In 1731 The Pennsylvania Gazette reported on America's first partial ear loss crisis.
It began with the search and seizure of a British ship, the Rebecca, off the coast of Cuba, by Tenante Dorce, a Spanish Guarde Costa officer who slashed the left ear of the ship's sailing master, Captain Jenkins and told him to tell King George III:
"the same will happen to him if caught doing the same".
Another contemporary account claims Lieutenant Dorce :
"took hold of his left Ear & with his Cutlass slit it down and then another of the Spaniards took hold of it and tore it off, but gave him the Piece of his Ear again, bidding him carry it to his Majesty King George."
When The Gentleman's Magazine for June 1731 arrived from London some months late at Ben Franklin's new lending library, Philadelphians learned that the incident was far from over:
"The Rebecca, Capt. Jenkins, was taken in her passage from Jamaica, by a Spanish Guarde Costa, who put her people to the torture; part of which was, that they hang'd up the Capt. three times, once with the Cabin-boy at his feet; they then cut off one of his Ears, took away his candles and instruments, and detain'd him a whole day.Being then dismissed, the Captain bore away... and after many Hardships and Perils arrived in the River Thames, June 11 … and gave a deposition which was passed to the Duke of Newcastle, in his capacity as Secretary of State for the Southern Department (as such responsible for the American colonies)... then forwarded to the Commander-in-chief in the West Indies, who then complained of Jenkins' treatment to the Governor of Havana."
The Governor's reply failed to satisfy the Court of St. James's, but Prime Minister Walpole kept the peace by negotiating the Convention of Pardo with Spain, which provided compensation for vessels seized, but failed to stop Spanish interference with free trade.
As the years passed, British indignation mounted, and on 19 October 1739 Walpole finally declared war on Spain, leading to the loss of 407 ships and 20,000 mostly American lives, all for the want of an ear.
As the years passed, British indignation mounted, and on 19 October 1739 Walpole finally declared war on Spain, leading to the loss of 407 ships and 20,000 mostly American lives, all for the want of an ear.
Full Disclosure per Nature rules :
The writer sailed as Brevet Lieutenant aboard his Spanish Majesty's ship JS Elcano from Newport News to Boston in 1980 and rejoined her briefly in 2019 as she retraced the route of the first circumnavigation of the globe, started by Ferdinand de Magellanes in 1519, and finished in 1523 by Juan Sebastian Elcano. No ears were slit in the course of these operations.
