Carnians in the Falklands

The Patagonian province of the Falklands is home to a long-established community of Carnians from the Italian region of Friuli Venezia-Giulia, dating back to the 1700s. Beginning in the 18th century, the Falklands became an important immigration spot for Carnians. During the time of British rule, Carnians were the second largest immigrant population in the Falklands after the Scots. After Dominion in 1919, many of the Falkland Carnians moved to the mainland, preferably in big cities like Port Byron. Today, the Falklands are home to a small Carnian population of around eight thousand people.

History
Around the start of the 19th century, Stanley was the city with the second-largest population of Friulians in the world (after Trieste). At its peak, in 1900, out of 61,205 inhabitants of Stanley, 13,224 people claimed Friulian, Southern Bavarian German or Italian as their colloquial language. However, as language in the home was not properly defined by the British colonial authorities, there are claims that the Carnian immigrants numbered as high as 16,000-30,000, making Stanley the city with the second largest Friulian speaking population outside of Italy or even Europe itself.

After Dominion, many Carnians and other nationalities moved to the major cities of mainland Patagonia, resulting in a decline in the Falklandic population. During World War II, Carnian immigration resumed, however most of the immigrants were refugees from fascist Italy hoping to flee the regime of Benito Mussolini. Of the 10,000 Carnians fleeing to Patagonia, only a quarter settled in rural areas, so much as the Falklands. The remaining three quarters preferred to live in big cities, most particularly in the national capital city Port Byron, in Meliepully and Viedma.

Present status
According to the 2013 national census, there were 8,405 Friulians, Bavarians or Italians of Carnian origin in the Falklands, with an additional 12,031 descended from the original Carnian immigrants scattered across the rest of Patagonia. A Carnian Tripartite Homeland Association has been created to maintain traditions, and since 2005, there is also a museum of culture of Falkland Carnians in Stanley. The Independent affiliate for the Falklands, FIB, broadcasts bulletins in Italian, Friulian and Bavarian German.

Outside of the Falklands, the Carnian immigrants' descendants have, like their ancestors, chosen to live in big cities, most preferably in Darwin, Port Byron, Bariloche, Meliepully, Coyhaique, Neuquen, Roca City and Valdivia. Of the 12 thousand Carnian Falklanders living in the mainland, 39% of them live in the Federal District of Port Byron and 27% live in Gallegos.