Name that War! Part 1

Written by Bill Kuttner

I’m well into our new publication, William Shirley, King’s Governor of Massachusetts. It’s only a few dozen pages until this dynamic young Admiralty lawyer is appointed governor. Everything is on the front burner, including military support for Britain’s struggle with Spain in the Caribbean, the War of Jenkins’ Ear.

Which immediately reminded me of my junior year in high school in 1966. Our English teacher was giving us tips on how to answer exam questions we knew nothing about. Example:

 True or False

“The War of Jenkins’ Ear was started over of a piece of bacon rind.’

You can’t make this stuff up. Just answer yes and move on.

 According to the story, merchant captain Thomas Jenkins, looking the worse for the wear, shows up in Parliament, holds out a piece of shriveled flesh, and announces to the lawmakers “look what the Spanish swine did to my ear!”

Any crimes by the Spaniards against Captain Jenkins are lost in lore. In the eyes of the British government, Spain was guilty of one very important thing: controlling islands in the Caribbean where sugar was grown.

Sugar held geopolitical importance at the time comparable to petroleum today. We look at a world map now and see the North American land mass with the United States and Canada, and it is hard to appreciate governments in London and other European capitals building imperial policies over sugar. William Shirley, however, saw Britain’s imperial future on the North American continent, and worked for decades to persuade the mother country of this vision.

 Next month: what does Governor Shirley have to do with Marie Antoinette?