Al Dente Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Here's another curiosity I found in my Wikipedia "random article" habit: The War of Jenkins' Ear I have foggy memories of sitting in history class going over the various North American battles involving England, France, and/or Spain before the good old USA told King George to fuck off but I don't recall this war with the catchy name. It's interesting how a conflict in one part of the world can impact a seemingly irrelevant situation in another part of the world. I mean, have you ever heard about Georgia (England) and Florida (Spain) attacking each other because Prussia and France didn't like the idea of Maria Theresa being the top Habsburg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hersch Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Speaking of which, today is the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. In the treaty, Britain undertook to return or pay for captured American slaves (they eventually paid), and both governments committed to work toward ending the international slave trade. (The U.S. had already made the importation of slaves from abroad illegal in 1808.) The treaty became effective on February 17, when James Madison signed the ratification papers at the Octagon (just down the street from where I'm sitting), which he used as his residence and office after the British burned the White House. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now