>>20342204>The English arrived in front of Kokkola Bay in the afternoon of June 7, 1854. The waterway leading to the city's harbor was too shallow for large ships, so they anchored 4.5 nautical miles away, out of cannon range. Nine boats equipped with cannons were launched from the ships, and a total of 180 men were loaded into them. Around eleven o'clock in the evening, one boat with a flag of truce was rowed to the shore of the Halkokari promontory, where the city's residents had gathered. Two lieutenants acted as negotiators for the English, who asked for permission to burn all non-war goods in the harbor, including ships in the water and in the docks, shipbuilding supplies, tar, pitch, sail cloth, ropes and gunpowder. Mayor Berndt Roos and trade councilor Donner rejected the demand with the help of sea captain Wiklund, who acted as an interpreter, citing the Russian emperor's prohibition to make concessions to the enemy. When the English inquired about the presence of a possible military force, the people of Kokkola answered mysteriously: "We can't do anything against superiority". The English were also forbidden to come any closer to the city.Oi mate can we hav a loicence to burn property?
