WEBVTT - Why Did England and Spain Go to War Over an Ear?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum here. Sometime around seventeen thirty eight,

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<v Speaker 1>an unattached ear made a serious splash in the British

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<v Speaker 1>House of Commons. The man who claimed to be its

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<v Speaker 1>owner presented it. Had he not pickled it, the ear

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<v Speaker 1>would have been mummified by this time. It had been

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<v Speaker 1>separated from his head for more than seven years by

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<v Speaker 1>the time he carried it into the House of Commons

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<v Speaker 1>to lodge his complaint. His name was Robert Jenkins had

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<v Speaker 1>been the captain of a commercial trading vessel named the Rebecca.

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<v Speaker 1>On April ninth of seventeen thirty one, the Spanish Coastguard

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<v Speaker 1>from Havana, Cuba boarded the vessel. They suspected that the

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<v Speaker 1>Rebecca was carrying smuggled goods and demanded it to inspect

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<v Speaker 1>the ship's cargo and manifest. Once they did, they found

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<v Speaker 1>that there was indeed contraband aboard the ship. As punishment,

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<v Speaker 1>the Spanish captain drew his sword and severed Captain jenkins

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<v Speaker 1>ear from his head. According to Jenkins, the captain claimed

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<v Speaker 1>were the King of England here and also in violation

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<v Speaker 1>of the laws, I would do the same for him,

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<v Speaker 1>and a year after jenkins testimony, England declared war on Spain.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not entirely clear why Jenkins waited seven years, or

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<v Speaker 1>why he was carrying the ear in question around with him,

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<v Speaker 1>but this conflict came to be known as the War

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<v Speaker 1>of jenkins Ear. However, relations between Spain and England were

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<v Speaker 1>already strained long before jenkins mishap. Back in the sixteen nineties,

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<v Speaker 1>Spain's King, Charles the Second, was dying and he had

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<v Speaker 1>no clear heir to his throne. The superpowers of France

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<v Speaker 1>and Austria both had claims of lineage on the Spanish throne,

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<v Speaker 1>though dynastic families often married into one another, so that

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<v Speaker 1>the royal board in one country could very well end

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<v Speaker 1>up ruling a foreign nation. This was the circumstance at

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<v Speaker 1>the end of Charles the second reign. Even though he

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<v Speaker 1>was still alive. France and Spain didn't waste any time.

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<v Speaker 1>The nations set about plotting to get a family member

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<v Speaker 1>who was sympathetic to both nations onto the Spanish throne.

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<v Speaker 1>The Emperor of Austria and the King of France also

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<v Speaker 1>divvied up the Spanish territory of Italy between them. Out

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<v Speaker 1>of spite, Charles willed his throne to a French prince. Suddenly,

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<v Speaker 1>France had trouble remembering the alliance that had just made

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<v Speaker 1>with Austria. In retaliation, Austria declared war on France and

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<v Speaker 1>Europe was plunged into the War of Spanish Succession. The

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<v Speaker 1>alliances that developed are important because the combatants of the

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<v Speaker 1>War of Jenkins Ear Spain and England came to disdain

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<v Speaker 1>each other during the War of Spanish Succession, even though

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<v Speaker 1>both were only proxy players. The Treaty of you Tract,

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<v Speaker 1>which ended the War of Spanish Succession in seventeen th

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<v Speaker 1>as to, published some ground rules for Spain and England,

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<v Speaker 1>which were dominating adjacent areas in the so called New

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<v Speaker 1>World of the America's. Primarily, the treaty set guidelines over trade,

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<v Speaker 1>allowing the English to operate commercial roots into these Spanish

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<v Speaker 1>American territories. To ensure that English commercial ambitions didn't exceed

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<v Speaker 1>what was granted to them by the treaty, the Spanish

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<v Speaker 1>increased their naval presence around Florida, but smuggling was rampant

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<v Speaker 1>among all nations operating in the Americas at the time,

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<v Speaker 1>and the Spanish regularly intercepted English vessels, harassed their crews

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<v Speaker 1>and confiscated cargo, regardless of whether the ships were functioning legally.

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<v Speaker 1>It was on one of those stops that Robert Jenkins

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<v Speaker 1>had his unfortunate encounter with these Spanish captains sword. When

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<v Speaker 1>Jenkins lodged his complaint against the Spanish to Parliament, his

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<v Speaker 1>firebrand called arms was justification enough for England to declare

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<v Speaker 1>war on Spain in America's In addition to the harassment

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<v Speaker 1>England endured from the Spanish on the high seas, there

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<v Speaker 1>had been an ongoing dispute over the border between the

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<v Speaker 1>Spanish colony of Florida and the English colony of Georgia.

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<v Speaker 1>The ear was simply the last straw. The War of

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<v Speaker 1>jenkins Ear lasted three years, from seventeen thirty nine to

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<v Speaker 1>seventeen forty one, but it didn't amount to much. Most

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<v Speaker 1>of the war was composed of British naval retaliation against

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<v Speaker 1>continued Spanish attacks on its ships. The battles on the

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<v Speaker 1>ground took place largely in Florida and Georgia, but the

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<v Speaker 1>war did rally other people's as well. The French Spanish

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<v Speaker 1>alliance was still strong, and France had a presence to

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<v Speaker 1>the west of Georgia what would later be included in

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<v Speaker 1>the Louisiana Purchase. But the French were kept from entering

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<v Speaker 1>the war in Earnest by the Creek, Cherokee, and Chickasaw tribes,

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<v Speaker 1>all of whom allied with the English and formed a

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<v Speaker 1>barrier between the French colonies to the west and the

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<v Speaker 1>Spanish and British colonies to the east. On the ground,

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<v Speaker 1>the founder of the Georgia colony, James Oglethorpe, led an

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<v Speaker 1>invasion of Florida, attacking St. Augustine, but he eventually retreated.

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<v Speaker 1>The Spanish retaliated off the Georgia coast, attacking a forth there.

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<v Speaker 1>The governor of St. Augustine led an attack on Fort

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<v Speaker 1>Frederica in July of seventeen forty two, two years after

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<v Speaker 1>Oglethorpe attacked this. The Battle of Bloody Marsh ended in

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<v Speaker 1>Oglethorpe's defeat of the Spanish. If you're beginning to notice

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<v Speaker 1>a tit for tat pattern that produced few results for

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<v Speaker 1>either side, then you've got a grasp on the War

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<v Speaker 1>of Jenkins's ear In fact, history doesn't name a clear

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<v Speaker 1>victor in the war, it was simply absorbed into the

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<v Speaker 1>larger King George's War, which broke out in seventeen forty.

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<v Speaker 1>This war resulted from revived animosity between the French and

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<v Speaker 1>the English, a larger rivalry than that between the Spanish

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<v Speaker 1>and the English. Today's episode is based on the article

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<v Speaker 1>why did England in Spain fight over an ear on

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot Com written by Josh Clark. Brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of iHeart Radio in partnership with how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff Works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clang.

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