A 335-year-long ‘war’ (in which not a single shot was fired) officially ended on 17th April, 1986, when the UK’s Dutch ambassador landed on the Isles of Scilly and declared an end to hostilities between the Netherlands and this tiny archipelago off the coast of Cornwall. 

The origins of this eccentric conflict date back to 1651, during the English Civil War, where the Dutch found themselves indirectly involved due to their support for the parliamentarians. Angered by Dutch assistance to their enemies, the Royalists (based in Scilly) began robbing Dutch shipping lanes in the English Channel, prompting a declaration of war from the Dutch side...

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how local historian Roy Duncan's curiosity led him to investigate a long-standing rumour of his homeland’s "war" with the Dutch - and unearth one of the craziest conflicts on record!

Further Reading:

• ‘World's longest and weirdest war between the Isles of Scilly and the Netherlands’ (Cornwall Live, 2021): https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/story-behind-worlds-longest-weirdest-4092887

• ‘The World's Longest War Only Ended in 1986’ (Atlas Obscura, 2016): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-worlds-longest-war-only-ended-in-1985

• ‘The Entire History of The Isles Of Scilly’ (Pete Kelly, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8rQFcSanOU

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.

This episode originally aired in 2024.

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