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.

1731 · 1739 · apart: 8 years

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The event

• The War of Jenkins' Ear1739–1748 · Porto Bello. 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.

18th century

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