Luis Vernet

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Luis Vernet

This article is about the Argentine Governor of Puerto Luis. For the French Olympic archer, see Luis Vernet (archer).

Luis Vernet (born Louis Vernet in 1792 in France - died in 1871 in San Isidro, Argentina) was the 2nd and last Argentine Governor of Puerto Luis (and the only Argentine Governor to set foot in the Falkland Islands), the Argentine penal colony in the Falkland Islands, from 1829 until 1831. Prior to his appointment as Governor, Vernet was a successful businessman with wide commercial interests in the Falklands. Vernet's actions as Governor led to the destruction of the colony. The appointment of Vernet was challenged by the British consul in Buenos Aires, who restated the previous British claim to the Islands. Vernet sought British permission before landing on the Falkland Islands and agreed to provide regular reports to the British consulate. In response to the announcement of his appointment as Governor, Vernet stressed to the British that his interests were purely commercial.

Vernet arrived in Puerto Soledad in 1829 and reverted to the use of the original French name as Puerto Luis. The Argentine colony was only established in 1828 following the abandonment of the previous Spanish and British colonies in the Falklands in 1811 and 1776 respectively (although both nations left behind declarations of their continued sovereignty). The colony was largely archaic, and the Argentine government hoped that Vernet's appointment would bolster the economic and political status of the colony, given his extensive business operations.

Vernet was granted a monopoly on seal hunting and one of his first acts was to curb seal hunting on the Islands by others, to conserve the dwindling seal population for his own dealings. Vernet later seized the American ship, Harriet, for breaking the restrictions on seal hunting. Property on board the ship was seized and the captain was returned to Buenos Aires to stand trial. Vernet also returned for the trial. The American Consul in Argentina protested the actions by Vernet, stating that the United States did not recognise Argentine sovereignty in the Falklands. The consul dispatched the USS Lexington warship to Puerto Luis to recover the confiscated property, as well as the Superior and Breakwater that had also been seized.

The captain of the Lexington found what he considered evidence of piracy and took away the Argentine settlement at Puerto Luis which he described as "the whole of the (Falklands') population consisting of about forty persons, with the exception of some gauchos, or cowboys who were encamped in the interior." On leaving, the captain declared the Islands to be res nullius (free of all government) and returned to Montevideo, Uruguay. This left the islands in a state of anarchy, occupied by escaped convicts and pirates. Attempts by the Argentine government to re-establish the penal colony failed when a new Governor arrived in the islands in November 1832, only to be murdered by a mutiny. In January 1833, the United Kingdom sent a naval task force, regaining control of the islands.

Vernet never set foot in the Falklands again. Recognising that Vernet had British permission to be in the islands, the settlement in the Falklands was encouraged to continue.^[1] Vernet's deputy, Matthew Brisbane, returned in March of 1833 and endeavoured to resurrect the settlement but later that year was murdered alongside senior members of the settlement by disgruntled Gauchos.^[2] Vernet later attempted to return to the islands but was denied access by the British who labelled him a trespasser and reneged on promises made by Captain Onslow in 1833. Nevertheless Vernet continued to influence the development of the Falkland Islands. He sold part of his holdings in the islands to British merchant G.T. Whittington^[3], who formed the Falkland Islands Commercial Fishery and Agricultural Association. This organisation was a key factor in persuading the British Government to establish a colony in the islands, rather than a military base. He provided Samuel Lafone, a businessman key to the formation of the Falkland Islands Company, with maps of the island and knowledge of the potential of the feral cattle population of the islands.

Mount Vernet on East Falkland is named after him.