The Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War ( nl, Driehonderdvijfendertigjarige Oorlog, kw, Bell a dri hans pymthek warn ugens) was an alleged state of war between the
Netherlands
)
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, image_map =
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and the
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of th ...
(located off the southwest coast of Great Britain), and its existence is disputed. It is said to have been
extended by the lack of a peace treaty for 335 years without a single shot being fired, which would make it one of the
world's longest wars, and a
bloodless war
A bloodless war is generally a small conflict, crisis, or dispute between rival groups that is resolved without human death or injury, although the threat of violence usually seems very likely at the time. Intentional property damage, however, ma ...
. Despite the uncertain validity of the
declaration of war
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national government, ...
, and thus uncertainty about whether or not a state of war ever actually existed, peace was finally declared in 1986, bringing an end to any hypothetical war that may have been legally considered to exist.
War
Origins
The origins of the war can be found in the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...
, fought between the
Royalists and
Parliamentarians from 1642 to 1651.
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...
had fought the Royalists to the edges of the
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
On ...
. In the West of Britain this meant that
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...
was the last Royalist stronghold. In 1648, Cromwell pushed on until mainland Cornwall was in the hands of the Parliamentarians. The Royalist Navy was forced to retreat to the
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of th ...
, which lay off the Cornish coast and were under the ownership of Royalist
John Granville.
Dutch Navy alliance
The
navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
of the
United Provinces of the Netherlands
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
was at the time allied with the Parliamentarians. The Netherlands had been assisted by the English under a number of rulers in the
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...
(1568–1648), starting with Queen
. The
Treaty of Münster Treaty of Münster refers to two treaties signed in 1648, and forming part of the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War:
* Peace of Münster
The Peace of Münster was a treaty between the Lords States General of the Seven United N ...
( 1648) had confirmed Dutch independence from Spain. The Netherlands sought to maintain their alliance with England and had chosen to ally with the Parliamentarians as the side likely to win the Civil War.
The Dutch merchant navy was suffering heavy losses from the Royalist fleet based in Scilly. On 1651, Lieutenant-Admiral
Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp arrived in Scilly to demand reparation from the Royalist fleet for the Dutch ships and goods taken by them.
According to
Whitelocke's Memorials, a letter of 1651 explains: "Tromp came to
Pendennis
''The History of Pendennis: His Fortunes and Misfortunes, His Friends and His Greatest Enemy'' (1848–50) is a novel by the English author William Makepeace Thackeray. It is set in 19th-century England, particularly in London. The main ...
and related that he had been to Scilly to demand reparation for the Dutch ships and goods taken by them; and receiving no satisfactory answer, he had, according to his Commission, declared war on them." As most of England was now in Parliamentarian hands, war was declared specifically upon the Isles of Scilly.
Royalist surrender
In June 1651, soon after the declaration of war, the Parliamentarian forces under Admiral
Robert Blake forced the Royalist fleet to surrender. The Dutch fleet, no longer under threat, left without firing a shot. Due to the obscurity of one nation's declaration of war against a small part of another, the Dutch did not officially declare peace.
Peace treaty
For many years in the Isles of Scilly, the local legend was that the state of war was still in effect. In 1986, Roy Duncan, historian and Chairman of the
Isles of Scilly Council
The Council of the Isles of Scilly is a ''sui generis'' unitary local government authority covering the Isles of Scilly off the west coast of Cornwall. It is currently made up of 16 seats, with all councillors being independents. The council ...
, decided to investigate and wrote to the
Dutch Embassy in London. Embassy staff found that no peace treaty had ever been signed, and Duncan invited the Dutch ambassador
Jonkheer
(female equivalent: ; french: Écuyer; en, Squire) is an honorific in the Low Countries denoting the lowest rank within the nobility. In the Netherlands, this in general concerns a prefix used by the untitled nobility. In Belgium, this is the ...
Rein Huydecoper to visit the islands and officially end the "conflict". Peace was declared on 17 April 1986, 335 years after the supposed declaration of war. The Dutch ambassador joked that it must have been horrifying to the Scillonians "to know we could have attacked at any moment."
Authenticity
Bowley (2001) argues that the letter in Whitelocke's Memorials is the probable origin of the "declaring war" legend: "Tromp had no 'Commission' from his government to declare war on the rebels in Scilly; but he did come to tryby a show of force, threats and even by violence perhaps, although this never happenedto seek reparation for Royalist piracies, but short of resorting to any action which might offend the Commonwealth even if
warhad occurred in 1651, all matters pertaining would have been resolved in 1654 as a part of
the treaty between England and the United Provinces at the end of the
First Dutch War".
The reality of this war is also disputed by Graeme Donald. In his book ''Loose Cannons: 101 Myths, Mishaps and Misadventurers of Military History'' he argues that no such war could have existed because neither side was sovereign: "Tromp was an admiral, not a nation, and Scilly part of England". He goes on to describe it as "a great
PR coup for the island's tourist board".
See also
*
List of wars extended by diplomatic irregularity
There are different claims of wars extended by diplomatic irregularity which involve long peaceful periods after the end of hostilities where, for various reasons, the belligerents could be considered to be in a technical state of war. For examp ...
*
Arauco War
The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuche ...
(1536–1881), another example of a very long war
*
Anglo–Zanzibar War, generally considered the world's shortest war
References
Notes
Bibliography
* "Scilly peace". ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'', 19 April 1986.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Three Hundred And Thirty Five Years' War
17th-century conflicts
18th-century conflicts
19th-century conflicts
20th-century conflicts
Battles and conflicts without fatalities
English Civil War
History of Cornwall
History of the Isles of Scilly
Wars involving the United Kingdom
Wars involving the Dutch Republic
Wars involving the Netherlands
Netherlands–United Kingdom relations
1986 in the United Kingdom
1986 in the Netherlands