Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War
Categories: English Civil War | History of Cornwall | History of the Isles of Scilly | Wars of the United Provinces
The Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War is the peaceful war between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly (located off the southwest coast of the United Kingdom). It lasted 335 years without a single shot being fired; not only was it the longest war ever, it also produced the fewest casualties.
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The war
Origins
The origins of the war can be found in the Second English Civil War, fought between the Royalists and Parliamentarians from 1642 to 1652. Oliver Cromwell had fought the Royalists to the edges of the Kingdom of England. In the West of England this meant that Cornwall was the last Royalist stronghold. In 1648, Cromwell pushed on until mainland Cornwall was in the hands of the Parliamentarians.
The Royalists' major asset was the Navy, who had declared themselves for the Prince of Wales. The Royalist Navy was forced to retreat to the Isles of Scilly, which lie off the Cornish coast and were under the ownership of Royalist Sir John Grenville.
Dutch Navy alliance
The navy of the United Provinces of the Netherlands was allied with the Parliamentarians. The Netherlands had been assisted by the English under a number of rulers in the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), starting with Queen Elizabeth I of England. The Treaty of Münster (January 30, 1648) had confirmed Dutch independence from Spain. The Netherlands sought to maintain their alliance with England and had chosen to ally with what seemed would be the victorious side in the Civil War.
The Dutch Navy was suffering heavy losses from the Royalist fleet based in Scilly. Admiral Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp demanded reparation from the Royalist fleet for the Dutch ships and goods taken by them. Having received no satisfactory answer, in 1651 the Netherlands declared war. As most of England was now in Parliamentarian hands, war was declared specifically upon the Scilly Isles.
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 Netherlands 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 forgot to officially declare peace.
Peace treaty
In 1985, Roy Duncan, historian and Chairman of the Isles of Scilly Council, wrote to the Dutch Embassy in London to dispose of the "myth" that the islands were still at war. Embassy staff found the myth to be accurate and Duncan invited ambassador jonkheer (squire) Rein Huydecoper to visit the islands and sign a peace treaty. Peace was declared on April 17, 1986, 335 years after the war began.
Publicity
Despite its length, the 335 Years' War is not recognised by the Guinness Book of Records.
References
See also
- Anglo-Zanzibar War: generally considered the world's shortest war
- Berwick-upon-Tweed: a town on the border between Scotland and England that was technically at war with Russia and later the Soviet Union from 1853 to 1966.