Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum here. Sometime around seventeen thirty eight,
Speaker 1: an unattached ear made a serious splash in the British
Speaker 1: House of Commons. The man who claimed to be its
Speaker 1: owner presented it. Had he not pickled it, the ear
Speaker 1: would have been mummified by this time. It had been
Speaker 1: separated from his head for more than seven years by
Speaker 1: the time he carried it into the House of Commons
Speaker 1: to lodge his complaint. His name was Robert Jenkins had
Speaker 1: been the captain of a commercial trading vessel named the Rebecca.
Speaker 1: On April ninth of seventeen thirty one, the Spanish Coastguard
Speaker 1: from Havana, Cuba boarded the vessel. They suspected that the
Speaker 1: Rebecca was carrying smuggled goods and demanded it to inspect
Speaker 1: the ship's cargo and manifest. Once they did, they found
Speaker 1: that there was indeed contraband aboard the ship. As punishment,
Speaker 1: the Spanish captain drew his sword and severed Captain jenkins
Speaker 1: ear from his head. According to Jenkins, the captain claimed
Speaker 1: were the King of England here and also in violation
Speaker 1: of the laws, I would do the same for him,
Speaker 1: and a year after jenkins testimony, England declared war on Spain.
Speaker 1: It's not entirely clear why Jenkins waited seven years, or
Speaker 1: why he was carrying the ear in question around with him,
Speaker 1: but this conflict came to be known as the War
Speaker 1: of jenkins Ear. However, relations between Spain and England were
Speaker 1: already strained long before jenkins mishap. Back in the sixteen nineties,
Speaker 1: Spain's King, Charles the Second, was dying and he had
Speaker 1: no clear heir to his throne. The superpowers of France
Speaker 1: and Austria both had claims of lineage on the Spanish throne,
Speaker 1: though dynastic families often married into one another, so that
Speaker 1: the royal board in one country could very well end
Speaker 1: up ruling a foreign nation. This was the circumstance at
Speaker 1: the end of Charles the second reign. Even though he
Speaker 1: was still alive. France and Spain didn't waste any time.
Speaker 1: The nations set about plotting to get a family member
Speaker 1: who was sympathetic to both nations onto the Spanish throne.
Speaker 1: The Emperor of Austria and the King of France also
Speaker 1: divvied up the Spanish territory of Italy between them. Out
Speaker 1: of spite, Charles willed his throne to a French prince. Suddenly,
Speaker 1: France had trouble remembering the alliance that had just made
Speaker 1: with Austria. In retaliation, Austria declared war on France and
Speaker 1: Europe was plunged into the War of Spanish Succession. The
Speaker 1: alliances that developed are important because the combatants of the
Speaker 1: War of Jenkins Ear Spain and England came to disdain
Speaker 1: each other during the War of Spanish Succession, even though
Speaker 1: both were only proxy players. The Treaty of you Tract,
Speaker 1: which ended the War of Spanish Succession in seventeen th
Speaker 1: as to, published some ground rules for Spain and England,
Speaker 1: which were dominating adjacent areas in the so called New
Speaker 1: World of the America's. Primarily, the treaty set guidelines over trade,
Speaker 1: allowing the English to operate commercial roots into these Spanish
Speaker 1: American territories. To ensure that English commercial ambitions didn't exceed
Speaker 1: what was granted to them by the treaty, the Spanish
Speaker 1: increased their naval presence around Florida, but smuggling was rampant
Speaker 1: among all nations operating in the Americas at the time,
Speaker 1: and the Spanish regularly intercepted English vessels, harassed their crews
Speaker 1: and confiscated cargo, regardless of whether the ships were functioning legally.
Speaker 1: It was on one of those stops that Robert Jenkins
Speaker 1: had his unfortunate encounter with these Spanish captains sword. When
Speaker 1: Jenkins lodged his complaint against the Spanish to Parliament, his
Speaker 1: firebrand called arms was justification enough for England to declare
Speaker 1: war on Spain in America's In addition to the harassment
Speaker 1: England endured from the Spanish on the high seas, there
Speaker 1: had been an ongoing dispute over the border between the
Speaker 1: Spanish colony of Florida and the English colony of Georgia.
Speaker 1: The ear was simply the last straw. The War of
Speaker 1: jenkins Ear lasted three years, from seventeen thirty nine to
Speaker 1: seventeen forty one, but it didn't amount to much. Most
Speaker 1: of the war was composed of British naval retaliation against
Speaker 1: continued Spanish attacks on its ships. The battles on the
Speaker 1: ground took place largely in Florida and Georgia, but the
Speaker 1: war did rally other people's as well. The French Spanish
Speaker 1: alliance was still strong, and France had a presence to
Speaker 1: the west of Georgia what would later be included in
Speaker 1: the Louisiana Purchase. But the French were kept from entering
Speaker 1: the war in Earnest by the Creek, Cherokee, and Chickasaw tribes,
Speaker 1: all of whom allied with the English and formed a
Speaker 1: barrier between the French colonies to the west and the
Speaker 1: Spanish and British colonies to the east. On the ground,
Speaker 1: the founder of the Georgia colony, James Oglethorpe, led an
Speaker 1: invasion of Florida, attacking St. Augustine, but he eventually retreated.
Speaker 1: The Spanish retaliated off the Georgia coast, attacking a forth there.
Speaker 1: The governor of St. Augustine led an attack on Fort
Speaker 1: Frederica in July of seventeen forty two, two years after
Speaker 1: Oglethorpe attacked this. The Battle of Bloody Marsh ended in
Speaker 1: Oglethorpe's defeat of the Spanish. If you're beginning to notice
Speaker 1: a tit for tat pattern that produced few results for
Speaker 1: either side, then you've got a grasp on the War
Speaker 1: of Jenkins's ear In fact, history doesn't name a clear
Speaker 1: victor in the war, it was simply absorbed into the
Speaker 1: larger King George's War, which broke out in seventeen forty.
Speaker 1: This war resulted from revived animosity between the French and
Speaker 1: the English, a larger rivalry than that between the Spanish
Speaker 1: and the English. Today's episode is based on the article
Speaker 1: why did England in Spain fight over an ear on
Speaker 1: how stuff works dot Com written by Josh Clark. Brain
Speaker 1: Stuff is production of iHeart Radio in partnership with how
Speaker 1: stuff Works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clang.
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