Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Port Stanley, also known as Stanley, is the only "major" town and capital of the Falkland Islands, located on East Falkland Island. It is the principal community and port of the Falkland Islands and is served by an airport opened in 1979. In Imperial times it was an important coaling station for the Royal Navy, hence its significance which led to ships based here being involved in the Battle of the Falkland Islands in the First World War, and the Battle of the River Plate in the Second World War. Port Stanley was made capital of the Falklands in 1842. The town was held by Argentine troops for about ten weeks in 1982 and suffered damage before being retaken by a British task force during the Falklands War. Population (1991 estimate): 1,557. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.