Caroline affair

The Destruction of the Caroline by George Tattersall

An Angry Snarl Between Friendly Relations, an American cartoon about the affair

The Caroline affair—also known as the Caroline case—was a diplomatic and military incident between the United States and the United Kingdom that began in December 1837 and unfolded over several years, eventually influencing the development of international law.<ref name="Waxman">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The incident originated during the aftermath of the failed Upper Canada Rebellion, a movement aimed at reforming the British colonial government in Canada. After suffering defeat in battle, Canadian rebel leader William Lyon Mackenzie and his followers fled to Navy Island in the Niagara River, where they declared a short-lived "Republic of Canada" and received support from American sympathizers across the border. Supplies and volunteers were transported to the island by the American steamboat Caroline.

In response, a British force crossed into U.S. territory and set fire to the Caroline while it was moored at Schlosser's Landing in New York, killing one American, Amos Durfee. Sensationalized newspaper accounts inflamed public opinion in the United States, where many called for war with Britain.<ref name="bassett moore">Template:Cite book</ref> In retaliation, a group of Americans later destroyed a British steamer. The situation nearly led to armed conflict between the two nations, but was eventually addressed through diplomatic negotiations that also resolved other territorial disputes in the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842.

During negotiations, U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster and British envoy Lord Ashburton exchanged correspondence that helped establish the principle of "anticipatory self-defense" in international law. Known as the Caroline test, it set a high threshold for the use of force across borders, requiring that such action be justified only when the necessity of self-defense is "instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation."<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Background

The Reform Movement of Upper Canada in Ontario was a movement to make the British colonial administration in Canada more democratic and less corrupt. William Lyon Mackenzie was one of the key leaders of this movement. He was repeatedly elected to serve in a hostile parliament that repeatedly ejected him for his reform efforts. By 1837, Mackenzie had given up on peaceful means for reform and began to prepare for an uprising.Template:Fact

In December 1837, Mackenzie began the Upper Canada Rebellion by fighting government troops in the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern. His forces were heavily outnumbered and outgunned, and they were defeated in less than an hour. Mackenzie's allies suffered another major setback a few days later in London. After these defeats, Mackenzie and his followers fled to Navy Island in the Niagara River, which they declared the foundation of the Republic of Canada on board the vessel Caroline. Throughout these events, the Canadian rebels enjoyed widespread support from American citizens, who provided them supplies and bases from which to launch raids on the British authorities in Canada.Template:Fact

Burning of Caroline

An 1841 sketch by MacKenzie showing Durfee's body lying on the ground while the burning wreck of Caroline drifts toward the Niagara Falls in the background

An 1885 illustration of the incident showing Durfee's body

On December 29, 1837, Canadian militia colonel Allan MacNab and Royal Navy captain Andrew Drew led a British force consisting of militiamen and law enforcement officers across the Canada–United States border. The force chased off the crew of Caroline, towed the vessel into the currents of the Niagara River and set her on fire before casting the ship adrift; Caroline proceeded to float over the Niagara Falls and was destroyed. During the confrontation between the British force and the crew, which involved shots being fired, a Black American watchmaker, Amos Durfee, was accidentally killed by an unknown person. As news of the burning spread, a number of American newspapers falsely reported "the death of twenty-two of her crew" when only Durfee was killed. Public opinion in the United States was outraged over the burning, and President Martin Van Buren protested to the government of the United Kingdom over the incident.Template:Fact

British diplomat Henry Stephen Fox summarized the British justification for the incursion in an 1841 letter to John Forsyth:

The Attorney General of New York, Willis Hall, responded by stating:

Aftermath

News of the incident led to a public uproar in the United States, and many people in American towns bordering Canada demanded the U.S. government declare war on Britain. In Canada, the burning was celebrated by the Canadian public and MacNab was knighted for his efforts. Canadian sheriff Alexander McLeod, was arrested in the United States while travelling there in 1840 due to allegations over his role in the death of Durfee. The arrest led to another international incident as the British demanded his release, arguing that McLeod could not be held criminally responsible due to the fact that he was legally carrying out orders of the Crown. McLeod was placed on trial, during which American legal officials unsuccessfully attempted to identify who shot Durfee. McLeod was acquitted of all charges, as witness statements made it clear that he had no involvement in the incident.<ref name="Kilbourn 238">Template:Cite book</ref>

In response to the incident, a group of thirteen Americans captured and burned the British merchant steamer Sir Robert Peel while she was in American waters. Van Buren sent General Winfield Scott to prevent further American incursions into Canada.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Correspondence between U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster and British minister to the United States Lord Ashburton outlined the conditions under which one nation might lawfully violate the territorial sovereignty of another state. The Caroline test (also known as the Caroline doctrine) states that exceptions do exist to territorial inviolability, but "those exceptions should be confined to cases in which the necessity of that self-defense is instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation".Template:R<ref name="bassett moore"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to academic Tom Nichols, the Caroline test remains an accepted part of international law today. In 2008, he wrote:

See also

• Aroostook War, militias mobilized but no battles
• Pig War (1859), US–Britain border dispute in the Pacific Northwest
• Timeline of United States diplomatic history

References

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Further reading

• Forcese, Craig (2018). Destroying the Caroline The Frontier Raid That Reshaped the Right to War. Irwin Law Inc. Template:ISBN.
• Jones, Howard (1977). To the Webster-Ashburton Treaty: A Study in Anglo-American Relations, 1783-1843. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. Template:ISBN. Template:OCLC.
• Stevens, Kenneth R. (1989). Border Diplomacy: The Caroline and McLeod Affairs in Anglo-American-Canadian Relations, 1837–1842. University of Alabama Press. Template:ISBN.
• Waxman, Matthew C. (2018). "The Caroline Affair in the Evolving International Law of Self-Defense" (PDF). Columbia Public Law Research Paper No. 14-600.
• Wiltse, Charles M. (1973). "Daniel Webster and the British Experience". Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Vol. 85. pp. 55-87. Template:JSTOR.

External links

• The Avalon Project at Yale Law School: The Webster-Ashburton Treaty and the Caroline Case
• Contemporary newspaper accounts of the Caroline Affair