Building a national cause from an unknown claim. Malvinas during the interwar period

Abstract

In this paper, we analyse the genesis of the construction of the Malvinas cause, which we place in the interwar period. For this, we add to the analysis of already classic sources other underused or ignored documents until now. Until the mid-1920s, the claim of sovereignty over the Islands was unknown to most of the population and was not part of institutional common sense. The cause developed slowly from the mid-1920s, and around 1934, it came to fruition. In this context, characterised by the questioning of the link with Great Britain and the robust deployment of nationalist and anti-imperialist discourses, different political sectors converged and, at the same time, differentiated themselves regarding the Malvinas while they contributed to its dissemination. However, not all actors considered that it should occupy a relevant place and there were many who denounced the use of the cause to distract attention from the problems they considered central. The Malvinas cause lost part of its momentum as the Second World War approached, but in the analysed period, the foundations were laid for its configuration as a central national symbol.