There is not much said by Spanish historians about the difficulties between Florida and the newly planned British colony of Georgia. But the dispute about the boundary of Florida ripened into an armed conflict, in which Cuban forces assisted those of St. Augustine. Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia, had in the year 1736 endeavored to vindicate British rights to territory previously claimed by the Spaniards and the opposition of the latter when the British approached more and more closely was easily understood. Oglethorpe dispatched messengers to St. Augustine and, claiming the St. John's River as the southern boundary of the British colony, built Ft. George for defense of the British frontier. The messengers were for a time held in St. Augustine as prisoners, but eventually released. The dispute was temporarily settled by negotiation. But though the British abandoned Ft. George, they kept St. Andrew's at the mouth of St. Mary's, which was bound to be a perpetual source of irritation to the Spaniards. Two years later, according to Blanchet, hostile movements of British ships were observed in Cuban waters. He speaks of the _Commodore Brown_ as having, by the effective defense which Guemez had prepared, been prevented from landing in Bacuranao, Bahia-Honda and other places. With the beginning of the war, Guemez was called upon to secure the aprovionamento, the provisioning of the island and to insure its security. He received efficient assistance from some of his privateers, among them D. Jose Cordero and D. Pedro Garaicochea, who valorously fought some British vessels and obtained advantages over the British fleets commanded by the admirals Bermon and Oglethorpe. D. Jose Hurriaza, too, won some victories over the British with his three ships, of the kind called at that time guipuzcoanos. He sank one British vessel, captured another and anchored safely with his booty in the harbor of San Juan of Puerto Rico. The British war party made capital out of the news of these encounters. Exaggerated reports about the cruelty practiced upon British prisoners were sent to London. The authorities did not hesitate to call as witnesses of victims of such outrages, characters whose words would not have received credence at other times. Bancroft quotes the case of a notorious smuggler by the name of Jenkins, who accused the enemy of having cut off one of his ears, and Pulteny, in order to precipitate the issue, exclaimed in parliament: "We have no need of allies to enable us to command justice; the story of Jenkins will raise volunteers." Not only politicians and the ever ready pamphleteers lent their voice to the "cause," but even the poets joined the ignoble chorus. Alexander Pope wrote in his customary mordant manner: "And own the Spaniard did the waggish thing Who cropped our ears, and sent them to the king"; and even Samuel Johnson burst out into the cry: