The Pig War

The Pig War is a video by OverSimplified covering the, which was a bloodless conflict (except for one pig).

Summary
When the United States gained independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, it felt that God had given it the right to expand westward. For example, after the American Revolution, America's territory extended from the Mississippi River, Lake of the Woods, the Great Lakes, and the Atlantic Ocean (except Florida). Unfortunately, the Mississippi River doesn't extend to Lake of the Woods. Many border disputes with British North America (including present-day Canada). Eventually, this escalated to the War of 1812. The United States and British North America resolved their border disputes via rivers and the 49th degree parallel north.

After Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States, the border was undefined; the solution, once again, was the 49th degree parallel north. Then, the US set its eyes to the Oregon Territory, which the US and British North America both claimed. The two solutions (the 49th degree parallel north and the Columbia River) failed; meanwhile, the US didn't want to fight another war (since it was fighting the Mexican War). British North America agreed to the 49th degree parallel north. However, the treaty, which states the border is the "channel which separates the continent from Vancouver Island," was vague, as there were three channels. This became an issue for the Americans and the British. Neither of them wanted to go to war against each other because the UK wanted to keep trading with the US, fighting the Mexican War. Also, the UK had other issues to worry about.

Meanwhile, on San Juan Island, an Irish person named Charles Griffin set up 1,369 sheep farms. However, in that farm was a prized Berkshire boar, which Charles Griffin nicknamed "Porky." The Americans, insisting the islands were theirs, tried to negotiate with some sheep, which failed miserably. Tired of paying British taxes, the US sent Sheriff Barnes to deal with the situation. The British tried to compromise by splitting the islands between it and the US, but the latter rejected the proposal. Then, a gold rush sent many more Americans onto the islands. Lyman Cutler was so lazy that he didn't fully fence his potato farm, allowing Porky to eat them. Furious, Cutler told Griffin to keep the pig away from his farm, but the latter reminded the former that the farm wasn't fully fenced.

When Porky ate Spuddy (a potato), Cutler shot the pig, saying it was "the final straw." He immediately regretted killing Griffin's prized Berkshire boar, so when Cutler told Griffin, the latter fined the former $100, which was too much at the time. Then, William S. Harney and George Pickett planned to invade Canada, the former admitting he was an idiot. James Douglas ordered Captain Hornby to "[u]se force if necessary" without starting a war. Hornby was understandably confused, much to Douglas's dismay. Pickett then realized the British were about to obliterate the Americans on San Juan Island. Douglas, meanwhile, decided that the British and Americans should jointly occupy the islands.

Unfortunately, the British made plans to land on the islands, while the Americans prevented that. Hornby realized how stupid the situation was and decided not to fight a war. US President James Buchanan realized the British had landed on disputed territory but did nothing out of anxiety. General Winfield Scott tried to negotiate the situation; like Hornby, Scott learned the stupidity of nearly starting a war due to the shooting of a pig. Harney added that the British tried to arrest Griffin. Scott called everyone except Hornby and the navy idiots, especially Pickett and Harney, whom Scott summoned to meet in his office.

In the office, Scott explained the British and Americans would jointly occupy the islands until they would agree on their owner. He also replaced Pickett with Captain Hunt and ordered Harney not to put Pickett onto the island. Scott then left the room, keeping the door slightly open. However, when Scott overheard Harney disobeying him, he removed the former from command, sending him elsewhere. This was also because everyone else agreed to peace. Thus, the two countries avoided a war over the shooting of a pig, thanks to Scott.

After The American Civil War, the US and UK had a list of unresolved issues, one of which was the San Juan Islands dispute (even after twelve years!). They decided that a neutral country, the German Empire, should settle the dispute. After the two countries gave their cases, Germany awarded the islands to the US. The British then left, which is fortunate because things could have been very different if they had gone to war. The US could have even invaded Canada, and it still could today. OverSimplified then revealed that he made this video because his fans said Canada never made any important appearances. By the way, the only casualty was the Berkshire boar. Then, he says that invading Canada is America's "Manifest Destiny" and its leadership under Drake.

Trivia

 * The waiting period for The Pig War was the longest at 6 months, defeating The Napoleonic Wars's 5 months.
 * This is the longest video, clocking in at 38:42.
 * OverSimplified likely made this video to include Canada, as mentioned at the end of the video.
 * This video is the loudest OverSimplified has screamed, especially at the ending part where he wants an American Canada.
 * This was first video to not have any human casualties, and just an animal (Pig).
 * This video is also the third one to not cover a person or a war. The first was Three Kingdoms, and the second was Prohibition.
 * This video is the twenty-seventh video to be uploaded to YouTube.