War of Jenkins' Ear
Videos
The War of Jenkins' Ear was fought between Great Britain and Spain from 1739 to 1748. Most of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations over by 1742. It is co
Ruins of the fortress of San Jeronimo, Portobelo
Spanish admiral Don Blas de Lezo 1741
Fortress of San Lorenzo el Real Chagres
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas (Cartagena). This fortress, though incomplete during the war, was integral to Spain's effort to maintain the link with its colonies via the Atlantic sea lanes.
Robert Jenkins was a Welsh master mariner from Llanelli, famous as the protagonist of the "Jenkins's ear" incident, which became a contributory cause of the War of Jenkins' Ear between the Kingdom of
War of Jenkins' Ear
…Sea, with major operations over by 1742. It is considered a related conflict of the 1740 to 1748 War of the Austrian Succession. The name derives from Robert Jenkins, a British sea captain whose ear was allegedly severed in April 1731 by the captain of a Spanish guarda costa searching his ship for contraband. In…
Cartoon of Jenkins presenting his sliced-off ear, 1738
Robert Jenkins hands a dismissive Prime Minister Robert Walpole his severed ear, as his companions lift off his wig to show the scar; one of Walpole's associates displays total indifference, preferring to converse with a lady. Satirical Cartoon, 1738, British Museum