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IOTL, an example of gunboat diplomacy perpetrated by Britain, known in Brazilian sources as the "Christie Crisis", erupted against the Empire of Brazil in the early 1860's. The catalysts for the crisis revolved around the issue of extraterritorial justice:
-The marooning of the HMS Prince of Wales merchant ship at the southern Brazilian coast and its subsequent looting by a band of locals;
-And the arrest of three drunken British officers from the HMS Forte at Rio de Janeiro for civil disturbance (the officers were interred in a public prison of "lowly" status, provoking concern to British authorities).
In november of 1862, as a result of the ensuing crisis, the British admiral William D. Christie blockaded the harbour of Rio de Janeiro, demanding a resolution of the crisis on favorable terms to Britain, including the payment of an indemnity. Anti-British riots occured in the city, and emperor Pedro II refused to yield, believing in his country's sovereignty to be at stake. Brazil briefly cut diplomatic ties with Britain during the incident. Surprisingly, admiral Christie ended up yielding after finding out that Pedro did not, and the tide of the crisis ebbed until its resolution in 1865, at the beginning of the Paraguayan War.
It is speculated that the Brazilian invasion of Uruguay in support of the Colorado party was because of its feeling at the time of the crisis that its PR was at stake. The subsequent Brazilian-Colorado victory in the civil war is considered by many historians to have been the primary catalyst behind the decision of Paraguayan dictator Solano Lopez to declare war in 1865.
So, i ask: what if the "Christie Crisis" had instead resulted in war between Brazil and Great Britain?
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