War of Jenkins' Ear War of Jenkins' Ear War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) Top Surnames William Mears (1710 - 1739) William Mears was born in England in 1710. He came to America with Mr. Olethorp in 1735. He was lost at sea and left his widow, Elizabeth Gilbert and their son, John. The widow married Benjamin Tyudall... The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748, with major operations largely ended by 1742. Its unusual name, coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1858, relates to Robert Jenkins, captain of a British merchant ship, who exhibited his severed ear in Parliament following the boarding of his vessel by Spanish coast guards in 1731. This affair and a number of similar incidents sparked a war against the Spanish Empire, ostensibly to encourage the Spanish not to renege on the lucrative asiento contract (permission to sell slaves in Spanish America).

After 1742 the war was subsumed by the wider War of the Austrian Succession involving most of the powers of Europe. Peace arrived with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. Background At the conclusion of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 gave Britain a thirty-year asiento, or contract-right, to supply an unlimited number of slaves to the Spanish colonies, and 500 tons of goods per year. This provided British traders and smugglers potential inroads into the (traditionally) closed markets in Spanish America. However, Britain and Spain were often at war during this period, fighting one another in the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–20), the Blockade of Porto Bello (1726) and the Anglo-Spanish War (1727–1729). In the Treaty of Seville (1729), following the Anglo-Spanish War, Britain had accorded Spanish warships the right to stop British traders and verify if the asiento right was respected.

Over time the Spanish became suspicious that British traders were abusing the contract and began to board ships and confiscate their cargoes. After very strained relations between 1727 and 1732, the situation improved between 1732 and 1737, when Sir Robert Walpole supported Spain during the War of Polish Succession. But the causes of the problems remained and when the opposition against Walpole grew, so did the anti-Spanish sentiment amongst the British public. Walpole gave in to the pressure and approved the sending of troops to the West Indies and a squadron to Gibraltar under Admiral Haddock, causing an immediate Spanish reaction. Spain asked for financial compensation, which led to the British demand to annul the "Visitation Right" agreed to in the Treaty of Seville (1729). In reaction, King Philip V of Spain annulled the "Asiento Right" and had all British ships in Spanish harbours confiscated. The Convention of Pardo, an attempt to mediate the dispute, broke down. On 14 August, Britain recalled its ambassador to Spain and officially declared war on 23 October 1739. Despite the Pacte de Famille, France remained neutral.

Walpole was deeply reluctant to declare war and reportedly remarked of the jubilation in Britain "they are ringing their bells, soon they will be wringing their hands". Nomenclature Further information: Robert Jenkins (master mariner) The incident that gave its name to the war had occurred in 1731 when the British brig Rebecca was boarded by the Spanish coast guard La Isabela, commanded by Julio León Fandiño. After boarding, Fandiño cut off the left ear of the Rebecca's captain, Robert Jenkins, who had been accused of piracy. Fandiño told Jenkins, "Go, and tell your King that I will do the same, if he dares to do the same." In March 1738, Jenkins was ordered to attend Parliament, presumably to repeat his story before a committee of the House of Commons. According to some accounts, he produced the severed ear when he attended, although no detailed record of the hearing exists. The incident was considered alongside various other cases of "Spanish Depredations upon the British Subjects", and was perceived as an insult to the honour of the nation and a clear casus belli.

The War Capture of Porto Bello Main article: Battle of Porto Bello Following the testimony of Jenkins, and petitions from other West India merchants, the opposition in Parliament voted on 28 March 1738 to send "an Address" to the King, asking his Majesty to seek redress from Spain. More than one year later, all diplomatic means having been exhausted, on 10 July 1739 King George II authorized the Admiralty Board to seek maritime reprisals against Spain. On 20 July, Vice Admiral Edward Vernon and a squadron of warships departed England bound for the West Indies to attack Spanish ships and "possessions". The actual declaration of war against Spain was not proclaimed until Saturday 23 October 1739 (Old Style). One of the first actions was the British capture, on 22 November 1739, of Porto Bello, a silver-exporting town on the coast of Panama in an attempt to damage Spain's finances and weaken its naval capabilities. The poorly defended port was attacked by six ships of the line under Vice Admiral Edward Vernon who captured it within twenty-four hours.

The British occupied the town for three weeks before withdrawing, having destroyed its fortifications, port and warehouses. The battle led the Spanish to change their trading practices. Rather than trading at centralised ports with a few large treasure fleets, they began using a larger number of smaller convoys trading at a wide variety of ports. They also began to travel around Cape Horn to trade on the west coast.[citation needed] Porto Bello's economy was severely damaged, and did not recover until the building of the Panama Canal more than a century later. In Britain the victory was greeted with much celebration, and in 1740, at a dinner in honour of Vernon in London, the song "Rule Britannia" was performed in public for the first time. Portobello Road in London is named after this victory and more medals were awarded than for any other event in the eighteenth century. The conquest of a port in Spain's American empire was widely considered a foregone conclusion by many Patriot Whigs and opposition Tories who pressed a reluctant Walpole to launch larger naval expeditions to the Gulf of Mexico.

Anson expedition Further information: George Anson's voyage around the world The success of the Porto Bello operation led the British in September 1740 to send a squadron under Commodore George Anson to attack Spain's possessions in the Pacific. Before they even reached the Pacific a large amount of the expedition had died from disease, and they were in no shape to launch any sort of attack.[16] Anson reassembled his force in the Juan Fernández Islands, allowing them to recuperate before he moved up the Chilean coast, raiding the small town of Paita. However he reached Acapulco too late to intercept the yearly Manila galleon, which had been one of the principal objectives of the expedition. He retreated across the Pacific, running into a storm which forced him to dock for repairs in Canton. After this he made a final attempt to intercept the Manila galleon the following year. This he did on 20 June 1743 off Cape Espiritu Santo capturing more than a million gold coins. Anson then sailed home, eventually arriving back in London more than three and a half years after he had set out, having circumnavigated the globe in the process.

Less than a tenth of the force had survived the expedition, but Anson's achievements helped establish his name and wealth in Britain, leading to his later appointment as First Lord of the Admiralty. Florida Main article: Siege of St. Augustine In 1740 the inhabitants of Georgia launched an overland attack on St. Augustine in Florida, supported by a British naval blockade, but were repelled. The British forces led by James Oglethorpe, the Governor of Georgia, besieged St. Augustine for over a month before retreating, abandoning their artillery in the process. The failure of the Royal Navy blockade to prevent supplies reaching the settlement was a crucial factor in the collapse of the siege. Oglethorpe then began preparing Georgia for an anticipated Spanish assault. French neutrality When war had broken out in 1739 it was expected in both Britain and Spain that France would join the war on the Spanish side. This played a large role in the tactical calculations of the British. If the Spanish and French were to operate together they would have a superiority of ninety ships of the line.

In 1740 there was an invasion scare when it was believed that a French fleet at Brest and a Spanish fleet at Ferrol were about to combine and launch an invasion attempt on Britain itself. Although this proved not to be the case, the British kept the large bulk of their naval and land forces in southern England to act as a deterrent. Many in the British government were afraid to launch a major offensive against the Spanish, for fear that a large British victory would draw France into the war in order to protect the balance of power. Battle of Cartagena Main article: Battle of Cartagena de Indias The largest action of the war was a major amphibious attack launched by the British under Admiral Edward Vernon in March, 1741 against Cartagena de Indias, one of Spain's principal gold-trading ports in their colony of New Granada (today Colombia). Vernon's expedition was hampered by inefficient organisation, his rivalry with the commander of his land forces, and the logistical problems of mounting and maintaining a major trans-Atlantic expedition. The strong fortifications in Cartagena and the able strategy of Spanish Commander Blas de Lezo were decisive in repelling the attack, with heavy losses on the British side.

In addition to the unfamiliar tropical climate, Vernon's men succumbed in large numbers to virulent tropical disease, primarily yellow fever. News of the defeat at Cartagena was a significant factor in the downfall of the British Prime Minister Robert Walpole. Walpole's anti-war views were considered by the Opposition to have contributed to his poor prosecution of the war effort. The new government under Lord Wilmington wanted to shift the focus of Britain's war effort away from the Americas and into Mediterranean. Spanish policy, dictated by Elisabeth of Parma, also moved towards recovering lost Spanish possessions in Italy from the Austrians. In 1742 a large British fleet under Nicholas Haddock was sent to try and intercept a Spanish army being transported from Barcelona to Italy, which he failed to do. Raids against Cuba and Venezuela Several other British attacks took place in the Caribbean with little consequence on the geopolitical situation in the Atlantic. The weakened British forces under Vernon launched an attack against Cuba, landing in Guantánamo Bay with a plan to march the forty five miles to Santiago de Cuba and capture the city. Vernon again clashed with the army commander, and the expedition withdrew when faced with heavier Spanish opposition than expected.

Vernon and his fleet remained in the Caribbean until October 1742, before heading back to Britain. The following year a smaller force led by Charles Knowles made raids upon the Venezuelan coast, attacking La Guaira in February 1743 and Puerto Cabello in April, though neither operation was particularly successful. Invasion of Georgia Main article: Invasion of Georgia (1742) In 1742 the Spanish launched an attempt to seize the British colony of Georgia. Two thousand troops under the command of Manuel de Montiano landed on St Simons Island. General Oglethorpe rallied the local forces and defeated the Spanish regulars at Bloody Marsh and Gully Hole Creek, forcing them to withdraw. Border clashes between Florida and Georgia continued for the next few years, but there were no further offensive operations on the American mainland by either nation. Merger with wider war By mid-1742 the War of the Austrian Succession had broken out in Europe. Principally fought by Prussia and Austria over possession of Silesia, the war soon engulfed most of the major powers of Europe, who joined two competing alliances.

The scale of this new war dwarfed any of the fighting in the Americas, and had drawn the main attention of Britain and Spain to operations on the European continent. The return of Vernon's fleet in 1742 marked the end of major offensive operations in the War of Jenkins' Ear. This was confirmed by the entry of France into the war in 1744. France placed their emphasis on the war in Europe, and planned an ambitious invasion of Britain. While it ultimately failed, it further persuaded the British policy makers of the dangers of sending significant forces to the Americas which might be needed at home. Although an expedition to seize the strategic French settlement of Louisbourg was launched by New Englanders in 1745, no further attacks were attempted on Spanish possessions. Privateering The war involved privateering by both sides. Anson captured a valuable Manila galleon but this was more than offset by the Spanish privateering attacks on the British transatlantic triangular trade route. They seized hundreds of British ships, operating with virtual impunity in the West Indies; they were also active in European waters. The Spanish convoys proved almost unstoppable and so, during the Austrian phase of the war, the British attacked poorly protected French merchantmen instead.

Lisbon Negotiations From August 1746 negotiations were commenced in the neutral city of Lisbon to try to arrange a peace settlement. The death of Philip V of Spain had brought his son Ferdinand VI to the throne, and he was more willing to be concillitary over the issues of trade. However, because of their commitments to their Austrian allies, the British were unable to agree to Spanish demands for territory in Italy and talks broke down. Aftermath The eventual diplomatic resolution formed part of the wider settlement of the War of the Austrian Succession by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The issue of the asiento was not mentioned in the treaty, and it had lessened in importance to both nations. The issue was finally settled by the 1750 Treaty of Madrid in which Britain agreed to renounce its claim to the asiento in exchange for a payment of £100,000 and allowed British trade with Spanish America under favourable conditions. Relations between Britain and Spain dramatically improved during subsequent years thanks to a concerted effort by the Duke of Newcastle to cultivate Spain as an ally, and a wish by the Spanish government not to be seen as a puppet of France.

A succession of Anglophile ministers were appointed in Spain including José de Carvajal and Ricardo Wall – all of whom were on good terms with the British Ambassador Benjamin Keene in an effort to avoid a repeat of the War of Jenkins' Ear. One of the results of this was the Spanish decision to remain neutral during the early part of the Seven Years' War. The War of Jenkins' Ear is commemorated annually on the last Saturday in May at Wormsloe Plantation in Savannah, Georgia. Add profiles to this project Add collaborators to this project Add Profiles Jerseymen and the War of Jenkins' Ear - theislandwiki Jerseymen and the War of Jenkins' Ear From theislandwiki Jump to: navigation , search This article by Marguerite Syvret was first published in the 1982 Annual Bulletin of La Société Jersiaise Capt Jenkins shows his severed ear to Prime Minister Robert Walpole Take the War of Jenkins' Ear, Smollett's Roderick Random, the adventures of Alexander Selkirk and Anson's voyage round the world in the Centurion, and you have the ingredients of a drama which, like so many treasures of local history, has emerged from a Jersey attic.

The story is told within the covers of a manuscript book bound in the vertical half of a Letter of Marque; these were common at a time when the dream of most Jersey seamen was to share the prize money and treasure of captured Spanish galleons. Spanish asiento In the early years of the 18th century the British West Indies were a centre of contraband trade and a great slave market. Spain, incapable of supplying her vast dominions, had granted to Great Britain in 1713 the asiento, or right to furnish African slaves to the Spanish empire, and the exclusive privilege of sending a single merchantman once a year to a Spanish colonial port. This privilege had been abused and smuggling had become a national industry in which France and Great Britain competed for illicit trade. To parry the danger, Spain enlarged her fleet and clashes became more frequent on the ill-defined frontier between Florida (then a Spanish possession) and Georgia and on the coast of Honduras, where the British were exploiting the rare woods of the tropical forests. Spanish excisemen became increasingly troublesome, while the British continued to seize galleons laden with gold.

Matters came to a head when a certain Captain Jenkins took his ear (in pickle) to the House of Commons and complained that it had been lopped off by the Spaniards. In May 1739 Spain denounced the asiento, and Walpole, pressed by a belligerent lobby, unwillingly declared war. The marine and colonial struggle thus launched was to merge with the War of the Austrian Succession and to last for 24 years. Outbreak of war At the outbreak of hostilities an expedition to the West Indies was entrusted to Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon, while another, under Captain George Anson, was prepared for the Pacific, but did not sail until the autumn of 1740. Our story is set against this background and concerns the Tyger (Tigre to the Jerseymen), which was commissioned in June 1739 with a complement of 300 men; it also involves a number of Jersey boys and men serving in the Navy as able-bodied seamen or midshipmen. In March 1740/41 she was stationed at Sheerness.

On the 20th two months advance wages and bounty money were paid to 'volunteer seamen and able-bodied landmen', and in April she left the Nore for Spithead. Most of the Jerseymen who appear in the muster lists joined the ship at Portsmouth, and it is here that our narrative dovetails into the official record. Whereas the muster lists contain the names of those who died on the outward voyage, our document clothes the dry statistics with details of their suffering. In a French of uncertain spelling and punctuation, but with graphic impact, the opening words tell of their departure: "Remarque du voyage que j'ay fait dans les Indes du oueste abord du vaisseaux le Tygre commende par Capiten herbert le vesseaux etait de 50 cannon nous partimes de Spithead le 30e jour de may l'an 1741 avec deux autres vaisseaux et une grande quantile de marchand et nous etions leur convois." Contrary winds forced them into Falmouth where they remained for 22 days attacked by a virulent infection from which soldiers and sailors were to die almost instantly: sitot pris, sitot mort.

These were buried at sea, but, although the captain, faced with the loss of many men, begged the admiral to delay their departure, he was ordered to sail immediately. There were further deaths in mid-Atlantic, but, after four or five days of rough weather, they finally encountered favourable trade winds and on 22 August 1741 they reached la Haute Espagne (was this Hispaniola?). Jacques Balleine They reported to Admiral Vernon at Cumberland Bay in Cuba and were sent to Jamaica to convoy a Dutch and a French vessel. The author, in recording their arrival at Port Royal, reveals the names of Jerseymen aboard; Jean Henry, Jean Le Maistre and Philippe Perchard, all of whom had been ill for about six weeks, Josué Blampied, incapacitated ever since leaving England, and Edouard Dawson, who died on the last day of September. All these men appear in the muster list. The narrator does not reveal his own name until later in the story, where he emerges as moi, Jacques Balleine, fils Philippe. Soon we hear of another Jacques Balleine, fils Jacques, a midshipman on his second round of service on the Tyger.

Jacques fils Philippe spent twenty-two days in hospital at Port Royal while the ship was being fitted with a new brace. They then sailed back to Cuba whence they were ordered to patrol waters between 18° and 20° North. While on patrol they came upon a number of men fishing for turtles, which were kept alive in a cove until there was a sufficient supply to take to the Spanish fleet at Havana. Men from the Tyger captured five Spaniards, their boats, a barge, a yawl and a number of turtles, and sailed on. At this point the narrative takes on its own grim individuality and a human story once again clothes the skeletal outline traceable in the muster list. The captain had negroes aboard, whom he hoped to sell on the mainland of America, so he sailed too far north. Just before the Tyger was expected to report back to base, she ran aground on a sandbank in the Bahamas. According to the muster list, she was wrecked off Tortugas or Turtle Island. This lies to the north-west of Hispaniola, but one suspects that the entry is falsified to cover the illicit venture northwards.

Crew and marines abandon Tyger Marooned on sandbank Despite hard pumping, the crew and marines had finally to abandon ship, taking with them as much bread, meat, oil, rice and water as they could stow in seven boats. The men remained in these boats for four or five days while the master set off in the long-boat and found, about two leagues from the wreck, a sandbank where they might land. This was to be their home for several months. Here they began a Robinson Crusoe existence of great severity. There was brushwood but no fresh water on the island, and immediately one is made aware of the gulf which existed at that period between officers and men. First they built a little hut and made tents from sail-cloth: one for the captain, another for the officers and one for those before the mast, who slept on bare sand and were severely rationed. On one day they were allowed a quarter of a pound of bread and a noggin (usually a quarter of a pint) of rum and water, and on the alternate day a pound of rice and the same quantity of liquor. They had meat once or twice a week.

The narrative is at times obscure, but it seems that some of these rations had to be shared among eight men. Seal-meat (loup-marin) was available and salad made from purslane (pourpier}, but, for lack of a proper bercaille, the pigs they had rescued were tampered with; by what or by whom is not made clear. One man, who said it would be better to surrender to the enemy than to die of hunger, had his hands tied behind his back and would have been shot in the head on the captain's orders, had not the other men begged for clemency. Another, who stole two potatoes from the food store, was drummed round the island with a rope round his neck. When the carpenters had repaired the long-boat, she was sent to New Providence with ten men as crew, including the master and Jacques Balleine, fils Jacques, who acted as boatswain. He is recorded as having stolen from his namesake a watch, two pairs of buckles for his shoes and knee-breeches, another for his neck and buttons from the cuffs of his shirt. These were the days before the Navy had a regular uniform.

Nothing was heard of this crew for three weeks, so a yawl was sent out with ten men (presumably marines) and a crew of 20. They returned within a week and reported that, although they had failed to find New Providence, they had discovered another island where lay a schooner and a capre (a type of privateer used by the Dutch). It was their intention to return with more men and, with this in mind, they made a barge by lashing two boats together. They then set out with 60 men and provisions for 13 days. Included in this party were the first and second lieutenant and Robert de l'Isle of Guernsey. As this party also failed to return, those left behind began to work on the remaining boats. Skilled men used tools, others collected driftwood and brush. They dug trenches around the island, which they manned with guns from the wreck. This was hard work, particularly as they had so little to eat. They had also to mount guard over their supplies to see that no one took more than his ration: one cup of water with each meal. For five weeks they returned daily to the wreck to gather further supplies.

Bread, which had been in barrels below the water line, was dried and spread with fat from the seal meat, often it was full of sand. But despite these forays, there was so little to eat that they were often more hungry after a meal than before. Boats sighted On 20 February 1742 a sail was sighted, a Spanish galleon making for the wreck, but the men left ashore were not sufficiently well armed to capture the enemy vessel. Next came a sloop, which anchored off the wreck hoping to replenish supplies. The intruders pillaged what remained on deck, removing a topmast, hawsers from the shrouds and a coat left aboard by one of the gunners. Rather than lose any food to the enemy, the stranded sailors put out in a boat and set fire to the Tyger. Then they decided to parley with the enemy. We now get a glimpse of the civilities of war in the Caribbean. The sloop had been flying an English flag, but ran up Spanish colours as the Tyger's boat approached.

The Spaniards sent out their own boat and the captain of the Tyger produced a flag of truce and a cannée of drink; for tradition required that one drank with the enemy before parleying. The men from the Tyger were then told that they must expect no immediate help, if they did not wish to surrender, as their men in the long-boat had been attacked by savages who had killed three of them, though their names were not known. The muster list records that on 24 February Jacques Balleine, midshipman, was 'taken prisoner by the Spaniards'. The lieutenant assured the Spaniards that they had sufficient food and did not wish to surrender, but this merely underlines the discrepancy between the rations allowed the officers and the near starvation of the men. It seems that, once a ship was lost, survivors were placed on the victualling list and received no further wages. The muster book entry reads: 'list of men late belonging to His Majesty's ship the Tyger lost 12 January 1742 on the Tortugas, borne for victuals only to take their passage to Jamaica in order to be disposed of as the Commander-in-Chief shall think proper'.

Balleine records that by 23 February, dying of hunger and without wages (these would have been of little use on their desert island), they were reduced to scavenging and to eating impure meat. Yet they were sent to the burnt out hulk to salvage pieces of iron. Hopes were raised when they found on the shore white cockles de La grosseur d'un sixtonnier, but dashed when the officers discovered this new source of food; for the latter filled pitchers and puncheons with cockles and pickled them for future use. Balleine reports that the resultant stench was enough to infect the whole island, so the cockles had to be thrown into the sea, to the anger of the hungry men. Lack of drink was a major problem. On 25 February another sloop arrived with 17 or 18 puncheons of potatoes. These were unloaded so that the vessel could be repaired before rescuing the stranded men. But, while the officers bragged and got drunk with the newcomers, the men remained on meagre rations and those who tried to drink while unloading were whipped. Yet they were still required to work on the boat they were building.

Petition A lieutenant of the marines generously offered to take a petition from the men to the captain, asking for more water. He hoped to have the support of the Irish marines, but, when questioned by the captain, they denied all knowledge of the petition and the lieutenant was taken prisoner and threatened with a later court martial. Then the first lieutenant took pity on the men and made them a hash of boiled rice, fresh water, a little salt meat and a large turtle; a much appreciated meal. He also refused to eat with the officers while the men starved; this resulted in a feud between him and the captain, who, according to Balleine, did not care how many died, as he wanted as few witnesses as possible when accounting for the loss of his ship. One day, as Balleine was cooking his dinner (a little seal meat in an old piece of suet and in grease normally reserved for rubbing on the bottom of boats), the marines lit a fire too near to the hut they had built and strong winds set it alight, dinner and all.

However there were occasional compensations; three boats sent fishing one day returned with a sizeable catch, and, during a shower, the men drank rain water from their cupped hands: on La beuvait par delicatesse comme sy seus ete autant du meilleur vin d'espagne. Although the superstructure of the Tyger had been burnt, the men continued to visit the wreck for water and rum stored below the waterline. Indeed, on one occasion, an Irishman drank so much that it required four men to bring him ashore. Work on the boat continued, but, though the carpenter was doing his utmost to get her finished, the captain was in no hurry to sail. He hoped that, by delaying his departure, the loss of the Tyger would not be reported in Jamaica until Admiral Vernon had victualled his fleet and departed. Nor was the captain above treachery. One afternoon he sent the barge to explore the possibility of surprising the Spanish sloop at night. The result was an engagement, shooting and carnage. An Irishman ran amok, killing more of his men than of the enemy, and the barge was sunk. Three men were killed by hand grenades and several more wounded.

This, too, is recorded in the muster list. The men in the sloop asked for quarter and then, in their turn, broke the truce. The English returned to their island and both sides were back to square one. The carpenter resumed his boat-building and the men their caulking. They blamed the officers for not showing sufficient courage and enterprise to capture the sloop as a prize, though they admitted that they themselves would have been too weak to support such a move. The Spanish lieutenant was captured by the boatswain, Mr Trumble, whose signature appears at intervals in the muster lists with that of Captain Herbert. Two other prisoners are entered as Marcus and Pedro. These had to share the rations, but, as was customary, their allowance was two-thirds of that allotted to the men. Departure Finally, in March 1742 they were ready to sail for Jamaica. The newly-built boat was christened the Jolie Marie and the island they at last were leaving Benany or place de douleurs. This has not been identified, unless it be Bimini, far to the west of Tortugas. The captain boarded the sloop that had come to rescue them.

He ordered the men to make bundles of their clothes and the negroes to put these on board the sloop, so that the men were left with one shirt and a pair of toile breeches. Sixty-two men were then put on the Jolie Marie with food for 27 days; this allowed between five men one pound of bread, three pints of water and three noggins of rum every 24 hours. There was some contrivance by which they could be towed by the sloop in bad weather, and on 2 April this ill-assorted pair of vessels reached the north-westerly point of Cuba. Having run out of water, they replenished supplies and set sail for Jamaica, but contrary winds forced them to within 20 leagues of Cape Santa Cruz, the south-easterly point of Cuba. But now they had nothing but rum to live on, and, realising that the improvised boat could go no further, the captain supplied them with a bushel of lard and a puncheon of rum, allowed each man a gun, powder and shot, placed them in charge of his erstwhile prisoner, their champion the lieutenant, and set them adrift, while he proceeded to Port Royal in the sloop.

On 19 April the Jolie Marie, when close in shore in search of game and water, came upon two Frenchmen fishing for turtle in a small dory, who agreed to pilot the boat to Cape Santa Cruz, as this was in direct line north of Pointe de Negresse, (Negril Point) in Jamaica. They also gave the men bread and six fat turtles, and showed them where they could find food and water. On 2 May they left for Jamaica, arriving at St James' Bay on the 8th and Montego Bay on the 10th. Advised that a sudden squall would surely overturn their small craft, if they attempted to make Port Royal, the lieutenant hired a sloop which brought them safely back to base. They then set off for Blue Fields, some 15 leagues away, to report their plight to Admiral Vernon, who assured them that the captain of the Tyger would be sent to England to stand trial. The men were dispersed to various ships, Jacques Balleine, fils Philippe joining the Duke of York on 18 May 1742. So ended his Robinson Crusoe existence.

There is no space to dwell in detail on the wealth of material between those parchment covers still to be sifted, but, as when a stone is thrown into still water, ripples spread in all directions. Turtles For the naturalist there is a description of the nesting habits of turtles: they come ashore, make a hollow about three feet deep and cover their eggs with sand. If not disturbed they are hatched in three weeks. The vegetation of the islands is described as the men gather from the shores of Cuba and Jamaica plantains, sugar cane, tobacco, citrus fruits and yams. They also pick leaves from the cabbage palm (caboche), which grows to a height of some 50 feet. For the linguist there are interesting measures of food and nautical terms, which owe something to Jersey Norman French: deux cantes de pain, une cannée de boisson and bourgoos, a hybrid of burgout, defined by Dr Le Maistre as 'warmed up soup', and burgoo, a nautical term for porridge seasoned with salt, sugar and butter, often the sole evening meal of a sailor and once a favourite dish with Jersey seamen ashore.

Nous frettiment is used when they freight a ship and le perroquet turns out to be, not the pet bird of captain or crew, but the topgallant sail hoisted when the Jolie Marie is on tow. The geographer can trace ports of call and the voyage back to Jamaica, though he will not find Cumberland Bay, a name given by Admiral Vernon to the deep inlet once known to English navigators as Waltenham, and now marked on maps of Cuba as Bahia de Guatanamo. For the historian there are thumbnail portraits of the guilty officers, as well as of those who acted more humanely. There is an account of Admiral Vernon's court of enquiry, which reveals that the captain of the Tyger forfeited his salary and was fined £50,000 sterling, a staggering sum by any standard. Sadly, Lieutenant Scott, who had espoused the men's cause, though at first set free, was accused by a fellow officer of lying and challenged to a duel which resulted in his death. We are given the rules for a duel a la magniere de la jamaique.

There is also a detailed account of the siege of Cartagena and Balleine mentions in passing that Jean d'Auvergne, fils Jean, de la Grande Vingtaine (St Peter) is with Anson on the Centurion, but that is another story. Genealogy There is much for the genealogist to pursue. Jacques Balleine himself was the son of a murderer; for, on 22 October 1722, Philippe Balleine, fils Jean, a substantial landowner at Les Nièmes, St Peter, was arrested for the murder of Umfrey(sic) Towning, an intruder into his home whom he shot and mortally wounded. The grim story is recorded in the Rolls of the Court. Philippe's widow brought up the five children. The eldest son Philippe, who at 12 had witnessed the murder, settled in America and founded a vast family which is well documented there. Jacques was the third son and was about 25 when he joined the Tyger. He was obviously well educated and strictly brought up in Calvinist ways. At intervals in his narrative he breaks off to reflect in religious terms on his plight.

Just as Robinson Crusoe, weighing the good and the bad, concluded that there was 'scarce any condition in the world so miserable, but there was something negative or positive to be thankful for in it', so Balleine thought that, though the shipwrecked men were miserable sinners deserving of punishment, God would surely have compassion on them and send help in His good time. Who were they to suffer less than Christ had done for forty days in the wilderness? One genealogical mystery remains to be solved. How did the book come into the hands of Philippe Le Roux and by whom was it actually written? There can be no doubt about the authenticity of Balleine's story. It is followed by other material of a later date, including the poem attributed to Josue Guille on the earthquake which occurred in Jersey in 1773. After the account of the court held by Vernon is a delightful and sensitive sketch in ink of three boats rowing away from the wreck of the Tyger, whose hull is fully submerged. Around the portrait of George II which adorns the Letter of Marque, is the inscription: Philippe Le Raux, son livre lui a par tien le 16 septembre 1796.

At the end of the book are exercises in hand-writing, signed: Philippe Le Raux, 1800, Ecole du Sauveur, and some cruder sketches of ships. The final page bears the words: Philippe Le Raux est man nom, angle terre est ma nation, Jersey est ma demeure, Jesus Christ est man Sauveur. This is dated 21ieme mars, 1802. Did Balleine write the story in old age? This would account for some inconsistencies in the narrative. If not Balleine, who transcribed it and where is the original? Jacques Balleine was the great-great-grandson of Jean Balleine and Genette Le Petivin dit Le Roux. At least one other Balleine at a later date married into the Le Roux family, and it is the descendants of Philippe Le Roux who have preserved the document we have to-day, but this is all we know.

The admirals who took part in the War of Jenkins' Ear are assured of a place in history books, but, apart from rare occasions when a manuscript emerges from an attic, the men who served under them remain unsung except in the dusty pages of a muster book preserved in the Public Record Office, where their life is summarized in the accounts of the paltry sums they owe for tobacco or 'dead men's clothes', or the stark letters R and DD which indicate that they 'ran' from the horrors of life at sea or were 'discharged dead'. 6 Wars Fought for Ridiculous Reasons - History Lists History Lists December 31, 2013 By Evan Andrews Share this: 6 Wars Fought for Ridiculous Reasons Author 6 Wars Fought for Ridiculous Reasons URL Google Most wars are fought over serious issues like territory, resources or political freedom, but others arise from bizarre and even comical circumstances. Over the years, armies have mobilized and blood has been shed over everything from tragic misunderstandings and perceived slights to petty border disputes and even sporting events. Get the facts on six of history’s most preposterous conflicts. The Pig War George Pickett—leader of American forces during the Pig War.

(Credit: Getty Images) The aptly named Pig War nearly saw an argument over a slaughtered swine lead to a full-scale conflict between the United States and Great Britain. The controversy began in 1859 on San Juan Island, a chunk of land located between the mainland United States and Vancouver Island. At the time, the island was home to American settlers and British employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and both parties had laid claim to its fertile soil. The first and only shots of the Pig War came on June 15, 1859, when an American farmer named Lyman Cutlar gunned down a British-owned black boar after he discovered the animal rooting through his potato patch. The ensuing argument over the dead hog increased tensions between the two groups of settlers, and Cutlar was eventually threatened with arrest. After the Americans reported the incident to the military, the U.S. Army dispatched Captain George Pickett—later a Confederate general during the Civil War—to San Juan with a small complement of troops. Pickett upped the ante by declaring the whole island U.S. property, and the British responded by sending a fleet of heavily armed naval vessels to the coastline.

An absurd standoff ensued, and the situation remained on a knife-edge for several agonizing weeks. The two nations would finally negotiate a deal allowing for joint military occupation of San Juan Island in October 1859, ending the Pig War as a bloodless stalemate—save for one unfortunate hog. The Nika Riot Circus and hippodrome at Constantinople (Credit: Getty Images) In 532 AD, massive mobs flooded the streets of Constantinople, burning large parts of the city and nearly toppling the government of the Emperor Justinian—and all of it in the name of chariot racing. The races held at Constantinople’s hippodrome had soared in popularity during the sixth century, and fans had organized themselves into strict factions. These ancient hooligans acted more like street gangs than sports fans, and the most powerful groups—known as the Blues and the Greens—became notorious for their barbarism. Conflict erupted in January 532, when Emperor Justinian refused to release two members of the Blues and Greens who had been condemned to death. In a rare instance of unity, the two factions banded together and began to riot.

In a few short days, they had burned the headquarters of the city prefect, clashed with imperial guards and even attempted to crown a new emperor. Faced with a full-scale revolution, Justinian finally resolved to put down the rebellion by force. After bribing the Blues to gain their support, the emperor launched a devastating assault on the remaining hooligans. By the end of the attack, the riots had been quelled and some 30,000 members of the mob lay dead around the grounds of the hippodrome. The War of the Stray Dog Picture of Petrich incident from French newspaper (Credit: Getty Images) In one of the most bizarre conflicts of the 20th century, a dog inadvertently triggered an international crisis. The incident was the culmination of a long period of hostility between Greece and Bulgaria, which had been at odds since the Second Balkan War in the 1910s. Tensions finally boiled over in October 1925, when a Greek soldier was shot after allegedly crossing the border into Bulgaria while chasing after his runaway dog. The shooting became a rallying cry for the Greeks, who soon after invaded Bulgaria and occupied several villages.

They were even set to commence shelling the city of Petrich when the League of Nations finally intervened and condemned the attack. An international committee later negotiated a ceasefire between the two nations, but not before the misunderstanding had resulted in the deaths of some 50 people. The War of Jenkins’ Ear Painting of the capture of Porto Bello In 1738, a British mariner named Robert Jenkins displayed a severed, decomposing ear before the members of Parliament. As part of a formal testimony, he claimed that a Spanish coastguard officer had sliced off his ear seven years earlier as punishment for smuggling. Spurred on by this stirring testimony, the British had soon declared war on the kingdom of Spain. Thus began the outlandish “War of Jenkins’ Ear.” In truth, a clash between the British and Spanish had been in the works since the beginning of the 1700s, and Jenkins’ missing ear merely served as a convenient catalyst. The conflict had its roots in territorial disputes over the border between Spanish Florida and British Georgia, as well as the Spanish of boarding and harassing English vessels like the one captained by Jenkins.

Fighting began in late 1739, and continued for two years in Florida and Georgia, with neither side emerging as the clear victor. The conflict later merged with the more expansive War of the Austrian Succession, which would not end until 1748. The Toledo War Toledo, Ohio, in the late 1800s (Credit: Getty Images) Michigan and Ohio might now be known their longstanding football rivalry, but the two states once nearly went to war over a border dispute. The argument began in 1803, when the newly formed state of Ohio took ownership of a sliver of land containing the town of Toledo. Michigan territory later disputed Ohio’s claim on this “Toledo strip” in the 1830s, launching a heated debate that teetered on the edge of violence for several weeks. In what became known as the Toledo War, both sides wrestled for political control of the territory, and both raised militias to defend against a possible invasion by the other. Desperate for Ohio’s valuable electoral votes, President Andrew Jackson finally intervened in 1835, and by 1836 a compromise was sealed.

The détente saw Michigan territory relinquish its claim on the Toledo strip in exchange for statehood and a portion of the Upper Peninsula. Many viewed the decision as a grave injustice, but some residents of the disputed region were quick to accept their newfound status as Ohioans. When one woman learned of the decision, she is said to have quipped, “Thank the Lord, I never did like that Michigan weather anyway.” The Pastry War Picture of the taking of citadel San Juan de Ulua. (Credit: Getty Images) In 1828, angry mobs destroyed large parts of Mexico City during a military coup. One of the victims of the rioting was an expatriate French pastry chef named Remontel, whose small café was ransacked by looters. Mexican officials ignored his complaints, so Remontel petitioned the French government for compensation. His request sat unnoticed until a decade later, when it came to the attention of King Louis-Philippe. The king was already furious that Mexico had failed to repay millions in loans, and now he demanded they pay 600,000 pesos to compensate the pastry chef for his losses.

When the Mexicans balked at handing over such an astronomical sum, Louis-Philippe did the unexpected: He started a war. In October 1838, a French fleet arrived in Mexico and blockaded the city of Veracruz. When the Mexicans still refused to pay up, the ships began shelling the San Juan de Ulua citadel. A few minor battles followed, and by December as many as 250 soldiers had been killed. The famous general Santa Anna even came out of retirement to lead the Mexican army against the French, and he lost a leg after he was wounded by grapeshot. Fighting finally ended in March 1839, when the British government helped broker a peace deal. As part of the treaty, the Mexicans were forced to shell out the 600,000 pesos—no doubt a large sum for a pastry shop at the time.

Tags War of Jenkinss Ear facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about War of Jenkinss Ear Jenkins' Ear, War of (1739–1742) Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World COPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. JENKINS' EAR, WAR OF (1739–1742) JENKINS' EAR, WAR OF (1739–1742). The War of Jenkins' Ear, an armed conflict between Britain and Spain , arose from longstanding Anglo-Spanish antagonism fostered by illicit British trading activities in the Spanish Caribbean and the determined, often brutal, attempts by Spain's colonial guarda costa ('coast guard') vessels to suppress such ventures. Popular feeling, incited by opponents of the Walpole ministry in London and a vigorous merchant lobby opposed to diplomatic efforts, further intensified pressures conducive to war.

The immediate events that precipitated open hostilities were the alleged sinking of several British merchant ships by Spanish privateers, the suspension of the asiento or slave supply contract, and the intensification of Spain's search and seizure claims against British smuggling vessels, and, marginally, the ill usage suffered by one Capt. Robert Jenkins, Master of the brig Rebecca. Legitimately bound for London from Jamaica with a cargo of sugar, Jenkins's ship was plundered and his ear severed by the commander of a Spanish coast guard vessel near Havana on 9 April 1731. The case received brief publicity, subsided, but then was revived (together with other, similar incidents) during a stormy Commons debate in March 1738. Although modern research has established that, contrary to historical tradition, Jenkins never appeared personally to present the missing ear, his plight was highly dramatized and contributed to the momentum of the political opposition campaign urging an immediate offensive against Spain. This appealed to national sentiment and commercial interests alike. Temporizing, Walpole arranged the Convention of Pardo with Spain, which provided compensation for vessels lost but avoided the crucial issue: Spain's continued determination to suppress all smuggling attempts.

Confronted with growing public and parliamentary indignation, Walpole finally had to yield and war was declared on 19 October 1739. In the lackluster naval operations that followed, Admiral Vernon (1684–1757) sacked Porto Bello (in modern Panama ) in November 1739, but the attack on Cartagena ( Colombia ) in early March 1741 failed due to spirited Spanish resistance, tropical disease, and dissension between British army and navy commanders. Commodore George Anson, operating with a small squadron off Chile , marauded coastal areas, then circumnavigated the globe in the HMS Centurion (1740–1744), capturing Spanish treasure along the way. Attempts to seize Cuba in December 1741 and raids along the Florida coast were largely fruitless, resulting in heavy British casualties.

Gradually the war overseas petered out into desultory forays against Spanish shipping and ineffectual attempts to isolate Spain from her colonies before becoming enveloped and overshadowed by hostilities in Europe (War of the Austrian Succession, 1740–1748) in which Britain, by means of mercenary forces, supported Austria against France (who had joined Spain) and her German allies. While in its altered, Continental dimension the war enabled Britain to contain threatening Bourbon expansionism in key strategic areas abroad during the period 1742–1748, overseas it failed to achieve the initially anticipated sweeping victory over Spain. Small-scale Anglo-Spanish clashes in Caribbean and Mediterranean waters produced little monetary or strategic gain, clearly indicating that naval action was not the solution to Britain's commercial grievances at this time, nor the key to much-needed political stability. See also Austrian Succession, War of the (1740–1748) ; Spanish Colonies: The Caribbean ; Spanish Colonies: Other American Colonies ; Walpole, Horace . BIBLIOGRAPHY Black, Jeremy. British Foreign Policy in the Age of Walpole.

Edinburgh and Atlantic Highlands, N.J., 1985. Harding, Richard. Amphibious Warfare in the 18th Century: The British Expedition to the West Indies , 1740–1742. London and Rochester, N.Y., 1991. McLachlan, Jean. Trade and Peace with Old Spain, 1667–1750: A Study of the Influence of Commerce on Anglo-Spanish Diplomacy in the First Half of the Eighteenth Century. Cambridge, U.K., 1940. Nelson, George. "Contraband Trade under the Asiento, 1730–1739." American Historical Review 51 (1945–1946): 55–67. Temperley, Harold. "The Causes of the War of Jenkins' Ear." Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 3rd ser. III (1909): 197–236. Woodfine, Philip. Britannia's Glories: The Walpole Ministry and the 1739 War with Spain.

Woodbridge, U.K., and Rochester, N.Y., 1998. Karl W. Schweizer Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA COPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. JENKINS' EAR, WAR OF JENKINS' EAR, WAR OF (1739–1743), was a struggle between England and Spain. It preceded the War of the Austrian Succession (known in North America as King George's War), which lasted until 1748. The war was named for Robert Jenkins, a British seaman who lost an ear in a brush with the Spaniards off the coast of Florida. Commercial rivalry on the seas and disputes over proprietary rights to Georgia contributed to the conflict. England and Spain fought at sea and on land, in two major theaters: the Caribbean and the Georgia-Florida borderlands. The war resulted in no significant gains for either side. The British admiral Edward Vernon captured Portobelo on the Isthmus of Panama in 1739 but met with disastrous failure in 1741 at Cartagena, Colombia's principal port.

James Oglethorpe, having clinched an alliance with the Creek Indians at a meeting on the Chattahoochee River, invaded Florida early in 1740 and seized two forts on the St. Johns River. He attacked St. Augustine the following summer but failed to take it. In 1742 a force of five thousand Spaniards sought to end the Georgia colony but was turned back at the Battle of Bloody Marsh, on St. Simons Island. The next year, Oglethorpe again invaded Florida without success. BIBLIOGRAPHY Dowd, Gregory Evans. A Spirited Resistance: The North American Indian Struggle for Unity, 1745–1815. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. Merrell, James H. The Indians' New World: Catawbas and Their Neighbors from European Contact through the Era of Removal. New York: Norton, 1989. Usner, Daniel H., Jr. Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in a Frontier Exchange Economy: The Lower Mississippi Valley before 1783.

Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992. ShelbyBalik The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright The Columbia University Press War of Jenkins's Ear, 1739–41, struggle between England and Spain. It grew out of the commercial rivalry of the two powers and led to involvement in the larger War of the Austrian Succession . The incident that gave the name to the war occurred in 1731 when, according to Robert Jenkins, master of the ship Rebecca, he had his ear cut off by Spanish coast guards. English smuggling and resentment at exclusion from the Spanish colonial trade caused the war, but Jenkins's story in the House of Commons (1738), reinforced by the showing of his carefully preserved ear, had a tremendous propaganda effect and forced the reluctant Sir Robert Walpole to declare war. The hostilities with Spain up to 1741 were marked only by the naval engagements of Admiral Edward Vernon in the West Indies. Cite this article The Oxford Companion to British History © The Oxford Companion to British History 2002, originally published by Oxford University Press 2002. Jenkins's Ear, War of.

Although Captain Jenkins's ear was cut off by the Spanish in a skirmish in 1731, the war between Spain and Britain that bears his name did not begin until October 1739. American colonial trade was at the heart of the conflict and, initially, Britain made gains. Defeats followed, which had virtually destroyed her Caribbean army by spring 1741, though the navy remained potent. Domestic pressure for war with Spain marked the beginning of the end for Walpole's premiership. From December 1740 the War of Jenkins's Ear was subsumed into the War of the Austrian Succession . Andrew Iain Lewer Colonial Georgia Colonial Georgia exclusively for Our Georgia History The colony of Georgia was truly the vision of James Edward Oglethorpe . His plan to use the new colony as a haven for people in debtors prison grew out of his committee work while a member of Parliament. Although Oglethorpe did not conceive the idea, he did seize it and attempted to act upon it.

However, by the time he received the charter for Georgia (June 9, 1732) Oglethorpe had dropped his plan to use debtors and hand-selected the 116 men and women who would travel to South Carolina on The Ann. On February 12, 1733 (February 1, old style) a group of six small ships landed at Yamacraw Bluffs and set up on a site Oglethorpe had chosen earlier. It would become Savannah . Defense was an early concern of the new colony. Oglethorpe established a perimeter around the colony including Fort Augusta, Fort Fredrica and Fort St. Simon ( List of Georgia forts ) and had slavery and liquor banned from the colony. Over the first six years the struggles of the new colony came from inside. Many did not like the lack of land ownership; others were angry over the lack of slaves; some just wanted rum and beer. Slavery was an extremely divisive issue, with the people of Savannah wanting Negroes while the Highlanders along the coast and the Saltzburgers at Ebenezer wanting to be slave-free.

Georgia had always been a "melting pot," welcoming the persecuted and prosecuted of Europe including large groups of Puritans, Lutherans, and Quakers (Wrightsboro). The only group not welcome in Georgia were Catholics, which is not surprising considering the religious wars that were fought a century earlier in England. The diversity of religion brought Georgia an unexpected strength - an willingness to accept others regardless of religion. The first test of the new colony came in 1739 during the War of Jenkins Ear. Southern Georgia and Florida were battlegrounds over the next four years, most notably the siege of St. Augustine (1740) and the Battle of Bloody Marsh (1742). When peace finally settled on the colony Oglethorpe was gone, never to return, and William Stevens was president. This 1745 map of Georgia shows the state extending west to the Mississippi. Only a strip of land from Savannah to Augusta about 20 miles wide, along with some small coastal communities had been settled by Europeans. The War of Jenkins Ear was a minor war that fueled a much larger conflict known as the War of Austrian Succession (1742-1748).

Because of the cost involved in fighting the war the English Parliament had little money to support the colonies it helped fund over the past 80 years. Georgia came under increasing pressure in the late 1740's to become self-sufficient. Georgia was not prosperous under the trustee system. In 1749, 16 years into the trustee system, the colony exported goods for the first time. James Habersham petitioned for slavery to be allowed and the request was granted the following year. In 1752 the trustees returned the colony to the king, unwilling to continue for the entire 21 years stated in the charter. In 1754 John Reynolds arrives as first "royal governor," appointed by King George II and in charge of the colony whose major products are naval stores, indigo and lumber. Rice was a popular crop along coast; further inland they grew wheat and other products whose hulls needed to be "cracked" before use, hence "Cracker," a derogatory name for poor upcountry farmers. Reynolds did not like Savannah and tried to move the capitol south to Hardwicke, near Genesis Point on the Ogeechee River.

This was one of many unpopular moves that led to his ouster at the request of the colonists. He was followed by Lieutenant Governor Henry Ellis, who disdained the state because of its heat. Although the state was spared major battles during the French and Indian War (1754-1763) it did reap a major benefit from the conflict: its borders increased dramatically. It was during the war that James Wright (Ellis' Lieutenant Governor ) became Georgia's third and most well-liked of its royal governors. Appointed by King George III, Wright proves to be capable as governor of Georgia. He expanded the state's economy during his term and kept the Radicals at bay well into the 1770's.

Question: Into which other war did the War of Jenkins Ear merge?
Answer: War of Austrian Succession