Posted on 04/17/2012 6:29:13 AM PDT by InsightSur
“Shouldnt Argentina therefore be returned to whatever natives are left given that Europeans simply waltzed in uninvited and claimed the country? Same for the US? Should Australia be returned to the aborigines?”
Apples to Oranges. Early on just prior to European settlement those continents were mostly uninhabited and sparsely populated, unestablished as nations. Argentina was an established nation at the time and had a natural claim to the nearby islands.
You make a better argument by saying it’s been nearly 200 years, generations of Brits have been settled in the Falklands for centuries under UK rule, what’s established was established a long time ago, lets leave well enough alone, instead of trying to explain away old England’s claim to the islands that was based on imperial aggressive actions, a nation we ourselves had to extract from our territory.
On the contrary, I don’t buy the argument that simply occupying territory for long enough is justification for ownership. Does that mean that Tibet will be justifiably Chinese territory in 150 more years?
You’re playing semantics, and your argument was that if it was far back enough, it doesn’t matter. Your definition of justifiable landgrabs vs unjustafiable is entirely subjective.
Should the UK give the US Bermuda? Should Chile give Bolivia land they lost after the war? Should France give Germany territory taken just 60 years ago? Should Aruba be given to Venezuela simply because of its proximity?
The UK’s claim is far more justifiable than any of those.
Outside Columbia (and maybe Chile), this is why I would not have anything to do with any resource company with the majority of its assets in South America. Venezuela is fascist. Bolivia and Ecuador are socialist. Brazil is turning socialist.
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