Falkland Islands, a group of islands in the S. Atlantic, 240 m. E. of Tierra del Fuego; discovered in 1592 by Davis; purchased from the French in 1764 by Spain, but afterwards ceded to Britain, by whom they were occupied in 1833 and used as a convict settlement until 1852; besides E. and W. Falkland there are upwards of 100 small islands, mostly barren; wheat and flax are raised, but sheep-farming is the main industry.
Population (circa 1900) given as 2,000.
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Falkland, Lucius Gary, Viscount * Fall, The