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Some might argue that all wars are pretty dumb, being as they are a final resort to
diplomatic negotiations.
Indeed, when we look back at history with the benefit of hindsight, much of the bloodshed
and conflict in this world could have been easily avoided with a little bit of common
sense and diplomacy.
But some wars are just plain silly.
Today, we’ll examine five wars that began with a bizarre misunderstanding, overreaction,
or drunken mistake, in this episode of the Infographics Show – Dumbest wars in History.
5) The Battle of Kororareka in New Zealand.
Although Maori chief Hone Heke was one of the first to sign the Treaty of Waitangi in
February 1840, he wasn’t by any means a happy camper.
He objected to the change of the capital city to Auckland as well as changes to customs
tariffs.
British troops in 1844 were stationed in the town of Kororareka, New Zealand.
They flew the Union Jack flag over the town, and chief Hone Heke took offense, rode into
town, and felled the flagpole.
The troops erected a new flag pole and right on cue the chief chopped it back down again.
This happened a third time, and on the fourth erection, the British assembled armed guards
to keep watch of their flag.
On the 11th of March, 1845, Heke and his tribe rode into town once more and murdered the
inhabitants in cold blood.
The conflict dragged on for another 10 months.
As is typical in these battles, the British were outnumbered and outsmarted by the natives
but were able to send for reinforcements and eventually the British overcame Heke, but
the old chief had made his point.
4) The War of Jenkins’ Ear began when English Privateer, Robert Jenkins, is said to have
crashed into parliament waving his severed ear in his hand and demanding a war with Spain.
Whether the ear in parliament story is fact or fiction is open to conjecture, but the
name of the war does, without a doubt, stem from the loss of Jenkin’s ear.
He claimed his ear had been removed by a Spanish coast guard who had boarded his vessel.
Thus war began, mostly in the Caribbean, with fighting spreading across the Florida-Georgia
border.
The war lasted from 1739 to 1748, and many more ears, limbs, and other body parts were
severed in the process.
3) The War of the Golden Stool.
The stool, made of gold (obviously), belonged to the Ashanti Empire in Africa and was believed
to be sacred.
The stool was thought to house the souls of the entire nation, the living, the dead, and
those yet to be born.
This stool was really a big deal to the people.
The exiled king was unable to protect his subjects and his stool, seeing as he was exiled,
so in 1896, the British governor Sir Frederick Hodgson stepped in and told the people that
he intended to claim the stool for the crown.
Not a good move.
The locals obviously weren’t too impressed that the British were intent on casually stealing
all their souls, and assembled as many men and weapons as they could.
Meanwhile, the British set out to find the stool and claim it, but instead found themselves
under vicious attack by an army led by the mother of the exiled king.
The British troops were slaughtered.
All but a few survived, and those that did scurried back to town and barricaded themselves
in a small fort while the opposing forces grew to 12,000.
Another 3 months passed before the British had called in enough extra men and hardware
to tackle the restless natives.
They finally did so on July 12th, 1900, by which time the besieged British had been trapped
for weeks and had run out of food and ammunition
2) The Battle of Karansebes. 1788.
Two factions of the Austrian army scouting for Turkish forces clashed in this bizarre
drunken mix-up.
The Austrian hussars were setting up camp and decided to indulge in some schnapps that
they’d acquired from a group of gypsies.
Soon afterwards, some infantry from the same army saw the party and asked if they could
join in.
Not willing to share their booze, much arguing ensued and one soldier fired a shot.
Bad mistake, as the hussars and infantry began battling with one another.
To further confuse matters, some infantry began shouting “Turks Turks Turks!”
The factions of the same army continued shooting at each other, thinking they were firing at
the enemy.
When the Turks did finally arrive two days later, they discovered the dead, wounded,
and hungover Austrian soldiers, and easily took Karansebes.
The Football War.
This conflict between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969 followed a game of soccer between
the two football crazed nations.
El Salvador lost the game, and tensions rose between the two countries.
Sore losers El Salvador broke all diplomatic relations and sent over bombers disguised
as passenger jets, taking Honduras by surprise in a three day war that claimed the lives
of 3,000 people.
The United States swiftly intervened and brokered a ceasefire between the two countries.
Although underlying tensions such as economic equality existed between the two countries,
it was no doubt the game of soccer that led to the war kicking off.
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. So what do you think?
What’s the dumbest reason anyone’s ever gone to war?
Are all wars stupid?
Let us know in the comment section.
Also, be sure to watch our other video called - What You Should do if you Get Stopped by
the Police.
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next time