Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,995
Gunboat Policy...
On March 15, 1854, the US ship "Routh" rammed a native's canoe on the Río San Juan in Nicaragua; the canoe sinks and the Nicaraguan drowns.
When the ship is in port...
...at the nearby city of San Juan de Nicaragua (which is called "Greytown" in English)...
...policemen want to arrest the captain of the "Routh", against which one passenger in particular on the ship massively opposes!
This happens to be US ambassador Solon Borland...:
In the small town, word of the incident spreads like wildfire, an angry crowd flocks to the scene, Ambassador Borland is verbally abused, then physically attacked and injured, but is able to escape back to the "Routh" - also because the Nicaraguan police officers restrain crowd...:
As soon as the incident became known in the USA, Washington pulled out!
The US government is demanding - as it was literally called at the time - "generously calculated compensation" from Nicaragua. If Nicaragua does not pay this compensation, the city of San Juan de Nicaragua will be destroyed in retaliation.
The government of Nicaragua, of course, refuses to pay the "generously calculated compensation" the US is demanding - after all, one of its nationals died in the incident and Ambassador Borland received only a few bruises and scratches while actively carrying out a - legal - Disabled police action on Nicaraguan soil.
So much for the facts - it's just stupid that the USA is a large and powerful state, while Nicaragua is a fairly insignificant one.
It's also stupid that the incident happened in the 19th century, when large and powerful states did as they pleased with less powerful ones.
Anyway, on July 13, 1854 the frigate USS "Cyane" (18 32-pounders and four 24-pounders) appears...
...under Captain John "Mad Jack" Percival...
...in front of San Juan de Nicaragua, drops anchor and shells the completely unfortified city for almost three hours...:
80 houses are completely destroyed, several more are damaged - and an unknown number of residents are killed.
The bombing of San Juan de Nicaragua triggered sharp protests in the US press and internationally. It is considered the first bombing of an unfortified coastal town.
Of course, the US is not paying any "generously calculated compensation" to the completely innocent citizens of Nicaragua!...
On March 15, 1854, the US ship "Routh" rammed a native's canoe on the Río San Juan in Nicaragua; the canoe sinks and the Nicaraguan drowns.
When the ship is in port...
...at the nearby city of San Juan de Nicaragua (which is called "Greytown" in English)...
...policemen want to arrest the captain of the "Routh", against which one passenger in particular on the ship massively opposes!
This happens to be US ambassador Solon Borland...:
In the small town, word of the incident spreads like wildfire, an angry crowd flocks to the scene, Ambassador Borland is verbally abused, then physically attacked and injured, but is able to escape back to the "Routh" - also because the Nicaraguan police officers restrain crowd...:
As soon as the incident became known in the USA, Washington pulled out!
The US government is demanding - as it was literally called at the time - "generously calculated compensation" from Nicaragua. If Nicaragua does not pay this compensation, the city of San Juan de Nicaragua will be destroyed in retaliation.
The government of Nicaragua, of course, refuses to pay the "generously calculated compensation" the US is demanding - after all, one of its nationals died in the incident and Ambassador Borland received only a few bruises and scratches while actively carrying out a - legal - Disabled police action on Nicaraguan soil.
So much for the facts - it's just stupid that the USA is a large and powerful state, while Nicaragua is a fairly insignificant one.
It's also stupid that the incident happened in the 19th century, when large and powerful states did as they pleased with less powerful ones.
Anyway, on July 13, 1854 the frigate USS "Cyane" (18 32-pounders and four 24-pounders) appears...
...under Captain John "Mad Jack" Percival...
...in front of San Juan de Nicaragua, drops anchor and shells the completely unfortified city for almost three hours...:
80 houses are completely destroyed, several more are damaged - and an unknown number of residents are killed.
The bombing of San Juan de Nicaragua triggered sharp protests in the US press and internationally. It is considered the first bombing of an unfortified coastal town.
Of course, the US is not paying any "generously calculated compensation" to the completely innocent citizens of Nicaragua!...
