Puerto Soledad (Puerto de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, English:Port Solitude) was a Spanish military outpost andpenal colony on theFalkland Islands, situated at an inner cove ofBerkeley Sound (French:Baie Accaron,[1]Spanish:Bahía Anunciación).
The settlement was established as a French colony under the namePort Saint Louis in 1764, and within a year reached a population of 75 (most of themAcadians), with three marriages and two births recorded (one of the births was François Benoit in 1764, son of Augustin Benoit and Françoise Thériault – apparently the first ever in the islands' history). After three years of French possession the settlement was ceded toSpain, and all theFrench settlers left to be replaced bySpaniards. Acting on personal instructions by KingCarlos III, the Spanish Government reimbursed the founder of Port St. Louis,Louis Antoine de Bougainville, 618,108French livres.[2]
Bougainville himself sailed to Port Saint Louis on board theBoudeuse, accompanied by the Spanish shipsEsmeralda andLiebre to hand the settlement over to Felipe Ruíz Puente, the first Spanish governor (1767–1773) of Puerto Soledad, as the settlement would become known. The ceremony took place on April 1, 1767, and from Puerto Soledad Bougainville set sail to make the first Frenchcircumnavigation of the world.[3]
Puerto Soledad had 103 residents in 1781: the governor, two priests, a treasury official, three officers, one surgeon, 50 soldiers, 43 convicts, one mason, and one baker. They occupied some 20 buildings includingdwellings,barracks forofficers,seamen,convicts andtroops,chapel,hospital,kiln,blacksmith andcarpenter shops, etc. Eventually the number of buildings increased to about 30 in 1811, with the population dropping to 46. The settlement was protected by threebatteries:San Carlos (later renamedSan Marcos),Santiago, andSan Felipe Batteries. Supply ships came fromMontevideo to Puerto Soledad on an annual basis during the summer, bringing relief and supplies. That supply line was temporarily severed during the war waged by Spain against Britain in 1805–1808, and the British occupation of Montevideo in 1807, causing considerable hardship to the Puerto Soledad residents.[4][5]
.jpg)
An indispensable source of subsistence for the small colony – as well as for the numerousEnglish andAmericansealers operating on the islands – was theferalcattle introduced by theFrench in 1764. There were 2,180 head of cattle and 166 horses in 1778. On festive occasions the Spaniards even had their favouritecorridas de toro, such as during the three-day event organized by governor Ramón Clairac y Villalonga (1787–88, 1789–90) to celebrate KingCarlos IV's accession to the throne when, along with allegiance formally sworn to the new monarch comedies were performed, and twelve bulls were fought.[4][6]
Spain governed Puerto Soledad through itscolonial administration inBuenos Aires. During its 44 years of existence the settlement had 21governors (Spanish:gobernador y comandante marítimo) serving a total of 31 terms, mainlySpaniards excepting twoSouth Americancriollos: Jacinto de Antolaguirre (1781–1783) born inBuenos Aires, and Francisco Javier de Viana y Alzaibár (1798–99, 1800–01) born inMontevideo. The governors were mainly naval officers with the exception of one drawn from the army.[4]
Following a decision byViceroyFrancisco Javier Elío, on February 13, 1811 all the troops and settlers of Puerto Soledad were evacuated on board the brigantineGalvez toMontevideo in order to fight hisBuenos Airean adversaries. A lead plaque was left at the chapel of Puerto Soledad pleading possession of the island and the settlement for KingFernando VII ofSpain.[7]
During the subsequent 17 years, the settlement, while frequented by sealers, had remained largely derelict, untilLouis Vernet brought some settlers under the authority ofBuenos Aires Province in 1828. Vernet, aware of British claims to the Falklands, had also sought permission for his expedition from the British consulate. That new settlement existed under the namePuerto Luis until 1833 when it was renamed firstAnson's Harbour and eventually "Port Louis" by theBritish.
Port Louis remained the sole settlement and administrative centre of the islands until the capital was moved to the newly establishedStanley in 1845. After this, following a 17-year eventful and occasionally turbulent existence, the settlement declined in importance, eventually becoming asheep farm.[8][9]
51°31′44″S58°07′40″W / 51.528878°S 58.127718°W /-51.528878; -58.127718