Since the birth of human civilization, the wars that have occurred because of "eating" have never stopped.
When we revisit history, we will find that the "war on the tip of the tongue" caused by the food scramble is often full of dramatic conflicts...
In 408 AD, the Goths demanded pepper and gold from Italy, but did not get it, and then sent troops to capture the city of Rome. The Italians were cornered and had to endure the humiliation of collecting 3,000 pounds of fine pepper across the country to redeem the city of Rome.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the king of Spain sent an army to capture Olivenza, the best orange produced in Portugal, in order to eat delicious oranges.
In 1954, the United States, wanting to eat cheap bananas for a long time, launched a war that sounded strange at first glance - the banana war, turning the small South American country of Guatemala into its own exclusive orchard.
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I have to sigh that appetite seems to be an important way to change the course of human society.
Recently, a dispute caused by sea fish in the North Atlantic has once again confirmed this truth, and the rivalry between Britain and France in the English Channel has attracted the attention of the world.
On May 5, local time, a French fishing fleet protested the British government's policy of restricting fishing rights near st. Helier Port, the main port of Jersey, and threatened to block port exports. Britain and France have sent patrol ships to disputed waters, and the fishermen's dispute has immediately escalated into a confrontation between countries!
The cause of the matter has to start from the predecessor of the European Union, the fisheries policy of the European Community.
In 1973, the United Kingdom signed a Common Fisheries Policy, which opened up fishing rights to other European countries, according to an agreement signed on Brexit that FISHing vessels of EU countries had the right to fish in waters 6 to 12 nautical miles off the coast of the United Kingdom.
But in 2021, British officials began to restrict French fishing vessels fishing operations in the waters near the United Kingdom, in the recent submission of 344 fishing applications submitted by the French side, only 41 fishing vessels were approved, not only that, the British side also made strict regulations on the waters that fishing boats can enter and the number of fishing days, which caused strong dissatisfaction in France and eventually led to conflict...
Coincidentally, the competition for seafood cuisine, The "foodies" of Europe have not stopped.
Cod Wars: Three wars sparked by one delicacy
Cod lives in the northern Atlantic Ocean, is a kind of cold-water fish, the largest can grow to nearly two meters long, one or two hundred pounds, is a Must-have food in European countries, especially the British table, and now many ways of eating cod are passed down from britain.
Although the cod population is huge, but the Europeans are too fond of cod, endless fishing has led to a sharp decline in the number of cod, by the 20th century, the British cod boats farther and farther away, and finally found a relatively rich cod resources near the Icelandic waters, they were elated at the same time, did not think that a classic history is about to start.
Due to the climate, there is no traditional farming industry in Iceland, agricultural production is completely dependent on fishing, and cod is almost equivalent to Iceland's "lifeblood". In order to avoid the complete destruction of its cod resources in other countries, the Icelandic government has repeatedly announced the expansion of its territorial waters.
In 1958, the Icelandic government announced that it would extend the sea to 12 nautical miles from the coast, limiting all foreign ships to leave the sea by August 30 at the latest.
August 30 arrived, and all the other foreign ships left, except for the protagonist of the story, Britain. To eat delicious fish and chips, the Royal Navy sent 37 ships and around 7,000 soldiers to escort cod fishing boats in Iceland.
In the face of Iceland's earthen gunboats converted from fishing boats, just after the "Second World War", the well-equipped and experienced British Navy did not expect that the Icelanders would resolutely and bravely fire at the British fishing boats, how could the angry British swallow this evil breath and resolutely fight back, and the first famous cod war in history broke out.
However, at that time, in the special historical period of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, under the close attention of NATO, Britain did not dare to make a big move against Iceland, and finally after many mediations, the war ended in a great victory for Iceland.
In 1971, Iceland again declared the fishing ban extended to 50 nautical miles. The British were so annoyed by Iceland's advance that the Second Cod War broke out again.
During the 1-year conflict, Icelandic ships and fishing vessels expelled foreign fishing vessels by cutting nets and shelling them, and a total of 69 British fishing vessels were seriously damaged. The British government sent 7 capital warships to intimidate Iceland, which did not budge and threatened to sever diplomatic relations with Britain. NATO realized the seriousness of the conflict and put pressure on Britain, which had no choice but to make concessions again.
In 1974, iceland declared a closed fishing area to 200 nautical miles in order to protect its depleting cod stocks, resulting in a significant decline in Iceland's cod catch, which meant that Britain's traditional fishing area in the area was completely lost.
In December 1975, the intolerable British went to war against Iceland again, a conflict that lasted for five months, during which the European Community was in a tight mediation, but Britain relied on its strong naval strength and insisted on not giving in.
Considering the importance of Iceland as an important anti-Soviet nuclear submarine outpost, the United States once again pressed Britain, and Britain had to swallow its anger and recognize Iceland's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
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Lobster Wars: The Birth of the United Nations Convention on the Sea
In the middle of the 20th century, the northeast coast of Brazil at that time was a famous lobster production area, and the high-quality and delicious lobster attracted a large number of fishing boats from all over the world to catch it.
Compared with fishing boats in other European countries, France has a unique advantage. From the coast of former French West Africa and later from mauritania, which had just become independent, French fishing boats could quickly reach an area within 100 nautical miles of the Brazilian coast for fishing operations.
In 1961, the concept of a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone was an attempt by only a handful of countries in South America. For this sea area rich in lobsters, the French naturally considered the sea beyond 3-12 nautical miles off the coast of Brazil to be a free fishing area according to the old practice. The Brazilians, on the other hand, extended their exclusive sea area to 100 nautical miles based on the natural extension of the continental shelf.
Due to the lack of a basis for an international convention, the two sides insisted on their own opinions, and the two countries, which could not talk at all, soon began an armed confrontation, and the Brazilian Navy forcefully sent two frigates responsible for patrolling to the relevant waters to expel French fishing boats.
In February 1962, a T53 anti-submarine destroyer of the French Navy began to arrive off the coast of the South Atlantic to protect its fishing vessels. However, the French clearly underestimated the brazilian side's resolve and soon found themselves facing the entire Brazilian navy.
In order to further strengthen the military deterrence, even the aircraft carrier Clementjun, which has recently entered service, as well as 1 cruiser Glass and 2 large T53 anti-submarine destroyers were dispatched.
In 1964, seeing the confrontation between the two sides escalate step by step, warships, warplanes and even aircraft carriers were put into military deterrence, the situation was so serious that a real war between the two countries could break out at any time.
In exchange for the Brazilians, following the example of their South American neighbors in expanding their exclusive economic zone to 200 nautical miles, the French side was still allowed to have 26 fishing boats remain in the original area for 5 years. At this point, the 4-year lobster war can be regarded as coming to an end.
The biggest impact of the "Cod War" and the "Lobster War" was the birth of the United Nations Convention on the Sea in 1982, and the concept of an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles was recognized by most countries around the world, except for the need for separate consultations between a few countries.
The "war on the tip of the tongue" deserves our reflection
Fish as a source of high-quality human protein, not only rich in rich nutritional value, and delicious taste, is a very popular food, with the growth of the population, the demand for fish food will become larger and larger, the history of the "naval battle on the tip of the tongue", the real reason behind it is because of the shortage of fishery resources.
If human beings only ask for fish resources in a vague way, regardless of the tomorrow of the oceans, then one day, the earth will become an island, haunted by endless deserts.
If we want to get the delicacies that people need from the ocean, we must first protect the ocean, cherish the fishery resources, and avoid exhausting the fish, only in this way will the ocean be willing to make its dedication.