middle of nowhere.

arcticbull 5y ago
I think a closer analog to the Falklands is the European colonial powers and much of the Caribbean. The French and St. Martin/St. Barts, the Dutch and Sint Maarten/Aruba/Bonaire/Curacao - and of course the British Overseas Territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, the BVI, Montserrat and Turks and Caicos. The latter has interestingly tried to join Canada a few times. Not really located anywhere strategic.
- KingOfCoders 5y ago
  I agree in principle, though some of these islands want to stay with France / the EU, in contrary to the Falklands it is the native people there that want to stay, not the (only) the colonialists.
  - arcticbull 5y ago
    Sounds a bit like Wallis and Futuna - the French have been open to, or even supportive of decolonization for decades now, but the Wallisians have no interest in leaving France [1] - perhaps they learned from the divergent stories of La Reunion and Mayotte as compared to the Comoro Islands? I believe La Reunion has the highest GDP per capita in all of Africa (confirmed, 27000USD, which is way, way higher than the nearest continental neighbor). The EU even paid to put up a giant ring highway around the island. [2] No such luck for residents of Grande Comore, who are among the poorest on the continent - $1400USD - among the poorest on earth. It's interesting, such far-flung territories with limited resources, limited space and limited connections seem to be positioned to benefit the most from the largesse of a parent nation. Especially with European powers eager to distance themselves from their colonial past and ready to give their dependent territories maximum latitutde. [1] https://theculturetrip.com/pacific/wallis-futuna/articles/french-or-polynesian-the-curious-case-of-wallis-and-futuna/ https://theculturetrip.com/pacific/wallis-futuna/articles/fr... [2] https://www.vinci-construction-projets.com/en/realisations/new-coastal-road/ https://www.vinci-construction-projets.com/en/realisations/n...
  - wwtrv 5y ago
    Considering the islands were uninhabited when they settled, the people currently living there are the native population of the Falklands.
    - KingOfCoders 5y ago
      It seems the first people settling there, "native population" were French and the current people living there are English colonialists. But I'm not an expert in Falkland island history.
      - hef19898 5y ago
        They were unsettled for a quite a while in between. There never was a true native population like native Americans or the various African peoples. The Falklands are a bunch of rocks being settled by various European powers and claimed by as many, they are since the 19th century a British territory aimed by Argentina. In a sense the British there are natives.

arcticbull 5y ago

I think a closer analog to the Falklands is the European colonial powers and much of the Caribbean. The French and St. Martin/St. Barts, the Dutch and Sint Maarten/Aruba/Bonaire/Curacao - and of course the British Overseas Territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, the BVI, Montserrat and Turks and Caicos. The latter has interestingly tried to join Canada a few times. Not really located anywhere strategic.

KingOfCoders 5y ago
I agree in principle, though some of these islands want to stay with France / the EU, in contrary to the Falklands it is the native people there that want to stay, not the (only) the colonialists.
- arcticbull 5y ago
  Sounds a bit like Wallis and Futuna - the French have been open to, or even supportive of decolonization for decades now, but the Wallisians have no interest in leaving France [1] - perhaps they learned from the divergent stories of La Reunion and Mayotte as compared to the Comoro Islands? I believe La Reunion has the highest GDP per capita in all of Africa (confirmed, 27000USD, which is way, way higher than the nearest continental neighbor). The EU even paid to put up a giant ring highway around the island. [2] No such luck for residents of Grande Comore, who are among the poorest on the continent - $1400USD - among the poorest on earth. It's interesting, such far-flung territories with limited resources, limited space and limited connections seem to be positioned to benefit the most from the largesse of a parent nation. Especially with European powers eager to distance themselves from their colonial past and ready to give their dependent territories maximum latitutde. [1] https://theculturetrip.com/pacific/wallis-futuna/articles/french-or-polynesian-the-curious-case-of-wallis-and-futuna/ https://theculturetrip.com/pacific/wallis-futuna/articles/fr... [2] https://www.vinci-construction-projets.com/en/realisations/new-coastal-road/ https://www.vinci-construction-projets.com/en/realisations/n...
- wwtrv 5y ago
  Considering the islands were uninhabited when they settled, the people currently living there are the native population of the Falklands.
  - KingOfCoders 5y ago
    It seems the first people settling there, "native population" were French and the current people living there are English colonialists. But I'm not an expert in Falkland island history.
    - hef19898 5y ago
      They were unsettled for a quite a while in between. There never was a true native population like native Americans or the various African peoples. The Falklands are a bunch of rocks being settled by various European powers and claimed by as many, they are since the 19th century a British territory aimed by Argentina. In a sense the British there are natives.