Luis Vernet

Luis Vernet (born Louis Élie Vernet; March 6, 1791 – January 17, 1871) 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.

Vernet was born in Hamburg but later claimed a French birthplace in his effort to have the French Government intercede with the British Government on his behalf. As a result, some sources refer to him a native of Hamburg, while others refer to him as French born.

Vernet variously referred to himself as Ludwig, Louis, Lewis or Luis depending on the language he was using. He was multilingual, being fluent in German, French, English and Spanish.

Elias Luis Vernet (Vernet and Louis Elie) was born on 6 March 1791 in Hamburg. His ancestors were Huguenots, probably from Avignon, who settled first in Belgium and then Hamburg. His parents were the tobacco and tea merchant Jacques Vernet (1730–1813) and Maria Vernet. He had three brothers, Peter Alexander, Emilio and Federico.

At the age of 14, in 1805, he was appointed by his father to a trading company and sent to Philadelphia. There he joined the trading house of Krumbhaar, staying with Lewis Krumbhaar, who became a father figure. He became a merchant travelling to Portugal, Brazil and Hamburg.

The U.S. government sent a diplomatic Commission to the newly independent United Provinces of the River Plate. Luis Vernet took passage in the frigate USS Congress, arriving in Montevideo in February 1818 (whilst it was a Brazilian possession) and on to Buenos Aires. He remained in Buenos Aires and organized a trading company with the port of Hamburg.

Together with the Montevideo-based Conrad Rücker (died 1866, Hamburg), he ran a trading company until 1821. Rücker was also his best man when on 17 August 1819 he wed María Saez Pérez (1800–1858) from Montevideo. With her he had seven children: Luis Emilio, Luisa, Sofia, Matilde (1830–1924), Gustavo, Carlos Federico.

Later he established an Estancia about 100 km south of Buenos Aires on the Río Salado, where he captured and slaughtered wild cattle. At this stage this represented the border of the colonised areas.