Quote:
Originally Posted by susie123
And to think all this started a week ago over a knob. Beats the war of Jenkin's Ear into a cocked hat (if you don't mind the metaphor).
Wonder if it will go on as long?
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, refers to an ear severed from Robert Jenkins, captain of a British merchant ship. The severed ear was subsequently exhibited before Parliament. The tale of the ear's separation from Jenkins, following the boarding of his vessel by Spanish coast guards in 1731, provided the impetus to war against the Spanish Empire. |
I believe, (though am willing to be shot down because I'm working from memory), that Jenkins was a liar and it was later rumored that his ear was removed when he was a pirate, but our Government had been looking for an excuse to go to war, so they did, (nothing new there then).