The Trent Affair - Report on International Relations

The Trent Affair is described as a diplomatic crisis that occurred Great Britain and the United States in the year 1861 between the periods of November to December when the U.S. Civil War occurred from the year (1861-1865). The crisis exploded when the USS captain named San Jacinto ordered two Confederate envoys to be arrested. The envoys were sailing to Europe on a British mail ship called the Trent to gain support in the Civil War for the South. The British had not taken any side during the war, but they were mad and ordered the capture of a ship which was neutral by the U.S. Navy as an international law violation ("Trent Affair", 2009). The administration of President Abraham Lincoln, in the end, let go of the envoys and avoided a war with Britain.

John Slidell (1793-1871) from Virginia and James Mason (1798-1871) from Virginia were the two Confederate diplomatic envoys who had boarded the Trent which was a British mail steamer. They were sailing in the Bahama channel (between Cuba and the Bahama). It is when their boat was stopped by Captain Charles Wilkes (1798-1877) who was captaining the USS San Jacinto. Slidell, Mason and their secretaries who were on their way to France and England to rally for the Confederacy to be recognized were put under arrest and taken to Boston. They were then imprisoned at the Fort (Warren), and the Trent was later allowed to go on with its journey after the men were put under arrest.

Meanwhile, in America, the Northerners praised Captain Wilkes for his actions. The British on the other hand were mad when they got word of the interception in London, and that was late November (Goldman, 2015). They had not stuck to any side during the Civil War, and they had the policy that they would accept any customer who was willing to pay and wished to use their ships for travel. The British government relayed a message to the American government to demand the release of Slidell and Mason and an apology for the violation of British rights while in the high seas

The British made preparations for war by banning the exportation of war supplies to America and dispatching troops to Canada. Plans were organized to stage an attack on the American fleet that was blocking the South. The British also planned to block the Northern ports. France announced that it would support Britain in a war with America.

The British minister to the U.S. Lord Lyons in December met with William Seward (1801-1872) who was the Secretary of state about the fate of Slidell and Mason. Lyons took a hard stance in the meeting and after that sent a message to the British foreign minister Lord Russell. He spoke of his concern that they should teach their enemies a good lesson or they would give them a good teaching the next time they had any issues. He also spoke of the need for war or surrender having a good effect on them.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) and his government understood the message, and he replied by saying that they would fight a war at a time and decided not to go any further with the issue. Seward relayed a message on 27th December to British officials in which he refuted Captain Wilkes actions and made an announcement that the captured envoys would soon be released. It prevented a conflict with Great Britain from happening. After Slidell and Mason were released in early January in the year 1862, they went to Europe. In conclusion, they failed in their mission because they were not able to convince the European leaders to give their support to the Confederates as they fought the Civil War. The Trent affair was a confirmation that the British were quite ready to protect their neutral position during the American Civil War. The Confederacy and the Union both hoped that this situation would change ("The Trent Affair, 1861").

References

Goldman, H. H. (2015). Trent Affair (1861). Imperialism and Expansionism in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection [4 volumes]: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection, 81.

The Trent Affair, 1861. (n.d.). Retrieved December 03, 2017, from https://history.state.gov/milestones/1861-1865/trent-affair

Trent Affair. (2009). Retrieved December 03, 2017, from http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/trent-affair