A video about a war where the only casualty was a Berkshire pig on a small island near Vancouver is trending on YouTube, and it tells the story of an unusual moment in local history.
Back in 1859 the United Kingdom and the United States nearly shed blood over the San Juan Islands. Well, they did if you count that pig shot by a potato farmer. Apart from that one instance of porcucide the conflict was relatively non-violent, though it did escalate several times and could have been a significant event.
At the time the border between the United States and its northern neighbour was still getting worked out and it was far from an exact science. On the west coast that meant two claims for some of the islands between Vancouver Island and Washington State.
The Pig War is a video from the popular YouTube channel Oversimplified that jumps into the goings-on of 1859 like a pig into mud. The channel is well known for its entertaining look at historical events with simple animation and storytelling. Other videos looked at the Napoleonic wars or the American Civil War.
So far the Pig War has been seen over 6.5 million times since it was posted and was trending at the top spot in Canada on YouTube.
