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in 1732 a brig by the name of Rebecca was boarded by spanish marines,the captain Robert Jenkin was captured and the spanish commander had cut off his ear,at first he complained but was largely ignored,7 years later he complained infront of the house of commons when Sir Robert Walpole ordered to prepare for war,wih resulted in several french and spanish ships being sunk and several prisoners taken,what was bothering me was why did the spanish commander cut his ear?
What bothers me is.......how the hell did the ears make it back to the British Parliment where they were waved around in such a fashion as to incite the house to vote for War
Basically, they cut off his ear(s) because that is what you do to Pirates ™.
Of course, it is not about piracey - it was about the lucrative trade in that part of the world. The Spanish were pissed that the Brits were moving in on their turf. The ear thing was just a symptom of the trade wars.
//BW