This Week in History: ‘The War of Jenkins’ Ear’

On 23^rd October 1739 Great Britain declared war on Spain sparking a conflict that would soon be consumed within the much larger War of Austrian Succession (1740-48). The war between Britain and Spain known as the War of Jenkins’ Ear began with one of the more memorable – and bizarre – pretexts in 18^th Century history, but behind the grim spectacle of a severed ear were far more substantial questions of trade, empire and national honour.

Two intertwining themes help explain why Britain and Spain ended up at war in 1739: commercial rivalry in the Caribbean and Americas, and colonial/territorial friction on the North American frontier. Under the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Britain had acquired certain concessions from Spain: the so-called ‘asiento’ and the right for a limited number of British trading ships to trade with the Spanish Americas. Yet Spanish New World trade remained tightly regulated, and Spanish authorities (especially the coastal Guarda Costa) vigorously attempted to curb British smuggling and illicit trade. The British merchants resented the seizures of ships, claimed large commercial losses, and used these grievances to stir up public and parliamentary anger. Meanwhile, Spanish frustration at British incursions and the perceived undermining of its colonial trade regime compounded the hostility.

Into this commercial tension came a dramatic, symbolic incident. In 1731, the British captain Robert Jenkins (of the ship Rebecca) claimed that the Spanish coast-guard had boarded his vessel off Havana, forcibly cut off his ear, and given it back to him, telling him to ‘tell your king’ what they would do. When Jenkins appeared before the House of Commons in 1738 to show his ear, it became a rallying cry: ‘Jenkins’s ear’ serving as a symbol of Spanish iniquity and British humiliation. The incident was exploited by the opposition to the ministry of Robert Walpole as evidence that Spain had outraged British honour and commerce, adding pressure on a government eager to avoid war.

Another critical factor was the frontier friction between the British colony of Georgia (founded 1732) and Spanish Florida. Border ambiguities, fortifications and fears of Spanish incursions contributed to a sense in Britain and the colonies that Spain was a threat to British expansion in North America. Thus, the war was not simply about an ear (as dramatic as that was), but rather about Britain’s desire to open up trade, protect its colonial frontier, and assert itself against Spain’s longstanding New World empire.

After failed negotiations (including the Convention of the Pardo) to settle the commercial claims and settle losses, Britain declared war on Spain on 23^rd October 1739. The popular mood in Britain was belligerent. As the Duke of Newcastle, Secretary of State for the Southern Department put it, ‘nothing but a full satisfaction … and security from the like abuses for the future’ could stem the tide of anti-Spanish feeling.

One of the most celebrated British victories came in November 1739, when Vice-Admiral Edward  Vernon led a small fleet and captured Porto Bello (in present-day Panama). The attack reportedly took only one day to force surrender and the town was held for approximately three weeks. The victory resonated in Britain: it became a patriotic event, celebrated in song and public life (it is linked to the first performance of Rule, Britannia), with streets named in honour of the victory. Yet this was more a symbolic success than a strategic turning point.

In 1741, Vernon’s ambition extended to a much larger expedition against Cartagena de Indias (in Spanish New Granada, which is today Colombia) — one of Spain’s major treasure-ports and strongest fortresses in the Americas. The British force of ships, marines and troops was hampered by poor coördination, logistical problems, disease and strong Spanish defence under Admiral Blas de Lezo. According to one account, 18,000 British or allied troops perished (mostly from disease) and many ships were lost or damaged. At the same time, Britain also attempted to press operations along the Spanish Florida-Georgia frontier to defend Georgia and repel Spanish incursions.

By early 1742, major offensive operations in the Americas had largely petered out. Britain and Spain found themselves drawn into the larger European conflict of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48) and the ‘Jenkins’ Ear’ dispute merged into the broader war. Nonetheless, when hostilities concluded, the war left a mixed legacy. Strategically, neither Britain nor Spain achieved sweeping territorial conquests in the Americas as a direct outcome of the conflict. The status quo ante largely remained. The British government of Walpole fell in 1742 in part because of the parliamentary and public pressure generated by the war and its failures. Spain changed its trading practices: post-war Spanish treasure fleets and New World trade began to be adjusted in smaller convoys and more widely dispersed ports. This was a direct consequence of British naval pressure (e.g., at Porto Bello). Although the treaty settlements did not dramatically favour Britain, the war raised the profile of naval power, colonial operations and the significance of imperial competition in Britain’s foreign policy.

The War of Jenkins’ Ear had implications beyond the immediate campaigns. The conflict heightened British colonial awareness of imperial rivalry and naval logistics. It demonstrated the difficulties of large-scale amphibious operations in the tropics: disease, supply, command coördination – all proved decisive. These lessons would inform later British expeditions). In North America, the frontier struggle solidified British colonial claims and foreshadowed future Anglo-Spanish conflicts. Florida would be ceded in 1763 after the Seven Years’ War. Also, the war helped sharpen a colonial identity: American colonists participated in overseas expeditions, and this participation fed into evolving ideas of colonial military capacity and later colonial discontent.

The war underscores how commercial grievance (smuggling, trade monopoly, seizure of ships) became a legitimate trigger for war in 18^th Century Europe. Britain’s willingness to wage war in part for trade rights signalled shifting priorities from purely dynastic concerns to commercial-imperial ones.

Though often treated as a side-conflict, the War of Jenkins’ Ear merged into the War of the Austrian Succession, showing how colonial/commercial disputes could tie into larger European power struggles. The difficulties Britain faced in 1739–42 would foreshadow the scale and complexity of the later global conflict of the Seven Years’ War. In Britain, the war helped shift domestic politics. With Walpole’s fall, British foreign policy became more assertive. The era of ‘gentle peace’ in British foreign affairs shifted toward more regular use of naval and colonial force.

Although the name ‘War of Jenkins’ Ear’ evokes something trivial or even farcical, in reality the war was a serious imperial struggle. It was a collision of British and Spanish interests in the New World, catalysed by an injustice, fuelled by commercial rivalry, and played out in the heat, sickness and logistically challenging tropics. Its limited immediate territorial gains mask its wider significance – for trade policy, imperial ambition, colonial self-awareness and naval warfare.

Sources

“War of Jenkins’ Ear.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, updated 2024.https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-Jenkins-Ear

“The War of Jenkins’ Ear.” Historic UK – History of England.https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/War-of-Jenkins-Ear/

“The War of Jenkins’ Ear: Forgotten Struggle for North and South America, 1739–1748.” Naval Historical Foundation (navyhistory.org), 2021.https://navyhistory.org/2021/11/the-war-of-jenkins-ear-the-forgotten-struggle-for-north-and-south-america-1739-1748/

“The War of Jenkins’ Ear, 1739–42.” History of Parliament Online – Diplomacy & War.https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/themes/diplomacy-war/war-jenkins-ear-1739-42

“The War of Jenkins’ Ear.” Warfare History Network.https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-war-of-jenkins-ear/