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England and France

About This Item

  • Title: England and France
  • Date: 20 April 1858
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.00939
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 20 April 1858: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Kaylen Michaelis Cassandra Jannel Simms Stefan Schöberlein Stephanie Blalock Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "England and France." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.00939.xml (TEI)
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ENGLAND AND FRANCE.—

The alliance between these nations is now menaced by a still more formidable cause of rupture than the harboring of refugees question. It appears that England, naturally desiring to control the overland route to her Indian possessions, has taken possession of the island of Perim, situated at the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, completely commanding the entrance to the Red Sea, and therefore the Isthmus of Suez. It is the key to the southern channel of trade with India, China and Japan. It belongs to Turkey. England occupies it, and does not cease to occupy it, for it neutralizes the dangers from France if the Suez canal were executed. The French papers remonstrate against this occupation by England, and some go so far as to regard the refusal to relinquish it as a casus belli; but the London Times plainly tells them that it is needful for the preservation of England’s power in the East that she should hold Perim, and she means to keep possession of it, in spite of France or all Europe. This dispute, added to the soreness previously existing, may not improbably result in hostilities between the English and French.

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