Stanley

Stanley (formerly known as Port Stanley) is the capital and only town in the Falkland Islands. It is located on the isle of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope, south of Stanley Harbour, in one of the wettest parts of the islands. Its population is around 1,500 people. It is the world's southernmost administrative centre; however, as the Falklands are not a sovereign state, it is not usually categorised as the world's southernmost capital city— that status is generally given to Wellington, New Zealand.

Discovered by English navigator John Davis in 1592, the French took possession and founded the settlement of Port Louis in 1764. The British, who claimed them on the grounds of their previous discovery, removed the French in 1765; meanwhile France had sold her rights to Spain who yielded the islands to Great Britain in 1771.

In 1820 the new country of Argentina laid claim to the islands, but the British declared them a crown colony in 1832.

Work on the settlement began in 1843, with it becoming the capital in July 1845. It was named for Lord Stanley, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies at the time.