Pink Ice: Britain and the South Atlantic EmpireFormally incorporated into the British Empire in 1908 and again in 1917, the Anterctic Peninsula and wind-blown island chains of the South Atlantic became part of a pink-tinted empire. Some in Britain hoped that the entire Antarctic continent would be annexed. Those hopes were never to be realized yet successive British governments have been determined to maintain, and even fight for Britain's territorial possessions in this faraway region of the world. "Pink Ice" tells the story of the political struggles over Antarctica and the South Atlantic. It shows how Great Britain and Argentina have sought to invest these thinly populated spaces, composed mostly of ice, rock and water, with cultural and national importance. This is a phenomenon by no means exclusive to the South Atlantic. Providing the wider political and historical background to the 1982 Falklands conflict, the author demonstrates how political rivalries have on different occasions been played out in other competitive arenas such as World Cup football, reactions to outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and trade disputes wherever they have occurred. |