The Falklands were first sighted and mapped by the Portugese in 1522, and left un-named, until re-discovered in 1592 by John Davis who sighted them and named them Davis Land.
In 1594 Richard Hawkins visited and mapped them, and then re-named the islands Hawkin's Maidenland.
Dutchman Sebald de Weert arrived there in 1600, named them Sebald Islands (Islas Sebaldinas in Spanish)
Nearly 100 years later in 1690 John Strong landed there and named the channel between the two main islands Falkland Channel.
That name then stuck until the French arrived in 1764 to establish Port Louise and name the islands Isles Malouines.
In 1765, John Byron claimed the islands as British on the grounds of prior discovery.
In 1766 John McBride established a colony there at Port Egmont.
In 1767 the French left the Falklands on demand by Spain who clamed the islands by right of prior discovery, (of which there are no records), but the French did what they were good at, they retreated.
IN 1767, the Spanish re-named the French port Puerto Solodad and changed the French name Isles Malouines to Las Malvinas.
IN 1770 the Spanish arrived from Argentina with 1,400 men and forced the British to leave Port Egmont, starting the first Falklands crisis which lasted until January1771.
In 1771 he colony at Port Belmont was then re-established by John Stott who arrived with the ships HMS Florida, HMS Hound and HMS Juno. Port Egmont then served as a port of call for British ships headed around Cape Horn.
In 1776 Britain withdrew its troops from Port Egmont, as the American War of Independence forced Britain to cut back on colonial expenditure. Britaion left a plaque there asserting British claim to the territory.
But in 1780 the Spanish forced the population of sealers there off the islands, claiming them as their own again and destroyed Port Egmont and the British plaque of claim left there.
Spain kept a garrison there until 1811, when it too was forced to withdraw because of the Spanish Peninsular War.
Until 6th November 1820,British and American sealers then used the islands, when an American, David Jewett claimed the islands on behalf of the United Provinces of the River Plate, a predecessor conglomerate to the future state of Argentina, but made no mention of his claim when reporting lengthily to Buenos Aires in February 1821.
In fact the first the world knew of his claim was in a news account in Massachusetts.
After that until 1833 a series of privateers and pirates, gentlemen of fortune, entrepeneurs and con-men attempted to secure the Falklands Islands on behalf of the PP of the River Plate, later Argentina, after being given all sorts of licences and territorial rights by the fledgling state.
In 1833 Britain re-established its control over the Falklands Islands.