6. The Trent Affair: Civil War Diplomacy Gone Wrong
In 1861, the USS San Jacinto intercepted a British mail packet and forcibly removed two Confederate diplomats. Britain erupted with outrage. London dispatched 14,000 troops to Canada and demanded immediate release, threatening war. Lincoln’s government, already fighting the Confederacy, reluctantly complied to avoid a two-front war. This narrow escape demonstrated how Canadian-American relations frequently became entangled in broader imperial politics.
