After 335 years of not precisely raging warfare, the Netherlands and the & Scilly Islands are once again at peace. In 1651 the Dutch dispatched twelve warships to the islands, which are British territory situated 28 miles off England's southwest coast. The islands were harboring pirates who had been menacing Dutch ships. The Dutch declared war on the islands, but before any shots were fired, the British promised to resolve the pirate problem. The Netherlands recalled its fleet, but both the Dutch and the Scillonians technically remained in a state of conflict.
That omission was remedied last week by Dutch Ambassador Jonkheer Rein Huydecoper, who will present the islanders with a scroll officially declaring an end to hostilities. Said he: "It must have been awful to know we could have attacked at any moment."