South Georgia was discovered by European explorers in 1675 and there were no indigenous populations in the area because of its remote location and harsh climate. There is an intermittent population in modern times, which is scattered between the winter and summer seasons due to the bases located within the island. There are about 16 to 20 inhabitants during the winter time, but this usually doubles during the winter.
South Georgia, sometimes referred to as Isla San Pedro, is an island that is located in the South Atlantic Ocean and is part of the British administration of the South Sandwich Islands and part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia. The island is located 1400km from the Falkland Islands and is about 170km long and 35km wide. The harsh climate is exacerbated by its mostly mountainous terrain, with the highest point being 9629ft at Mount Paget. The coast located to the north of the island contains many bays and fjords, which are excellent harbors for docking and other maritime activities.
The island was discovered in 1675 by Anthony de la Roche, which is the most conclusive evidence of the first recorded sighting. Anthony was a London merchant, who had initially named the island "Roche Island" after himself on a few early maps. The island was eventually sighted by a commercial Spanish Ship in 1756 on St. Peters day, which gives it the Spanish name "Isla De San Pedro" or the island of St. Peter.
The famous explorer James Cook eventually made a landing on the island to survey and map the island of South Georgia. Once he and his crew had completed the map of the island, he named it after King George III in his honor. Commercial sealing was permitted near the island between 1786 and 1913, where over 130 sealing visits were recorded, but many more unrecorded visits were expected. Modern whaling methods were permitted between 1909 and 1964, discovering sealing era relics such as hut ruins, graves and iron try pots. The South Georgia Museum was established on the island in 1992 to store these ancient relics that tell the maritime and exploration history of South Georgia.
One of the most interesting pieces of history related to the island was on March 19, 1982, during a short Argentinian occupation. On that day, a group of Argentinians arrived at one of the harbors on the northern part of the island and raised the Argentinian flag. During the Falklands War on April 3, Argentinian naval forces returned to officially occupy the island. British forces engaged the troop supply networks of the Argentinian navy in the ensuing days and finally broke through to recapture the island from the opposing forces during Operation parquet, which was a well-orchestrated plan using air and sea troops to defeat and demoralize the Argentinian opposition.