Westminster, 1738: Captain Robert Jenkins tells MPs his ear was cut off by Spanish coastguards years earlier and, crucially, he has brought it with him
MPs Shown Ear, Remain Calm, Then Do Not
WESTMINSTER, March 1738 – The House of Commons was treated to an unusual exhibit this week when Captain Robert Jenkins, a British merchant mariner, appeared before a committee investigating Spanish attacks on British shipping in the Caribbean and, according to the story that has passed into history, produced his own severed ear, preserved in a jar.
Captain Jenkins told members that in 1731, off the coast of Cuba, Spanish coastguards boarded his ship, the Rebecca, accused him of smuggling and cut off his ear, with the Spanish commander reportedly suggesting he take it to his king. He has, it seems, taken it to Parliament instead, which observers describe as the next best thing.
Background to the Ear
Tensions between Britain and Spain over trade in the Americas have been rising for years. Under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, Britain was granted limited rights to trade with Spanish colonies, including the notorious asiento contract to supply enslaved Africans, which historians today regard as one of the darkest elements of the whole affair. British merchants frequently exceeded their limits, Spanish coastguards frequently boarded British ships, and both sides accused the other of piracy, smuggling and brutality. The ear, in other words, is the symptom of a much larger argument.
Walpole Not Keen
Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, who has spent years trying to avoid an expensive war, is said to be unenthusiastic. Opposition politicians and merchant interests, however, have seized on the ear as proof of Spanish outrages. The ear is reportedly very persuasive. It does not say much, a parliamentary clerk noted, but its presence is felt throughout the chamber.
War Follows
By October 1739, Britain had declared war on Spain. The conflict became known, much later, as the War of Jenkins Ear, a name usually credited to the nineteenth-century writer Thomas Carlyle. It soon merged into the wider War of the Austrian Succession. One of its major episodes, the British attack on Cartagena de Indias in 1741, ended in a heavy British defeat, with many of the dead lost to disease. Walpole government fell in 1742. Historians generally agree that the ear itself was not really the cause of the war, but it remains one of the most memorable props in parliamentary history.
No reliable record exists of what eventually happened to the ear. Historians have searched. The ear has not come forward.
Meanwhile, in 2026
Unusual reasons for family conflict remain in the news. The London Prat reports Prince William reportedly calling Earl Spencer and Harry traitors after an anonymous source claimed the heir believes his brother read their uncle memoir first. Geo News repeated the traitor word, and the uncle says he told everyone. Historians of the Georgian period note that it is still better to quarrel over a book than an ear, though both have been known to start wars of words.
The London Prat has been keeping its ear to the ground since 1961 at https://prat.uk/, with its royal row video on YouTube. Bohiney at https://bohiney.com/ reports from the far side of the Atlantic, where several of these quarrels were fought.
Study Questions for Students
Was Jenkins ear a cause of war or an excuse for one? How did trade, smuggling and the slave trade shape relations between Britain and Spain? Why do small, vivid stories often dominate how we remember big events? Keep both ears attached while discussing.
SOURCE: https://prat.uk/prince-william-called-earl-spencer-and-harry-traitors/