Lennox, Picton and Nueva
Picton, Lennox and Nueva is the name of three islands in the extreme south of South America . The islands are east of Navarino Island and south of the large Tierra del Fuego Island , half of which is Argentine and Chilean territory.
history
Because of their strategic location south of the Beagle Channel , Argentina claimed these islands, resulting in a serious conflict with Chile (the Beagle Conflict ). Both countries set up a tribunal under the care of the British Crown to decide on the islands to which they belong. In May 1977 the judges elected by Chile and Argentina decided that the islands should belong to Chile. Argentina, however, did not accept this internationally binding decision and threatened war if Chile did not agree to a change in the arbitral award. Relations between the two conflicting parties became extremely critical and came close to war. In 1979 the two countries agreed on papal mediation in the Beagle conflict .
The proposal by Pope John Paul II to reassign the three islands to Chile was immediately approved by Chile. Argentina only accepted it after the defeat in the Falklands War in a referendum in 1984. The friendship and peace treaty of 1984 between Chile and Argentina was signed in Rome on November 29, 1984 and later ratified in both countries.
Area of the islands
- Lennox 170 km²
- Nueva 120 km²
- Picton 105 km²
Use in literature
The ignorance of these regions seemed to stimulate the imagination of Europeans from the 16th century onwards. The Cape Horn and the Strait of Magellan have often in the literature as a backdrop served for tremendous adventure.
The island of Nueva was also used by Jules Verne as a backdrop for his story Die Schiffwüchigen der "Jonathan" : An anarchist , Kaw-Djer, tries to live on the island of Nueva without state patronage. One day after the signing of the border treaty of 1881, an Indian informed him that Chile and Argentina had agreed on the common border. Jules Verne devised the following dialogue with the Indian:
- “- and belong to Chile now - asked Kaw-Djer - the islands south of the Beagle Channel?
- - all.
- - The Nueva too?
- - yeah
- - This is how it had to happen - Kaw-Djer said quietly to himself, in a voice distorted by a tremendous emotion. "
With the correct interpretation of the border treaty of 1881, Kaw-Djer knew that his anarchist dream world was doomed.
See also
Web links
- Act of Montevideo of January 8, 1979 (United Nations) (PDF file; 66 kB)
- Was Averted in: The Times , January 22, 1979.
Coordinates: 55 ° 11 ′ S , 66 ° 45 ′ W