Pig War

PIG WAR, 1859, was part of a dispute between Great Britain and the US over ownership of the SAN JUAN Islands. The OREGON TREATY of 1846 set the border between American and British territory at the 49th parallel. In the middle of GEORGIA STRAIT the boundary line dipped south to JUAN DE FUCA STRAIT below VANCOUVER ISLAND. The difficulty came in tracing the boundary through the waters between Vancouver Island and the mainland. The British thought that the line ran east of the San Juan Islands, but the US claimed the islands for itself. The matter came to a head in June 1859 when Lyman Cutler, an American settler on San Juan Island, shot a pig belonging to the HBC farm and the HBC demanded compensation. Gov James DOUGLAS dispatched a justice of the peace to the island and at the same time the military commander in Oregon landed a troop of soldiers, ostensibly to defend Americans against attack by aboriginals. Douglas then sent 2 British warships with 800 men as a show of force. An armed clash was averted only by the restraint of British naval officers, who decided the safety of British citizens was not at risk. Negotiators agreed to a joint military occupation of the island, which continued until 1872, when the matter was referred for arbitration to the German emperor. He placed the border through HARO STRAIT and the San Juan Islands became American territory. Meanwhile, Cutler received a small fine for shooting the pig, the incident that almost started a war.