Rockall.

ROCKALL.

While musing on the Falklands question about who owns them and more importantly who owns the oil under them I began to ponder. This is always dangerous!
When Britain was great and went round beating everybody up to take over the Whole World, rule all and make them Christians they had a fight with Argentina. Britain won. Argentina lost. the Falklands where now British. During these triumphall times the Aborigines lost Australia, the Mauris lost New Zealand. The Indians became cricket fans and had tea at four o'clock and so on.
The far flung Empire on which the Sun never set included many Islands and Countries. Off the North West of Scotland the inhabitants of St Kilda had the dubious honour of being the most Westerly point of the inhabited British Isles. Eventually the people of St. Kilda just had to give up and it is now abandoned.
But according to the Government the most Westerly point of the British Isles is Rockall. It is 187 miles West of St. Kilda which is miles West of the Scottish mainland. But who owns it? Britain says that it does. Denmark claims it on behalf of the Faroe Islands which are part of Denmark by some old treaty. Scotland owned the Faroes at one time as part of the Orkneys & Shetlands group which I think they won from the Vikings. Iceland too weighs in with a claim. Why all the stushie? Oil you fool!
There is oil under Helens Reef and Rockall is a part of that reef.
The United Nations have received papers from Britain and Iceland. Denmark will submit papers before 2014 and then the U N. will decide. Of course, if the decision goes against Britain then it will be ignored by them in any case. There is no great rush because oil is expensive to retrieve from under the Atlantic but you need to have your eye on good reserves if the main source dries up.
If America finds out they will no doubt claim that Rockall is nearer them than Britain and is part of Hawaii that broke away!!!