1861 in Europe

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 24. Chapters: 1861 elections in Europe, 1861 in Austria, 1861 in England, 1861 in France, 1861 in Ireland, 1861 in Italy, 1861 in Norway, 1861 in Russia, 1861 in the United Kingdom, Trent Affair, Emancipation reform of 1861, Siege of Gaeta, Clayton Tunnel rail crash, February Patent, 1861 in Wales, Tweddle v Atkinson, Dalmatian parliamentary election, 1861, 1861 English cricket season, Kentish Town rail accident, United Kingdom Census 1861. Excerpt: The Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War. On November 8, 1861, the USS San Jacinto, commanded by Union Captain Charles Wilkes, intercepted the British mail packet Trent and removed, as contraband of war, two Confederate diplomats, James Mason and John Slidell. The envoys were bound for Great Britain and France to press the Confederacy's case for diplomatic recognition by Europe. The initial reaction in the United States was to rally against Britain, threatening war; but President Abraham Lincoln and his top advisors did not want to risk war. In the Confederate States, the hope was that the incident would lead to a permanent rupture in Anglo-American relations and even diplomatic recognition by Britain of the Confederacy. Confederates realized their independence potentially depended on a war between Britain and the U.S. In Britain, the public expressed outrage at this violation of neutral rights and insult to their national honor. The British government demanded an apology and the release of the prisoners while it took steps to strengthen its military forces in Canada and the Atlantic. After several weeks of tension and loose talk of war, the crisis was resolved when the Lincoln administration released the envoys and disavowed Captain Wilkes's actions. No formal apology was issued. Mason and Slidell resumed their voyage to Britain but failed in their goal of achieving diplomatic recognition. The Confederacy and its president, Jefferson Davis, believed from the beginning that European dependence on cotton for its textile industry would lead to diplomatic recognition and intervention, in the form of mediation. Historian Charles Hubbard: William H. Seward (1801-1872) (c. 1860-1865). Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784-1865).The Union's main focus in foreign affairs was just the opposite: to prevent any British recognition of the South. There had been continu