In 1731, the merchant ship of British Captain Robert Jenkins was boarded by Spanish coastguards in the Caribbean. During the violent search, Jenkins loses an ear. The case then became a symbol in the tensions between Britain and Spain.
The National Army Museum reports that he took his complaint to Parliament and was told that his ear was cut off. He thus distinguishes the fact of the wound and the spectacular narrative from its presentation. Under political pressure, Britain finally declared war in 1739.
The name “Jenkins’s Ear War” holds a human detail in the midst of much larger maritime and imperial interests. This is not proof that all the fights had a single cause. It is a lesson in the memory of events: a striking image can survive much more easily than the set of rivalries it helped mobilize.
What we know
Presentation of the ear to Parliament reported as narrative; causes of conflict not reduced to a single incident.
To go to the source
References consulted on 3 October 2026. Linked pages may be in another language.
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