William Pitt the Elder berates Parliament for treating the public like know-nothings.
In June 1770, the Spanish invaded the Falkland Islands. The Government was inclined to sell the islanders out, and smooth over public outrage with words of assurance from King George III. But veteran statesman William Pitt ‘the Elder’, Earl of Chatham, warned them that such a patronising attitude risked losing public trust.
A proudly British group of islands far off in the South Atlantic.
The Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean were discovered by the British in the 17th century, and given their first government by London early in the 19th. The islands are an important centre for farming and trade, a haven for extraordinary wildlife, and British to the core.