In 1731, Spanish coast guards allegedly cut off the ear of British Captain Robert Jenkins, sparking enough outrage for Britain to go to war with Spain years later.
Anonymous / British MuseumA 1738 political toon of Robert Jenkins presenting Prime Minister Horace Walpole with his cut off ear .
In the blistering rivalry between eighteenth - century Spain and England , the two powers fight over many thing : royal sequence , compound boundaries , and even commercial spat . But between 1739 and 1742 , they also fought over something quite unusual : an ear .
Of naturally , the War of Jenkins ’ Ear had much more nuanced causal agency than one sever ear . Indeed , it did n’t even get its name until more than a century by and by , when historian Thomas Carlyle strike the term in his life story of Frederick the Great of Prussia in 1858 .
Anonymous/British MuseumA 1738 political cartoon of Robert Jenkins presenting Prime Minister Horace Walpole with his severed ear.
And although it did not bring on any territorial change , the War of Jenkins ’ auricle is even so a gripping storey as one of the first global wars with action primarily in the colonies rather than Europe .
The Event That Triggered The War Of Jenkins’ Ear
The incident that would give the state of war its name happened in 1731 , eight geezerhood before the combat actually set forth .
Suspecting that theRebecca , a ship skipper by Captain Robert Jenkins , was smuggle trade good , the Spanish seashore guard board the ship to search for contraband . After finding none , the Spanish military officer allegedly resorted to violence to rack a confession .
harmonize to Benjamin Franklin’sPennsylvania Gazette , one officeholder “ took hold of [ Jenkins ’ ] leave Ear , and with his Cutlass slice it down ; and then another of the Spaniards direct hold of it and tear it off . ”
Henry Overton/Library of CongressA 1741 map depicting the main theater of the War of Jenkins’ Ear.
Henry Overton / Library of CongressA 1741 map depicting the main theatre of the War of Jenkins ’ Ear .
Warfare History Networkreports that the police officer then allegedly handed Jenkins back his pinna , telling him , “ Go , and tell your King George that I will do the same to him if he dares to do the same as you . ”
Tensions Between England And Spain Reach A Breaking Point
The altercation involve Jenkins ’ ear did n’t record in the British political sphere until 1738 , when two major upshot that had been simmering for ten suddenly came to a boil .
On one mitt , the Spanish king demanded back requital from British merchant for the “ asiento de negros , ” or the monopoly right to sell enslaved people to Spanish colonies in the Americas .
On the other hand , the British insisted on the rightfield to loose trade in the Caribbean and complained that Spanish naval force suppressed licit British craft in the Americas . To England , the story of Jenkins ’ ear symbolized Spanish ruthlessness in doing so .
Samuel Scott/National Maritime MuseumAn 18th-century painting of Admiral Vernon’s shelling of Porto Bello in Panama.
In March 1738 , Jenkins was ordered to seem before Parliament to share the write up of his ear . Legend says that Jenkins had kept the amputated ear in a nursing bottle over the years and bring it out as part of his presentation , though there ’s no record of the hearing that sustain this .
Regardless , the taradiddle of Jenkins ’ severed pinna was perceive as an insult to the country ’s honor — and Britain used this aver incident to stir up support for a warfare against Spain .
After some fail efforts to settle matters diplomatically , England declared warfare against Spain on Oct. 23 , 1739 .
Anonymous/Gentleman’s MagazineA 1740 map of Cartagena in the London publication Gentleman’s Magazine, which frequently commented on the war and its progress.
Samuel Scott / National Maritime MuseumAn 18th - century house painting of Admiral Vernon ’s shelling of Porto Bello in Panama .
As an English street ballad summed up , according to historian Robert Gaudi ’s 2021 bookThe War of Jenkins ’ Ear :
“ Our Merchants and ears a strange bother have made , with red ink sustained in their ships and their trade;But now they may laugh and quite shun their fears , Nor mourn for lose Liberty , riches , and ear . ”
The Bloody War Over A Severed Ear
pass by Admiral Edward Vernon , the British achieve early success in November 1739 when they bombarded the Spanish fort at Porto Bello in New - solar day Panama into meekness .
The succeeder energise British military force . Indeed , it directly inspire the song “ Rule , Britannia , ” which was first performed at a function celebrating the victory , allot to theWall Street Journal .
Over the next several years , the British keep on to stage attacks on Spanish colonies in the Americas , many of which the Spanish repelled . The British , beset by internal discord , poor scheme , and disease like white-livered fever , would gradually misplace momentum .
And despite multiple attempts , they never managed to take Cartagena de Indias in modern - day Colombia , a major Spanish gold trading mail .
Anonymous / Gentleman ’s MagazineA 1740 map of Cartagena in the London publication Gentleman ’s Magazine , which frequently commented on the state of war and its progress .
Robert Gaudi attributes this in large part to Don Blas de Lezo , the Spanish military commander at Cartagena , and his “ tactical retreat ” scheme .
“ Delay the opposition long enough and moisture and mosquitos would work a carnage beyond the firepower of Spanish gun , ” Gaudi wrote .
The Aftermath Of The War Of Jenkins’ Ear
The British would go on to attempt to attack Cuba in 1741 , and Venezuela in early 1743 , but crawfish out both times with little to show for their elbow grease .
By the clock time the larger War of the Austrian Succession subsumed the War of Jenkins ’ Ear in 1743 , both sides had suffer thousands of casualty . at long last , in 1748 , the fight terminate in a “ condition quo ante bellum ” : No territorial dominion would commute hand , and things would essentially return to how they were before the war get in 1739 .
And for Robert Jenkins , who had his ear cut off ?
He disappeared from the history Quran soon after the flaming state of war that bears his name .
After reading about the War of Jenkins ’ pinna , enquire acolonial Spanish shipwreckoff the coast of Cartagena de Indias . Then , show aboutScotland ’s low-down loser attempting to set up a colonyin nearby Panama .
