Why were people in the past so friendly to foreign prisoners of war ?>The Battle of Santiago de Cuba on July 3, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish–American War. When the Spanish squadron finally attempted to leave the harbor on July 3, the American forces destroyed or grounded five of the six ships. Only one Spanish vessel, the new armored cruiser Cristóbal Colón, survived, but her captain hauled down her flag and scuttled her when the Americans finally caught up with her. The 1,612 Spanish sailors who were captured and sent to Seavey's Island at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, where they were confined at Camp Long as prisoners of war from July 11 until mid-September. The Americans treated Spain's officers, soldiers, and sailors with great respect. Ultimately, Spanish prisoners were returned to Spain with their "honors of war" on American ships. Admiral Cervera received different treatment from the sailors taken to Portsmouth. For a time, he was held at Annapolis, Maryland, where he was received with great enthusiasm by the people of that city.[153]>Norman Cross Prison in Huntingdonshire, England, was the world's first purpose-built prisoner-of-war camp[1] or "depot". Constructed in 1796–97, it was designed to hold prisoners of war from France and its allies during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. By 1816, it had been largely demolished.
>>18456226>Peace was finally proclaimed with France in 1814, following Napoleon's defeat and consequent abdication. The prisoners, the garrison guards and local people joined in celebrations. The first division of 500 prisoners left on 5 April.[57] The Star reported "We are sorry to add that on their way to the sea coast for embarkation, a few indulged in drinking to such excess, that two of them perished in a fit of intoxication, and nearly thirty were left on the road unable to proceed to their native land. They carry home with them about six thousand pounds in English money, being the profits on the sale of the toys, &c. which they manufactured at the depot".[58]If it happened in WW1 or WW2 or today they would have to put armed guards to stop local population from lynching attempts
it's an anglo thing, if the tables were turned the US sailors probably would've been tortured to death by their moorberian captors
>>18456230German and Japanese prisoners of war were often mistreated in WW2 tho Later they are Vietnamese, Afghans, Iraqis etc.
>>18456286>German and Japanese prisoners of war were often mistreated in WW2 thoIt was pure retaliation. Yes, Jap skulls was too far, but the extermination mindset that the Japanese had towards American POWs and the later emergence of concentration camps for the Germans did nothing to endear them
>>18456230>it's an anglo thing, if the tables were turned the US sailors probably would've been tortured to death by their moorberian captorsYou need to read more, my friend... Lieutenant Richmond P. Hobson, who was captured by the Spanish after attempting to blockade the port of Santiago de Cuba, left a written account of his experience. In his memoirs, "The Sinking of the 'Merrimac'", he recounts that from the moment of their capture by Admiral Cervera himself, they were treated with "a consideration that could scarcely have been surpassed." He described how the Spanish officers shared their own food and dry clothes with them, ensuring they had every possible comfort within their captivity. He also emphasized that Cervera allowed a message to be sent immediately to the American fleet informing them that all the crew members of the *Merrimac* were alive and well, publicly praising their courage before his own officers.The Spaniards' behavior made such an impression that it generated a response of mutual respect among the military commanders. Admiral William T. Sampson, although he was the commander who blockaded Cervera, acknowledged the Spanish admiral's chivalry. Following the prisoner exchange, a sense of respect for "Spanish chivalry" spread throughout the U.S. Navy. Due to Hobson's accounts of the treatment received, when Spanish sailors were captured after the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, American officers ordered them to be treated with special honors in Annapolis, considering them almost as "guests of the nation" rather than ordinary prisoners of war. Documents from the period and diaries of American soldiers reflect that, after the engagements, U.S. officers were pleasantly surprised by the Spanish fighting ethic. Official reports noted that the Spanish "fought like gentlemen" and maintained their dignity even in defeat, which facilitated surrender and repatriation processes far more amicable than those typical in other 19th-century conflicts.
>>18456339What do you mean is that war come to be treated more seriously as the time passed ?
