Malvinas Islands peso
Encyclopedia
The peso was a promissory note issued on the Falklands Islands by Luis Vernet
from around 1828 until the collapse of his settlement in August 1833. Vernet, who was appointed Governor by the United Provinces of the River Plate in 1829, paid workers on the islands in these promissory notes.
Following the Lexington raid in 1831, the settlement was in some disarray. When Vernet's deputy, Matthew Brisbane, returned in March 1833, he devalued these promissory notes as a reflection of Vernet's reduced status. This combined with the attempted re-assertion of authority after months of anarchy following the Lexington raid led a gang of Creole and Indian gauchos to an amok in the settlement killing the five senior members of Vernet's settlement, including Brisbane.
So many of these notes were issued that they continued in use as a currency long after the British return in 1833. So much was still circulating 10 years later, even in the Government treasury, that Governor Moody
issued hand written notes in exchange.
Luis Vernet
Luis Vernet was a merchant from Hamburg of Huguenot descent. Vernet established a settlement on East Falkland in 1828, after first seeking approval from both the British and Argentine authorities. As such, Vernet is a controversial figure in the history of the Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute...
from around 1828 until the collapse of his settlement in August 1833. Vernet, who was appointed Governor by the United Provinces of the River Plate in 1829, paid workers on the islands in these promissory notes.
Following the Lexington raid in 1831, the settlement was in some disarray. When Vernet's deputy, Matthew Brisbane, returned in March 1833, he devalued these promissory notes as a reflection of Vernet's reduced status. This combined with the attempted re-assertion of authority after months of anarchy following the Lexington raid led a gang of Creole and Indian gauchos to an amok in the settlement killing the five senior members of Vernet's settlement, including Brisbane.
So many of these notes were issued that they continued in use as a currency long after the British return in 1833. So much was still circulating 10 years later, even in the Government treasury, that Governor Moody
Richard Moody
Major-General Richard Clement Moody was a Lieutenant-Governor, and later Governor, of the Falkland Islands, and the first Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of British Columbia. While serving under this post, he selected the site of the new capital, New Westminster...
issued hand written notes in exchange.