| abstract | - The Capture of Port Egmont on 10 June 1770 was a Spanish expedition that seized the British fort of Port Egmont on the Falkland Islands, garrisoned since 1765. The incident nearly led to an outbreak of war between Great Britain and Spain, known as the Falklands Crisis. The Spanish authorities in Buenos Aires, having been made aware of the British settlement, began issuing warnings to the British to leave Spanish territory. The British issued similar warnings to the Spanish to leave British territory. The British were under orders from their Admiralty to order citizens of countries that were not at war with Britain to leave the Islands. If they refused to leave, the British were not allowed to use force, unless it was in self-defence. British refusal to leave was met by Spanish force. Some 1,400 Spanish soldiers in five ships were dispatched from the Argentine mainland to drive the British out of West Falkland. The British contingent could not resist such a force, so after firing their guns, they capitulated on terms, an inventory of their stores being taken, and were permitted to return to their own country in the Favourite.
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