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Antonina Roxa

Antonina Roxa
Born c. 1807
Died 14 February 1869
Stanley, Falkland Islands
Cause of death Cancer
Resting place Stanley Cemetery
Monuments Antonina Vale, near Port Louis, Falkland Islands
Citizenship Falkland Islander
Known for Falklands Landowner, survivor of the Port Louis massacre (Gaucho Murders)
Partner(s) Kenney (possibly Kinney), Pedro Varela

Antonina Roxa was one of the first Falkland Islanders whose residence in the islands predated the British return in 1833. Roxa first travelled to the islands in 1830 and was part of Luis Vernet's original colony. After the British return she became a landowner and businesswoman. She died of cancer in 1869.

The exact circumstances of Roxa's birth are not known for certain and it is uncertain whether she was born in what is now Argentina or Uruguay. An article in the Launceston Advertiser, Tasmania of 19 June 1836 describes her as "Antonina, an Indian of Salta by birth."

Her date of birth is generally given as c. 1807 and she was reputed to have been a princess as the daughter of an aboriginal chief. However, most contemporary sources describe her as of South American heritage.

Roxa arrived in the Falkland Islands in 1830, during the period in which Luis Vernet was establishing a settlement at Port Louis (Spanish: Puerto Luis) in the ruins of the former Spanish penal colony of Puerto Soledad (previously the French settlement of Fort St. Louis). When the majority of the population chose to leave following the raid of the USS Lexington in 1831, Roxa was one of a group of c. 24 individuals who chose to remain in the islands. These individuals continued to trade on behalf of Vernet but Vernet refused to return as Military and Civil Commander in the Islands.

In October 1832, the ARA Sarandí commanded by Major José María Pinedo arrived to install Major Esteban Mestivier as the new Military and Civil Commander in the Islands . In November 1832, shortly after the Sarandí departed on patrol the garrison mutinied and murdered Mestivier. When the Sarandí returned in December, Pinedo took control and restored order with aid from the crews of the British sealer Rapid and the French whaler Jean Jacques. In January 1833, HMS Clio arrived and her captain, James Onslow, informed Pinedo he was there to reassert British sovereignty and requested that Pinedo leave with the garrison. Pinedo departed on 4 January 1833 in the Sarandí followed by the Rapid the next day taking the garrison to Buenos Aires. Of the persons present in the remains of Vernet's settlement, four chose to leave in the Rapid leaving twenty-three residents in the now renamed Port Louis. HMS Clio did not remain long, staying only ten days and sailing after placing William Dickson in charge of the settlement. Roxa again chose to remain in the settlement and is listed by Thomas Helsby (Vernet's clerk) as one of the .


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