Once upon a time, a box containing chimpanzees was found on a beach near Manchester. The chimps were taken to the Manchester court where it was determined they were Frenchmen. Why was this determination made and is this a true story?

daBomb619

"According to local folklore, during the Napoleonic wars, a French ship of the type chasse marée (literally, tide-chaser) was wrecked off the coast of Hartlepool. The only survivor was a monkey, wearing a French uniform (presumably to provide amusement for those onboard the ship). On finding the monkey, some locals decided to hold an impromptu trial on the beach; since the monkey was unable to answer their questions, and many locals were unaware of what a Frenchman may look like, they concluded that the monkey was in fact a French spy. Just to make sure, the animal was thus sentenced to death and hanged from the mast of a fishing boat on the Headland." Nothing has ever been confirmed, and it is still unknown to this day whether or not the story is true. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_hanger http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=1307 Oct 01 09, 11:00 PM

Baloo55th

Errrrr, Hartlepool is over a hundred miles from Manchester. Also, Manchester is an inland town without the slightest scrap of a beach that any ship could be wrecked on. Not until the Manchester Ship Canal was built (80 years after the wars in question) could any sea-going shipping reliably get from the Irish Sea up the 36 miles to Manchester. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Ship_Canal There wasn't a box, nor chimps. Just one pet monkey as described above - if it ever happened and wasn't just a libel or slander by the inhabitants of a nearby town. Definitely not Manchester. I seldom have much to say in favour of Manchester, but this time they are innocent. Oct 02 09, 11:22 AM

queproblema

I know Peasy or somebody asked a question about this, but I can't turn it up with the FT search engine or with Google. This is the closest I can find. "What is Hartlepool's nickname? The Monkey Hangers. They got this name in strange fashion. A French ship, the "Chasse Marree" come aground on the coast of Hartlepool during the Napoleonic war. No survivors were onboard, apart from one monkey, dressed in French uniform. The locals, having never seen a Frenchman, thought the monkey was a spy, and sentenced it to death by hanging it from the mast of a shipping boat!" http://www.funtrivia.com/en/Sports/Hartlepool-United-7280.html But I'm just sure the only other time I heard this story was right here. Oct 02 09, 6:15 PM

Zbeckabee

Just wondered...Found the story on a blog and it went like this: "In the 1700’s (or something like that) a box containing chimpanzees was found on a beach near Manchester. The monkeys were brought to the court so they could decide what to do with them. After inspecting the chimpanzees, the courts of Manchester concluded that the animals were actually Frenchman. All that these simple people of the north had ever heard about the French was that they were smelly, hairy, and talked funny. So, they hanged the chimps. True story." http://fearnerin2.blogspot.com/ Oct 02 09, 7:33 PM

Baloo55th

At one time, it was apparently tantamount to committing suicide to ask 'Who hung the monkey?' in Hartlepool. They're more cool about it now, while gently pointing out that it didn't happen: http://www.thisishartlepool.co.uk/history/thehartlepoolmonkey.asp http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/eatingoutinthenorth/page27.phtml Oct 03 09, 9:58 AM

queproblema

Found the other story, similar but not the same. It's about a baboon who was a South African corporal. http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question84225.html Apr 24 10, 12:41 PM