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Tuesday, November 4, 2014

War of Jenkin's Ear

Prince Charles, Camilla, and unknown Colombians unveil a plaque outside the
Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas  in Cartagena, Colombia. The plaque commemorates the loss of 10,000 English soldiers during their attack on the city in 1741.

Salient excerpts from the Wikipedia article:
    The incident that gave its name to the war had occurred in 1731, off the coast of Florida, when the British brig Rebecca was boarded by the Spanish patrol boat La Isabela, commanded by Julio León Fandiño. After boarding, Fandiño cut off the left ear of the Rebecca's captain, Robert Jenkins, whom he accused of smuggling.
    The largest action of the war was a major amphibious attack launched by the British under Admiral Edward Vernon in March 1741 against Cartagena de Indias, one of Spain's principal gold-trading ports in their colony of New Granada (today Colombia).
    Heavy losses on the British side were due in large part to virulent tropical diseases, primarily an outbreak of yellow fever, which took more lives than those lost in battle.
What has this got to do with me? Here with we have a little bit of American history for your amusement:
    British forces included 4,000 recruits from Virginia. They were led by Lawrence Washington, the older half-brother of George Washington, future President of the United States.
    Lawrence Washington survived the yellow fever outbreak, and eventually retired to Virginia. He named his estate Mount Vernon, in honour of his former commander.
The castle is the greatest fortress ever built by the Spaniards in their colonies:

 Which might explain why the English failed to take it. Google Maps failed me. The satellite image of the fortress is so dark it is difficult to tell what you are seeing.

P.S. While the stated reason for the confrontation was smuggling, the real reason was a dispute over who was making money off the slave trade. This was when slaving was still big business in England, Spain and the Americas.

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