Jesuits and the Falkland Islands

Two unconnected subjects as far as I know, but we both find them interesting topics and couldn't figure out where else to blog about them.

The region of Cordoba is full of old Jesuit missions. If you are from a secular country like New Zealand, you may not have heard of these guys. Here is a quick recap from google on who they are:

The Society of Jesus is a male religious congregation of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits. The society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry around the world. Jesuits work in education (founding schools, colleges, universities and seminaries), intellectual research, and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also give retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, and promote social justice and ecumenical dialogue

The Jesuits set up missions all over South America, spreading their religion and doing what they saw as necessary to help out local indigenous communities. They also made an effort to learn local languages and customs, and encourage locals to hang on to them in the face of colonisation. The Spanish eventually had enough of the Jesuits, as they were helping the poor too much, and had too much power among the masses. The Spanish authorities put an end to their activities, forcing them to abandon their missions. 

We visited one mission in the town of Jesus Maria. It is a beautiful building and grounds. There is a stash of wine making equipment out back as well, it turns out the Jesuits were prolific wine makers, using profits to fund their activities. 

Another topic that comes up often in Argentina is the politics surrounding the Falkland or Malvinas Islands. Again, if you are like us you may not know too much about this topic, so here is google again:

The Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas), was a ten-week war between Argentina and the United Kingdom over two British overseas territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It began on Friday, 2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands in an attempt to establish the sovereignty it had long claimed over them. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982, returning the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders died during the hostilities.

The conflict was a major episode in the protracted confrontation over the territories' sovereignty. Argentina asserted (and maintains to this day) that the islands are Argentinian territory, and the Argentine government thus characterised its military action as the reclamation of its own territory. The British government regarded the action as an invasion of a territory that had been a Crown colony since 1841. Falkland Islanders, who have inhabited the islands since the early 19th century, are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and favour British sovereignty.

In Argentina, it is hard to ignore the issue with graffiti, art work, road signs and currency remembering the conflict, and often declaring the Falklands/Malvinas are Argentinian. We have also been trapped in a number of conversations with Argentinians who want to know what we think about the conflict, and who should own them. Short answer? We don't really have an opinion either way.