[War & Business] The Earl of Sandwich's Misjudgment

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[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The figure that often appears in stories about the origin of the sandwich, known as a British food, is the Earl of Sandwich. It is often said that the sandwich was named after the Earl of Sandwich, a gambling addict who created a convenient meal because he was too busy to take time to eat.

However, John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich, who is actually known as the father of the sandwich, was a person far from gambling. The Sandwich family was a military family that held key positions in the British Navy for generations, and John Montagu, who inherited the title of the 4th Earl, was a prominent British Secretary of the Navy in the 18th century. The sandwich was created not because of gambling, but because he was always busy with heavy work and had no time to eat.

He was known as a very diligent public official. Although he had no battlefield experience, he demonstrated excellent abilities as a public official and served as Secretary of the Navy three times. He was mainly praised for his enthusiasm in financial matters, accounting errors, and supporting financial backing for exploration teams. Captain James Cook, famous for exploring the Pacific Ocean including New Zealand, Antarctica, and the Hawaiian Islands, was able to conduct his explorations with the support of the Earl of Sandwich. As a result, the British name for the Hawaiian Islands at the time was the Sandwich Islands.

The reason he gained the dishonor of being an incompetent gambling addict was due to his worst misjudgment during the American Revolutionary War. During the war, despite Spain and France declaring their support for America, the Earl of Sandwich underestimated the naval power of both countries and judged that there was no need for an initial response. His experienced subordinate admirals, who had extensive war experience, insisted on launching a preemptive strike against the Spanish and French allied fleets remaining in the Caribbean to prevent them from joining the European front, but all were ignored.

As a result, the main force of the British fleet focused solely on defending the British mainland. Meanwhile, the French and Spanish allied fleets in the Caribbean succeeded in gathering in Europe without any interference, gaining numerical superiority over the British Navy. Eventually, the British Navy’s control of the seas in Europe was threatened, but the Earl of Sandwich attempted to manipulate information and reported to the government as if the situation was favorable. Ultimately, he was brought to a court-martial.

Thanks to his family background and political connections, he avoided the death penalty but resigned from all public offices in 1782 after Britain’s defeat in the American Revolutionary War and his reputation plummeted. The rumor that he was a gambler originated at this time. If he had not insisted solely on his own opinions and had reflected the views of his experienced subordinates, the sandwich might have been remembered as the food of a diligent public official rather than an incompetent gambler.