July 1, 2024, 11:14 p.m.
(Photo: poradnica.com.ua)
There have been wars in human history that lasted less than an hour. There have also been wars in which several dozen people died in total, which is many times less than the daily death toll in the Russian-Ukrainian war for two and a half years. But can there be a war in which not a single person died? It turns out that there was such a war. The United States and the United Kingdom were its participants, and the "apple of discord" was a pig and a handful of potatoes.
How the British tried to get along with the Americans
The military rush to the rescue
In the 1818 treaty signed between the United States and Great Britain, the border between the two countries in North America was drawn along the 49th parallel from Minnesota to the Rocky Mountains. To the west of the Rocky Mountains was the territory of Oregon, which was recognized by the treaty as free for use by representatives of both sides. Given that the two countries had already fought twice, a legally undefined large area on the border could have been a cause for misunderstanding. To avoid potential problems, U.S. President James Polk proposed that the United Kingdom divide Oregon along the 49th parallel. However, the British wanted the border to run along the Columbia River, where beaver fishing flourished. The British ambitions created tension between the countries. In the United States, the slogan "54 or war" began to gain popularity, meaning the desire to expand the American border to the 54th parallel, where Russian Alaska began.
Map of Oregon in 1818-46. Wikipedia
In the summer of 1845, Britain and the United States even sent warships to the Oregon coast. However, the following year, the American-Mexican War broke out. Since the United States could not fight on two fronts, it signed the Oregon Treaty in 1846.
The Oregon Treaty between Britain and the United States was to determine the fate of not only mainland Oregon, but also the San Juan Archipelago off the west coast of the mainland. Oregon was quite logically divided along the 49th parallel in the context of the peculiarities of the British-American border. The situation with the archipelago was worse. The treaty stipulated that the border should run from the 49th parallel southward in the middle of the strait that separates the British island of Vancouver from the mainland. The problem was that in the region described in the treaty, there are two straits flowing from north to south at once: one separates Vancouver Island from the San Juan Archipelago, and the other separates the archipelago from the mainland. The mistake is explained by the fact that at the time of signing the treaty, there were no accurate maps of the region near the San Juan Archipelago.
The San Juan Archipelago on a map of the region. Wikipedia
Ten years later, when the mistake in the treaty became apparent, the United States and the United Kingdom formed a commission to try to resolve the misunderstanding. The British argued that the treaty referred to the Rosario Strait, while the Americans were sure that the drafters meant the Haro Strait. Since each of the straits partially met the terms of the treaty, but none fully, the dispute could only be resolved by compromise. At the end of 1857, the British offered such a compromise: to draw the border along the San Juan Channel. In this case, the island of San Juan would go to the British, and the rest of the islands would become the property of the United States. The Americans disagreed, the commission stopped working, and representatives of both countries began to settle the islands.
Map of the San Juan Archipelago with the proposals for the border discussed in 1857. Wikipedia
In June 1859, an American farmer named Lyman Cutler, who had settled on the island of San Juan, noticed a pig eating potatoes in his garden. As the story goes, Cutler immediately recognized the pig as a recidivist aggressor who regularly raided his garden. Since the fact of recidivism, i.e. the lack of possibility to re-educate the pig in the future, was established, the farmer shot the pig with a light heart. As it turned out later, the deceased belonged to an Irish farmer, Charles Griffin, who allowed his pigs to move freely around the island. Because Cutler felt deep down that the situation was uncomfortable, he offered Griffin $10 in compensation in view of the pig's unruly behavior. However, Griffin believed that only the sum of $100 would assuage his suffering. When Cutler said that he would not pay anything in that case, Griffin turned to the British authorities for help, who decided to arrest the murderer. Cutler responded by seeking protection from the US authorities.
The US military was the first to arrive at the scene of the conflict. 66 American soldiers under the command of Captain George Pickett were stationed on the island with orders to prevent the landing of British forces. According to legend, Pickett proclaimed: "We're going to give them Bunker Hill!", alluding to the heroic defense of the Boston suburb during the Revolutionary War. In response, the British sent three warships to the island under the command of Captain Jeffrey Hornby. Interestingly, the governor of the colony on Vancouver Island , James Douglas, ordered Hornby to drive the Americans off the island, avoiding bloodshed if possible, while there were only 66 of them. However, Hornby replied that he would not take any action until Rear Admiral Robert Baines, commander of the Pacific Fleet, arrived.
American soldiers build fortifications in the south of the island of San Juan. Watercolor: Wikipedia
Later, the parties began to build up their military presence, calming the initial passions. The American camp on the south of San Juan in August consisted of 461 soldiers and 14 guns. The British camped in the north with five warships with 70 guns and 2,140 soldiers.
US President James Buchanan sent General Winfield Scott to the San Juan Archipelago. Scott was not chosen by chance, as in the late 1830s he had already managed to resolve two border crises between Britain and the United States. The general was to hold talks with the governor of Vancouver Island, James Douglas.
As a result of the negotiations, the parties decided to leave the joint occupation of the island, reducing the military contingent to no more than 100 people on each side. In 1871, the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Washington, which, in particular, stated that German Emperor Wilhelm I was appointed as an international arbitrator to decide the fate of the San Juan Archipelago. The arbitration commission, to which the German emperor referred the matter, decided to draw the border along the Haro Strait, meaning that the entire archipelago came under US jurisdiction.
British troops leave the island of San Juan in 1872. Photo: Wikipedia
It is important to note that in 1867, Canada was granted the status of a dominion, a transitional form between a colony and an independent state. That is, when the British signed the Washington Treaty, they were much less interested in the fate of the San Juan Archipelago than they had been ten years earlier.
During the British-American War of 1859, the only casualty was a pig. Not a single person was injured during the war.
A memorial sign commemorating the British-American War of 1859 near a British camp. Photo: Wikipedia
Obviously, the so-called "War over a Pig and Potatoes" is not a war at all, but primarily a historical curiosity. However, despite the curiosity of a war without casualties, this case allows us to make some generalizations.
The British-American clash of 1859 shows that war can start even over trifles. However, trifles become the basis for war only when one or both sides want to start hostilities. For example, the Stray Dog War of 1925 obviously happened because Greece wanted it badly. On the other hand, even when the situation is hovering over the brink, politicians are quite capable of keeping a cool head and stopping a tragedy from breaking out. Obviously, the Cuban Missile Crisis had every chance of turning into World War III.
In the event of an international incident, it is extremely important that people with experience, education, and intelligence be in leading political and military positions. It seems that U.S. Army Captain George Pickett was ready to start a war. By the way, Pickett would soon become a prominent figure in the Civil War. And if Captain Geoffrey Hornby of the British forces had succumbed to the demands of Vancouver Island Governor James Douglas, the outbreak of war would have been quite likely.
Inconsistency or uncertainty of borders can always become the basis for an international conflict. If such uncertainty occurs, a wise state leader should make efforts to resolve the situation through compromise or even concessions. In the conflict between the United States and Britain, the latter should be commended for offering a compromise division of the San Juan Archipelago in 1857. However, ten years earlier, it was Britain that refused to compromise on the division of Oregon.
It should be noted that in the nineteenth century, Britain began to gradually abandon its colonies. Obviously, it was a complicated process in many aspects. In 1867, Canada was granted the status of a dominion, a transitional form between a colony and an independent state. And when the Treaty of Washington was signed, Britain still had the right to decide the fate of the lands on the Canadian border. If Canada had gained sovereignty earlier, perhaps the map of the San Juan Archipelago would look a little different.
Олег Пархітько
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