1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: I'm editor Candice Gibson. Joint Today by Josh Curious like 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 1: a cat clark, that is true. How are you? I'm good? 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:22,960 Speaker 1: How are you? I'm fabulous? So I've got a question 6 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: for you. Okay, you know much about yours a lot? 7 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: Do you know much about colonial America a lot? Then 8 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: you may be able to help me. I think I will. So, 9 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:34,560 Speaker 1: you know, just a few hundred years ago, there were 10 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 1: several distinct nations who all had claims staked here in 11 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: what's now the United States, and um, they didn't really 12 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: get along all that well. There were all sorts of 13 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: commercial shipping ventures where you know, England, Spain, France were 14 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,319 Speaker 1: exploiting the natural resources as raw materials to ship back 15 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: to Europe, and they were shipping the goods produced from 16 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: these materials back to America are to be sold. There's 17 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: a lot of money to be made from all this, right, 18 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,400 Speaker 1: That's one reason why people were fighting one another over here. 19 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: But another reason is that they just simply didn't get 20 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,559 Speaker 1: along over in Europe. There were plenty of wars fought 21 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,959 Speaker 1: over who owned what territory and who had access to 22 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: what throne, and those kind of spilled over to the 23 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: New World, which is what we now call America, right indeed. Okay, 24 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 1: so my question is it has to do with an ear. 25 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: As I said earlier, one of these wars, as I understand, 26 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,680 Speaker 1: was fought between England and Spain over an ear, which 27 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: doesn't doesn't sound right to me. It sounds fabricated. Is 28 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: that fact or fiction? If you will lend me your ears, 29 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: I will deem this defy this story. And I'm pleased 30 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: to know that's actually a fact. As fanciful as it 31 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: may seem, an ear really did start a war. How So, well, 32 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: back on April nine thirty one, Captain Robert Jenkins was 33 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: sailing his vest through what may or may not have 34 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: been Spanish waters and a Spanish captain, wander Leon Fandino, 35 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: called him out. And he didn't just call him out verbally, 36 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: he cut off his ear. And I'm not quite sure 37 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: why he thought that was a proper mode of retaliation, 38 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: but he did. And what's more, he told Robert Jenkins, 39 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:20,640 Speaker 1: if the King of England had been right in front 40 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 1: of me, I would have done the same to him. 41 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: So those our fighting words, and I think Robert needed 42 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: some time to really mull them over and think about them, 43 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: because it took him seven years before he worked up 44 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 1: the courage to march his ear, which he had had 45 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: the foresight to pickle to Parliament and he lodged to 46 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: complaint with the House of Commons and they were pretty irritated, 47 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: as it was with Spain. Essentially, this was a really 48 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 1: too multivous time in Europe, and it all started back 49 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: with the War of Spanish Secession, when King Charles the 50 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 1: Second of Spain didn't have an heir to his throne 51 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: and he was about to kick the bucket. France and 52 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: Austria were both vying for Spain's territories and he was 53 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: feeling sort of, you know, vile in his old age 54 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: to meek state, so he decided to cause controversy by 55 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: giving his throwne to France. That lunch France in Austria 56 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:08,959 Speaker 1: into a war, and then it was almost like a 57 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: domino effect with these other nations sort of you know, 58 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: taking sides with one of the superpowers and ganging up 59 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: on each other. And that's exactly what happened with England 60 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: and Spain. So they were mad about the worst Spanish secession. 61 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,080 Speaker 1: They were mad about border disputes in the New World 62 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: between the British Colony of Georgia and the Spanish Colony 63 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,639 Speaker 1: of Florida, and it just multiplied. So how does the 64 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: in it was called the War of Jenkins Ear, one 65 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: of the many battles that resulted. Yes, indeed, Well, my 66 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: only question that remains is whether Jenkins Gil pickled his 67 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: ear or bread and butter. Oh that's an earful. If 68 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: you want to learn more about this topic, you'll have 69 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: to read why did England and Spain Fight over an Ear? 70 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: On the house staff works dot com for more on 71 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: this than thousands of other topics. Because at house staff 72 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: works dot com, let us know what you think. Send 73 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: an email to podcast and how Stuff Works dot com.