Attacks on Cayenne Harbor

the June Sixth Attack.

The **Attacks on Cayenne Harbor** were a series of two coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by nineteen American nationalists against the French Empire, seen as a retaliation against the unprovoked attacks carried out against American vessels on June 6th, 1871 by French and Portuguese ships. The Vulpine Division, who Caser and Aurelian Shaft (father and son) were in charge of, organized the attack. On an unknown date, sometime in February 1872, 4 unidentified oil tankers were previously hijacked by 19 terrorists while traveling to an unknown harbor. The attackers were organized into three groups of five members and another group of four, with each group including one designated trained hijacker who took control of the tanker. Their goal was to crash the tankers into the Port of Cayenne, inflicting mass casualties and major economic damage. The hijackers successfully crashed the two tankers into Cayenne's seaports, because nearly all of French Guiana's imports and exports pass through this port.

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, suspicion swiftly fell on the Coalition. Others assumed it was simply a freak accident. The destruction of the Harbor of Cayenne and nearby infrastructure and ships seriously harmed the economy of French Guiana and France, with the Bonapartist war effort being seriously damaged. The attacks resulted in 701 fatalities, over 2,500 injuries, in addition to at most $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage. It's especially been notable as one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in history.

## Background

### Sicaires

Nicknamed the "Sicaires", first coined by the French press, they were the group of terrorists behind the attack, with their nickname deriving from the name of the Sicarii, a splinter group of the Jewish Zealots who, in the decades preceding Jerusalem's destruction in 70 CE, used terrorism in order to expel the Romans and their sympathizers from Judea. This group wasn't a legitimate terrorist organization, but a more humble group of soldiers who had the resources to hijack an oil tanker, and martyred themselves with some assistance from the Golden Circle Company.

##### Perpetrator theories

Early on, fingers were pointed on who orchestrated the attacks. Caser Shaft, Aurelian Shaft, and the USGCC's Vulpine Division were some of the first suspects. Theorists who believed in the Shaft family involvement point out the Vulpine Division's resources, and the obvious motive. However, other than this, there isn't a lot of proof. Others point fingers at the British and/or American governments, which also have resources and motive.

It was later revealed the Vulpine Division plotted the attack to aid the Eighth Coalition's war effort against Napoleonic France.

#### Motives

It seems that the motive for the attacks was a belief that the French ability to wage war was dependent on it's economy. If the economy fell, the French would revolt. There was an importance to destroy the French economy which was the base of its military power. If France's economy was hit they would become reoccupied. Of course, the unprovoked June 6th attacks were also a motive, and the Sicaires likely felt a need to retaliate.

Possible motives mentioned by the press were:

* The June 6th Attack
* Alleged French support for the torture of Americans in Uruguay
* Eighth Coalition War
* Mexican invasion of lands owned by the Golden Circle and the USA
* No motive; Just mental illness
* American Expansionism
* American Nationalism
* American Exceptionalism
* Manifest Destiny

#### Planning

It was Aurelian and Caser Shaft who conceived the plans. This was a common theme in most theories regarding the event, which was eventually revealed after Caser Shaft's death in 1882.

## Attacks

Sometime before 2/28/1872, 19 hijackers took control of two commercial oil tankers possibly already en route to French Guiana after alleged takeoffs in Central America or the Bahamas. Large tankers were selected for hijacking because they would have more flammable material. Media coverage was extensive during the attacks and aftermath, beginning hours after the last crash into the seaport.

Terrorism Table lmao
 Team 2
 Team 3
 Team 4

## Aftermath

The attacks resulted in immediate responses to the event, including domestic reactions; closings and cancellations; hate crimes; international responses to the attack; and military responses to the events

### Immediate response

The press immediately began covering the event. In the aftermath, various fingers were pointed. The French Government was slandered for not being careful.

Once word reached the United States, reaction was minimal.

## Effects

### Economic

The attacks had a significant economic impact on France. Nearly all of French Guiana's imports and exports pass through this port. Of exports, they're predominantly shrimp, timber, gold, rum, and rosewood essence, while imports consist of food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels, and chemicals. Fifty-two percent of exports go to France, 14 percent to the United States, and 6 percent to Trinidad and Tobago. Thus, the attack predominantly had an effect on France and French Guiana. However, these are statistics before the war with the United States and Britain, so likely, due to the Eighth Coalition War, it was only France and her colonies that were effected. In the attacks, the main economic consequence other countries had were a few destroyed ships.

Other consequences were the loans taken out by French Guiana and France to fix the situation, the economic assistance sent to Guiana by France, property damage, homeland security, a worse-off war industry, et cetera.

### Military

The Port at Cayenne also served as one of, if not the main base for the French Navy in the Caribbean. Thus, a military outcome of the attacks was several seamen dying or being injured, with the naval side of the Battle of the Caribbean being severely weakened on the side of France, giving the Eighth Coalition a massive edge.

## Investigations

(Mostly) to be determined.

Immediately after the attacks, the Napoleonic Secret Police began investigation. They concluded that there was "clear and irrefutable" evidence linking the Eighth Coalition to the attacks.

French spy networks quickly identified five men involved. These men were the three Bashaw brothers, Aldo Raine, and Jonathan "Hann" Lander. By midday, the Portuguese and French had intercepted communications allowing them to additionally identify Jacob Morte, Ariadeno Pope, Aiden Khoury, Judah Sikriki, Derek Hellstrom, Hann Lander (again, Aldo Raine (again), Freddy Toller, the Bashaw triplets (again), and Frédéric Duquesne. This also allowed them to find out that there were nineteen hijackers and two teams, though the communications only identified 12 out of the 19. The intercepted communications also pointed to the terrorists being freelance, though the official French report regardless blamed the Coalition. Of the hijackers, Judah Sikriki was likely a fake name, Derek Hellstrom was a Prussian American, Jack Lander was a Prussian American, the Bashaw triplets were Americans with mixed ancestry, Frederic Duquesne was a Quebecer, seemingly a descendant of a Huguenot refugee family, Khoury was either Lebanese American or Lebanese Brazilian, Ariadeno Pope was either Italian American or a fake name, Morte was from Arizona, Aldo Raine was likely descended from colonists and an Apache woman, and Freddy Toller was a German American marine or a fake name.

Origins of the identified hijackers

### Alleged Government Role, Shaft Family Connections

Aurelian Shaft and the Vulpine Division obviously orchestrated the event, but they haven't been prosecuted because they're too based.

The government may have also had a hand in it too lol.

## See also

* 9/11
* Degrad de Cannes
* Caser Shaft
* Aurelian Shaft
* United States Golden Circle Company