The War of Jenkins' Ear
Britain fights Spain over a sea captain's severed ear
In 1731 a Spanish coast guard cut off the ear of British captain Robert Jenkins. Seven years later he reportedly displayed the pickled ear in Parliament, and in 1739 Britain declared war on Spain. Its first big success was the capture of Porto Bello in Panama.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 18th century
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Britain and Spain fought for nine years over a severed ear. Spaniards cut off Captain Jenkins's ear in 1731; after he told Parliament about it, war broke out in 1739. Share →
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Europe
- 1755 Lisbon earthquake — 16 years later
- 1756–1763 Seven Years' War — 17 years later
- c. 1760 Start of the Industrial Revolution — 21 years later
Eastern Europe & Russia
- 1721 Proclamation of the Russian Empire — 18 years earlier
- 1762 Accession of Catherine the Great — 23 years later
- 1764 Founding of the Hermitage — 25 years later
Middle East
- 1722 Fall of Isfahan — 17 years earlier
- 1747 Ahmad Shah Durrani founds the Afghan state — 8 years later
Asia
- 1755–1758 The Dzungar genocide — 16 years later
- 1757 Battle of Plassey — 18 years later
- 1761 Third Battle of Panipat — 22 years later
Alive at the time
- Johann Sebastian Bach (aged 54)
- Voltaire (aged 45)
- Benjamin Franklin (aged 33)
- Mikhail Lomonosov (aged 28)
- James Cook (aged 11)
- Catherine the Great (aged 10)
- George Washington (aged 7)
- Vitus Bering (aged 58)
- Tokugawa Yoshimune (aged 55)
- Nader Shah (aged 51)