Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Isles of Scilly and the 350-Year War

Starting point is 00:00:00 Located off the tip of Cornwall, England, lies a small group of islands known as the Isles of Silly. If you've never heard of the Isles of Silly before, you probably just chuckled when you heard the name. And if you have heard of them, you know that they compromise the extreme southwest point of the United Kingdom and are the warmest parts of the country. These islands were also supposedly involved in a 350-year war with the Netherlands. Learn more about the Isles of Silly and the 350-year war on this. episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story

Starting point is 00:00:54 that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. If you aren't British, there's a good chance that you've never even heard of the Isles of Silly. They aren't very big, and there aren't a lot of people who live there. However, they have historically played an important role. Today, the Isles of Silly have a population of about 2,300 people. They're an archipelago of more than 140 islands, inlets, and rocks, located in the

Starting point is 00:01:32 Atlantic Ocean. They're about 28 miles or 45 kilometers off the coast of Lansend, Cornwall, in southwestern England. Only five of the islands are actually inhabited, St. Mary's, Tresco, St. Martens, Briar and St. Agnes. Geographically, one of the most interesting aspects of the Isles of Silly is that they are remarkably warm considering their location in England. This is due to the moderating influence of the North Atlantic drift, a branch of the Gulf Stream. This warm ocean current flows from the southwest across the Atlantic, bringing milder temperatures and reducing seasonal extremes. The Isles of Silly very rarely have frost or snow, even though they're at the same approximate latitude as Winnipeg, Manitoba. By the same token, it also never gets really hot.

Starting point is 00:02:21 The hottest temperature ever recorded was only 27.8 degrees Celsius or 82 degrees Fahrenheit. The average temperatures fluctuate in a very narrow band between about 17.2 degrees Celsius or 63 Fahrenheit in August and 7.9 degrees Celsius or 46 degrees Fahrenheit in February. And given those temperatures, it should come as no surprise that the biggest industry in the islands is tourism. The earliest human presence on the Isles of Silly date back to the Neolithic period, around 4,000 to 2,500 BC. During this time, the islands were believed to be part of a single larger landmass called Enor. Rising sea levels gradually separated this landmass into the islands we know today, with significant flooding occurring between 3,000 and 1,000 BC. Archaeological evidence reveals numerous

Starting point is 00:03:13 prehistoric monuments across the island, including graves and standing stones on several of the islands. These structures suggest the existence of organized communities with social hierarchies and spiritual traditions. The high concentration of burial chambers indicates that the islands may have held sacred significance beyond their practical value. There might also have been Phoenician influence in the Isles of Silly. It's speculative, but it stems from ancient account suggesting that the Phoenicians, who are renowned seafarers and traders from the eastern Mediterranean, may have reached the British Isles in their quest for tin. And if you remember from previous episodes, tin is a critical component of bronze.

Starting point is 00:03:55 Cornwall, which is the mainland part of England near the Silly Islands, was a major source of tin and iniquity, and the Silly Islands may have served as navigational waypoints or minor trading outposts along maritime routes. Classical writers like Herodotus and later Roman sources hinted at a tin island, which some historians have associated with Thassili's. However, no direct archaeological evidence has confirmed a Phoenician presence on the islands, so the theory remains intriguing, but as of right now, unproven. The Greek geographer Pythius in the 4th century BC possibly visited the area during his exploration of Britain. The Romans occupied England, but it isn't known if they directly occupied. the Silly Islands. If they didn't occupy the islands, they certainly visited and had influence in the

Starting point is 00:04:43 islands. Roman coins have been found across several islands. Pottery fragments from Mediterranean trade routes have found their way there, and there were written accounts mentioning the islands. Here, I should probably address the question that many of you have. Why are these islands called silly? Because it seems rather silly. The etymology of the Isles of Silly is uncertain and has been for centuries. The modern name, Silly, likely derives from a much older pre-Roman or early Celtic word, although its meaning is unclear. It could have come from the Celtic goddess, Sulus. One theory suggests it comes from a root word related to rocks or crags, possibly referring to the island's rugged and scattered granite outcrops. Another possibility is that it's linked to a word meaning sun or bright,

Starting point is 00:05:34 reflecting the island's relatively mild and sunny climate compared to mainland Britain. Classical sources referred to the islands as Scillonia Insulae in Latin, or simply, Scalonia, as seen in Roman and early medieval documents. The first appearance of the word in English was in 1176 when it appeared as the word Sully. Some 17th century writers mistakenly believe the name was linked to the word silly, prompting odd theories about the inhabitants or the nature of the islands, but it was based on a false linguistic assumption.

Starting point is 00:06:06 The letter C was actually added to the word just to distinguish it from the word silly. I should, however, reiterate that the name of the islands predated the English word which means foolish. By the early Middle Ages, the islands came under the control of Celtic Christian communities. By the 9th and 10th centuries, Norse raiders may have reached or even briefly occupied the islands, as they did much of coastal Britain. Eventually, the Isles of Silly became part of the Manor of Penwith in Cornwall. But the 11th century, King Henry I, granted them to Tavistock Abbey. Later, during the late medieval period, the Sillies came increasingly under royal and noble control.

Starting point is 00:06:51 The Godolphin family, a powerful Cornish dynasty, governed the islands for many centuries and maintained considerable local influence. During the Tudor and Stuart periods, the strategic significance of the islands of Silly became more pronounced. Their location along vital Atlantic trade routes and proximity to Brittany and France made them important for maritime defense and piracy control. Fortifications were built during the reign of Elizabeth I and again during the English Civil War. More on the English Civil War in a bit. The Isles of Silly played an important role in Britain's maritime economy in the 18th and 19th centuries. They became known for pilotage and shipwreck salvage. The treacherous rocks and shoals around the island

Starting point is 00:07:33 caused numerous wrecks, the most infamous being the loss of four Royal Navy ships, including the HMS Association in 1707, which killed nearly 2,000 sailors. The disaster in the Silly Islands prompted a renewed effort to solve the longitude problem, eventually leading to the invention of John Harrison's marine chronometer, which I covered in a previous episode. Throughout the 19th century, the islands remained economically marginal, but increasingly engaging in flour farming, particularly daffodils, which became a major export to mainland Britain.

Starting point is 00:08:06 The first steamer service to the city of Penzance was introduced in the 1850s, enhancing the connection to the mainland. The 20th century brought modernization, but the Sillies retained much of their rural insular character. They played minor roles in both World Wars, mainly as lookout posts for anti-submarine operations. Post-war, the islands shifted towards tourism, which remains a crucial part of the economy today.

Starting point is 00:08:30 The governance of the Isles of Silly is unique in England, while technically part of Cornwall, they have their own local authority, the Council of the Isles of Silly established in 1890 and reformed in 1930. The Lord Proprietor System finally ended in 1920. Now, I've left out a major part of the story of the Isles of Silly. That is because it concerns the other half of this episode, and the real reason I bother to cover them in the first place, the 350-year war. In previous episodes, I've covered the seven-year war, the 30-year war and even the 100-year war. A 350-year war is a really long war.

Starting point is 00:09:10 So what's the story here? Well, it goes back to that part that I skipped over, the English Civil War. During the English Civil War, the Isles of Silly played a small but strategically significant role as a royalist stronghold in a conflict between parliamentarians and royalists. Owing to their remote location and defensible terrain, the islands became a refuge for royalist, forces near the war's end, particularly after the Royalist lost control of mainland Cornwall. In 1648, Sir John Grenville, a staunch royalist, took control of the islands and used them as a base for privateers, essentially legalized pirates, who targeted parliamentarian and Dutch merchant ships passing through the English Channel and Atlantic approaches.

Starting point is 00:09:57 That same year, the future King Charles II took refuge on the islands while fleeing parliamentary forces. This period saw the strengthening of defenses, particularly on the island of St. Mary's. At this time, the Dutch Republic was officially neutral in the English Civil War, but its merchants suffered losses due to the raids out of the Isles of Silly. So in 1651, in retaliation, the Dutch sent a fleet under Admiral Martin Trump to the Isles of Silly to demand reparations for the attacks. Failing to get satisfaction, Trump allegedly declared war on the royalist controlled Isles of Silly. There is no evidence that a formal declaration of war was ever made by the Dutch Republic.

Starting point is 00:10:39 This is just something that the Admiral did on his own. Even if Trump did make such a declaration, it would have been unofficial and unrecognized by the broader Dutch government. Meanwhile, parliamentarian forces, recognizing the threat posed by royalist piracy and the island's potential as a naval base, launched a campaign to retake the archipelago. Admiral Robert Blake led the assault, and in June of 1651, the royalists surrendered without major bloodshed. Afterward, the islands were brought under parliamentary and control, ending their active role in the

Starting point is 00:11:13 conflict, and solidifying their strategic importance in coastal defense for years to come. With the threat to Dutch shipping gone, the Dutch forces left, and the entire episode was soon forgotten. However, because there had been no peace treaty or formal end to this supposed war, the story took on a peculiar afterlife as a historical curiosity. In 1986, the story was revived by a local historian named Roy Duncan, who contacted the Dutch embassy in London and pointed out that no peace had ever been declared. As a playful diplomatic gesture, the Dutch ambassador, Rain Hyde copper, visited the islands of Silly and signed a ceremonial peace treaty with local officials, thereby ending a war that had never really begun

Starting point is 00:12:00 and had certainly never involved a shot fired or casualty taken. Technically, the war would have been 335 years, but 350 makes for a nicer rounder number. The notion of a 335 or 350-year-long war between a couple of tiny islands and one of Europe's great seafaring powers with no battles and no casualties was irresistible to journalists and trivia lovers. It's been widely circulated in books of odd facts and has become a staple of quirky British history.

Starting point is 00:12:32 And now I'm doing a podcast on it. In truth, the entire episode is more of a historical footnote and humorous diplomatic anecdote than an actual war. But it illustrates how obscure legalities, poor documentation, and a sense of humor can create these stories. In fact, in hindsight, the entire idea of a three-century war between the Dutch and some sparsely populated islands, does in fact sound kind of silly. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Oakden and Cameron Kiefer. I want to thank everyone who supports the show over on Patreon.

Starting point is 00:13:14 Your support helps make this podcast possible. I'd also like to thank all the members of the Everything Everywhere community who are active on the Facebook group and the Discord server. If you'd like to join in the discussion, there are links to both in the show notes. And as always, if you leave you, a review or send me a boostagram. You two can have it read on the show.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Isles of Scilly and the 350-Year War

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