The settlement of Port Louis is the most important archaeological and historical site in the Falkland Islands with a unique colonial history. For eighty years, from its foundation by the French aristocrat Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1764 until the capital was moved by the British to Stanley in 1844, Port Louis served successively as the principal settlement of the four occupying powers, France, Spain, United Provinces of the River Plate, and Britain.
The settlement was virtually abandoned in 1844, leaving extensive earthworks and structural remains from all phases of occupation often in an excellent state of preservation. This monograph presents the detailed evidence from the first archaeological survey of this important site, mapping the remains by conventional surveying techniques, undertaken largely from 1994 to 1996. In 2023, new technology using drone photography and 3D photogrammetry was used to enhance the archaeological record. The monograph sets out the historical context for the foundation and development of the colonial settlement under successive administrations, integrating the rich cartographic and documentary record in European and South American archives to interpret the physical remains. Together, they show how the remote location, the influence of topography, the difficult climate and the overriding need for defence all contributed to the layout and character of the settlement, while the geopolitical manoeuvres of the European powers fractured the continuity of this remote establishment.
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Early Discoveries in the Falklands and Introduction to Port Louis
The Falkland Islands
The Pre-Colonial Era: A Prehistoric Human Presence?
Discovery and Early Sightings
18th-Century Voyages of Exploration
Introduction to the Settlement History
Chapter 2: The Archaeological Survey
Origin of the Project
Aims of the Project
The Survey Methodology
Geology and Soils
The Topography of Port Louis
Condition of the Site
Technological Advances: Drone Mapping and Photogrammetry
Chapter 3: Natural Resources
Introduction
Wildlife
Introduced Livestock
Impact of Human Settlement
Chapter 4: Foundation and French Occupation, 1764-7
The Origin of the French Settlement
Bougainvilles arrival at Port Saint-Louis
The British Expeditions
The Final Form of the French Settlement
Le Moines Projected Town and Citadel
The Spanish Objection
The French Settlement: the archaeological survey
The French Defences: the Fort (F5), Powder Magazine (F89) and Battery (F108)
The Apartment House (F93, F11, F9)
Turf Building (F8)
The Projected Buildings
The Commandants House (F103) and Garden (F102)
Other French Buildings
Trackways and Ramps (F115, F125, F96, F121)
The Tannery (F118, F138, F100)
The Boatyard
Gardens and Plantations
Garden (F84, F85)
Garden on Main Headland (F110, F111)
Other Gardens (F24, F148)
The Tanning Process in the 18th Century
Chapter 5: The Spanish Occupation, 1767-1811
The Spanish Garrison
Thomas Falkners Account, 1774
Food Supply
Conflict with Britain 1770-71: Port Egmont
Puerto Soledad: the First Decades
Presidios in Spanish North America
The Buildings
Malaspinas Expedition at Puerto de la Soledad
The Final Years of Puerto Soledad
Spanish Estancias and Other Establishments in East Falkland
The Spanish Settlement 1767-1811: the archaeological survey
The Spanish Governors House (F103)
Presidio and Quartel (F109)
Defensive Works: the Spanish Fort (F6)
The Hospital (site of F12)
Group of Official Buildings near the Jetty
The Archaeological Evidence
The First Spanish Chapel (F70)
A Further Group of Official Buildings
Spanish Buildings to the West of the Careenage Entrance
Gardens
Observations on the Buildings
Building Materials: Clay Bricks
The Settlement during the Abandonment
Chapter 6: Abandonment of the Settlement (1811-1820)
Argentine Report of 1816
The Uranie Shipwreck, 1820
The Coquille Expedition 1822
Duperreys Plan, 1820
The Ruined House of the Governor (F103)
Chapter 7: United Provinces at Port Louis, 1820-21, 1824 and 1826-1833
David Jewett and The United Provinces at Port Louis
Vernet and Pacheco, 1823
Vernet as Military and Political Commander
British Visitors to Port Louis
Vernet and the Lexington Incident
Joseph Addymans House
The British Reaction to the Events of 1832
The Settlement under the United Provinces: the archaeological survey
María Sáez de Vernets Diary 1829
References to Earlier Buildings
House of Louis Vernet (F109)
Corral (F46)
New Building Work under Vernet
The Cemetery (F37)
Gardens and Tree-planting under Vernet
Vernets Claim against the British Government
Vernets Corrals
Chapter 8: The British Occupation at Port Louis, 1833-1844
The British Assertion of Sovereignty
FitzRoy at Port Louis
The Beagle and Charles Darwin at Port Louis
The Settlement, 1834-1837
Vernets Claim against the British Government
Vernet and the Lafones
The British at Port Louis: Robert Lowcay 1838-39
Naval Officer Lieut. John Tyssen, 1839-42
The Problem of Accommodation
George Whitingtons Attempts to Colonise the Islands
The British Government Proposal, 1840
Moody at Port Louis, 1842-44
James Clark Rosss Visit, 1842
The Government Livestock
The Projected Town of Anson
The Initial Survey
Sales of Town and Country Plots
Planning the New Town
The Transfer of Government from Port Louis to Stanley
A Letter from Charles Darwin
Port Louis after 1844
Decline of the Settlement at Port Louis
The Division of Port Louis and the Lafones
The Robson Era (1876-1997)
Port Louis South
Mannings Portable Colonial Cottages
The British Settlement: the archaeological survey
Sources
Government House (F109)
Other British Houses
Other Structures
The Corrals
The Visit of James Clark Ross, 1842
Buildings probably Constructed by Ross
Other Buildings
Further New Buildings in 1842-3
Gardens
Structures and Installations of Uncertain Date
Livestock Installations
Maritime Features
Gardens
Buildings of Uncertain Date
Chapter 9: The Fishing Establishment at Salthouse Point, Fish Creek
Location and Topographical Situation
Historical Background
Vernets Fishing Establishment
Fish-House Creek under the British
The Archaeological Survey
Boundary Bank and Ditch (F130)
Turf building (F127)
Turf building (F128)
Structure (F129)
Turf building (F131)
Dam? (F132)
Turf building (F133)
Turf building (F134)
Turf building (F135)
Fish-Trap (F139)
Hollows (animal enclosures?) (F140, F141)
Chapter 10: Material Culture: The Potential of Finds Assemblages
The Potential of Material Culture
The Material Culture of the Gauchos
Flora and Fauna
Artefact Assemblages from Port Louis: Case Studies
The Ceramic Finds an Overview
Leather recovered during survey at Port Louis
Chapter 11: Concluding Themes
References
Abbreviations
Appendix 1: The Archaeological Features
Robert Philpott is a research associate in the Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology at the University of Liverpool, and an archaeological consultant. He has been researching the archaeology of the Falkland Islands since 1992. An initial survey of the first British colony at Port Egmont was followed by investigations of the Patagonian Missionary Society settlement on Keppel Island, Falkland Islands Company cattle ranching sites and the company headquarters at Darwin.
Other research interests include the colonial archaeology of the Leeward Islands, and the Iron Age and later archaeology of the North West of England. He is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
