War of Jenkins' Ear (22 окт 1739 г. – 18 окт 1748 г.)

Описание:

A war between Great Britain and Spain started so that the former could establish economic dominance. The war's name stemmed from an incident in 1731 in which British merchant Captain Robert Jenkins had his ear cut off by Spaniards. Hoping to keep their monopoly on the slave trade, as well as dominating Caribbean trade, Great Britain used the attack to justify a war that they hoped would remove Spanish presence from the New World.

The British declared war and launched an attack on Venezuela in the Battle of La Guaira, but were defeated. The British then captured the town of Portabelo, Panama, wrecking its forts and warehouses. The victory was celebrated wholeheartedly in Great Britain. In March through May 1740, British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon launched three attacks on the Spanish town of Cartagena de Indias, with the first two failing to do more than scout Spanish defenses. The third was the climax of the war, with the British launching a massive attack, composed of 186 ships bearing 27,000 troops. Vernon and his forces surrounded the city, but were impeded by Spanish trenches around the city's walls and were hit hard by Spanish forces led by Spanish Admiral Blas de Lezo. With yellow fever rampant in his troops, Vernon was forced to retreat to Jamaica, his forces suffering 6000 to Lezo's 1000.

Vernon continued on, destroying a fort in San Lorenzo el Real Chagres, attacking Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and Panama City. Meanwhile, British Georgians besieged St. Augustine, Florida, to no effect. Florida and Georgia proceeded to attack each other for a few years. Vernon attacked La Guaira again in 1743, but was repelled. This was the last major action of the war, as by 1742 most British force were diverted to Europe to fight the War of Austrian Succession. Both wars were resolved in 1848 with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

Casualties:
20,000 British dead, wounded, missing, or captured
4500 Spanish dead
5000 Spanish wounded

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