Context: The War of Jenkins’ Ear was fought between Britain and Spain from 1739 to 1748. Trade disputes and British colonial expansion into the Caribbean came to a head in 1731 when a merchant captain named Robert Jenkins allegedly had his ear severed by Spanish coast guards searching his vessel for contraband. The incident was used by Parliament as pretext to declare war on Spain, and satirical cartoons depicted Jenkins waving his ear in front of then-Prime Minister Robert Walpole. The war was ultimately indecisive for both sides and ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, more or less restoring the status quo.
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Context: The War of Jenkins’ Ear was fought between Britain and Spain from 1739 to 1748. Trade disputes and British colonial expansion into the Caribbean came to a head in 1731 when a merchant captain named Robert Jenkins allegedly had his ear severed by Spanish coast guards searching his vessel for contraband. The incident was used by Parliament as pretext to declare war on Spain, and satirical cartoons depicted Jenkins waving his ear in front of then-Prime Minister Robert Walpole. The war was ultimately indecisive for both sides and ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, more or less restoring the status quo.