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The War of Jenkins' Ear: The Forgotten War for North and South America 1739-1742
Filled with unforgettable characters and maritime adventure, the incredible story of a forgotten war that shaped the fate of the United States—and the entire Western Hemisphere.
In the early 18th century, the British and Spanish Empires were fighting for economic supremacy in the Americas. Tensions between the two powers were high, and wars blossomed like violent flowers for nearly a hundred years, from the War of Spanish Succession (sometimes known as Queen Anne's War in the Americas), culminating in the War of Jenkins' Ear.
This war would lay the groundwork for the French and Indian War and, eventually, the War of the American Revolution. The War of Jenkins' Ear was a world war in the truest sense, engaging the major European powers on battlefields ranging from Europe to the Americas to the Asian subcontinent.
Yet the conflict that would eventually become known as the War of Jenkins' Ear—a moniker coined by the 19th century historian Thomas Carlyle more than a century later—is barely known to us today. Yet it resulted in the invasion of Georgia and even involved members of George Washington’s own family. It would cost fifty-thousand lives, millions in treasure, and over six hundred ships.
With vivid prose, Robert Gaudi takes the reader from the brackish waters of the Chesapeake Bay to the rocky shores of Tierra del Fuego. We travel around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Pacific to the Philippines and the Cantonese coast, with stops in Cartagena, Panama, and beyond. Yet even though it happened decades before American independence, The War of Jenkins' Ear reveals that this was truly an American war; a hard-fought, costly struggle that determined the fate of the Americas, and in which, for the first time, American armies participated.
In this definitive work of history—the only single comprehensive volume on the subject— T he War of Jenkins’ Ear explores the war that established the future of two entire continents.
In the early 18th century, the British and Spanish Empires were fighting for economic supremacy in the Americas. Tensions between the two powers were high, and wars blossomed like violent flowers for nearly a hundred years, from the War of Spanish Succession (sometimes known as Queen Anne's War in the Americas), culminating in the War of Jenkins' Ear.
This war would lay the groundwork for the French and Indian War and, eventually, the War of the American Revolution. The War of Jenkins' Ear was a world war in the truest sense, engaging the major European powers on battlefields ranging from Europe to the Americas to the Asian subcontinent.
Yet the conflict that would eventually become known as the War of Jenkins' Ear—a moniker coined by the 19th century historian Thomas Carlyle more than a century later—is barely known to us today. Yet it resulted in the invasion of Georgia and even involved members of George Washington’s own family. It would cost fifty-thousand lives, millions in treasure, and over six hundred ships.
With vivid prose, Robert Gaudi takes the reader from the brackish waters of the Chesapeake Bay to the rocky shores of Tierra del Fuego. We travel around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Pacific to the Philippines and the Cantonese coast, with stops in Cartagena, Panama, and beyond. Yet even though it happened decades before American independence, The War of Jenkins' Ear reveals that this was truly an American war; a hard-fought, costly struggle that determined the fate of the Americas, and in which, for the first time, American armies participated.
In this definitive work of history—the only single comprehensive volume on the subject— T he War of Jenkins’ Ear explores the war that established the future of two entire continents.
364 pages, Hardcover
First published November 2, 2021
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358 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
November 14, 2022
Never heard of this war and knew very little of this era of history but the book was absolutely fascinating. Admiral Vernon—the British naval hero of The War of Jenkins’ Ear, or The War of 1739-1748—was the individual honored by Lawrence Washington in naming the ancestral home, Mount Vernon, usually more associated with his younger brother and America’s first president, George Washington.
Lawrence was so impressed with the Admiral’s concern for his crew and unwillingness to treat their lives as expendable when they were fighting in the extremely unhealthy environment of the West Indies, that he never forgot him. It was not the norm at that time for naval commanders to concern themselves unduly with the health and welfare of their crew beyond basic necessities and the challenges presented by fighting in the Caribbean were not fully understood, believed or adhered to. As a result, terrible losses of men were the norm.
This is a fascinating book about a time period before the French and American Revolutions, a time almost entirely unknown to me prior to this. I need to return to this book with greater attention to fully absorb the details. Highly recommended!
Lawrence was so impressed with the Admiral’s concern for his crew and unwillingness to treat their lives as expendable when they were fighting in the extremely unhealthy environment of the West Indies, that he never forgot him. It was not the norm at that time for naval commanders to concern themselves unduly with the health and welfare of their crew beyond basic necessities and the challenges presented by fighting in the Caribbean were not fully understood, believed or adhered to. As a result, terrible losses of men were the norm.
This is a fascinating book about a time period before the French and American Revolutions, a time almost entirely unknown to me prior to this. I need to return to this book with greater attention to fully absorb the details. Highly recommended!
May 31, 2023
Initially, I was getting a lot of enjoyment out of Gaudi's almost satirical treatment of one the interminable Hispano-English colonial conflicts, but, after a certain point, the wise-guy tone began to annoy me. This was probably about the moment when the phrase "collaborationist squaw" was used. Still, Gaudi does cover a lot of ground and does a good job of placing this war in the context of the global economy of the time, as it was very much a war over trade. There's certainly an interesting set of historical characters to follow, including Lawrence Washington, the brother of George Washington. At this point, I'm now wanting to read Craig Chapman's "Disaster on the Spanish Main," for a more sober treatment of events at the failed British operation to take Cartagena.
I could give this book another half star if that was an option.
I could give this book another half star if that was an option.
December 6, 2023
Inspired by reading The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, an incident that took place during the War of Jenkin's Ear, I sought out a complete history of that conflict. Fortunately for me, Robert Gaudi wrote an extremely readable account in 2021 so I wasn't forced to read more turgid accounts written 100 years ago (see The Navy in the War of 1739-1748).
How shall I begin?
One of the outcomes of the War of the Spanish Succession was that England was granted the exclusive right to transship slaves to Spanish America (the Asiento de Negros). As part of that contract, the English could also send one ship a year with manufactured goods to Spanish America as otherwise trade was closed to only Spanish merchants. This trade wasn't profitable enough for the British South Seas Company so they turned to smuggling in goods thus bypassing Spanish tariffs.
The Spanish weren't too happy about this and their "coast guard" set about intercepting British merchant ships and seizing their goods and bullion. The unfortunate Captain Jenkins was commander of one of those merchant vessels and was tortured to reveal where the gold was hidden on his ship. Part of this torture was the severing of his ear. While this occurred in 1731, years of further depredations by the Spanish against English merchant (smuggling) ships finally led to an outbreak of war. (There's lots more background here that I won't go into that includes a famous castrati opera singer, a king with malformed testicles, another king with an insatiable sex appetite, and assorted other weird characters of the Spanish court.)
The Brits thought Spanish territories would be ripe for the taking - notably Havana and Cartagena, ports of origin for the gold, silver, and other high value items that would labor across the oceans in treasure galleons. We also have the nascent colony of Georgia, founded by James Oglethorpe, eyeing Spanish Florida (capital St. Augustine). Likewise, the Spanish claimed Georgia as their own.
Once the first third of the book is done that elegantly describes the years leading to the conflict, it is roughly divided into sections:
- British capture of Porto Bello, a key port in Panama (yes, the capture was so celebrated that Portobello Road / Market in London is named after it. The anthem Rule Britannia was composed as a direct result of this victory.)
- American invasion of Florida to attempt capture of St. Augustine
- British expeditionary force to attempt capture of the town of Cartagena, key to Spanish South America
- Spanish "counter invasion" of Georgia to wrest control back to Spain and perhaps rollup the southern American colonies
- Anson's round the world odyssey (of which HMS Wager played a footnote and led to a 2023 best seller)
Casualties were appalling, typically 90% and not from combat, but from malaria, yellow fever, and other rigors of the tropics. George Washington's brother Lawrence plays a prominent role. Oh, and Mt Vernon is named after Washington's fleet commander, Admiral Vernon (who knew?).
Gaudi's writing style is brisk and engaging with lots of side trips down various peccadillos of leading court and government figures in both Britain and Spain. He has done quite a bit of research and does a bit of analysis when it comes to conflicting accounts of a single event or campaign.
I had four quibbles
1 - No Notes. Despite an impressive bibliography and lots of references to first hand accounts, there are no Notes. This puts a taint to what one reads that probably is unfair, but still.
2 - The maps - Much time is lavished on the Cartagena expedition but the only map is a period engraving of the siege that originally was 17.5" x 25" but is squeezed down to a large postcard size and requires a magnifying glass to read it. The rule of thumb for histories, especially military histories is that maps should be included that clearly show all the place names mentioned in the text. Gaudi failed us here. The St. Augustine campaign is slightly better though it suffers from gray lettering on gray backgrounds.
3 - The asides occasionally sprinkled throughout the text. Here's an example (p. 293):
4 - At the end of the failed Spanish invasion of Georgia, Gaudi asserts
Really? Let's suppose the Spanish had won. Did this mean they had the resources to conquer the rest of North America, or even the Eastern seaboard? Spain was a declining power and force projection was hardly her strength.
Aside from these quibbles, you've got to give credit to Gaudi for breathing life into a story that has been mostly forgotten and yet one where, if you are an American, British, or Spanish, it is part of your history with a few echoes still detectable. It was ironic that the day I finished the book, the NY Times had a full page travel piece called "36 hours in Cartagena" where you can still see the forts that protected the city from Vernon's and Wentworth's siege in 1741.
And thank goodness for quinine and the general eradication of malaria. Being posted to the Caribbean area in the mid-18th century was an almost guaranteed death sentence, no matter your rank.
How shall I begin?
One of the outcomes of the War of the Spanish Succession was that England was granted the exclusive right to transship slaves to Spanish America (the Asiento de Negros). As part of that contract, the English could also send one ship a year with manufactured goods to Spanish America as otherwise trade was closed to only Spanish merchants. This trade wasn't profitable enough for the British South Seas Company so they turned to smuggling in goods thus bypassing Spanish tariffs.
The Spanish weren't too happy about this and their "coast guard" set about intercepting British merchant ships and seizing their goods and bullion. The unfortunate Captain Jenkins was commander of one of those merchant vessels and was tortured to reveal where the gold was hidden on his ship. Part of this torture was the severing of his ear. While this occurred in 1731, years of further depredations by the Spanish against English merchant (smuggling) ships finally led to an outbreak of war. (There's lots more background here that I won't go into that includes a famous castrati opera singer, a king with malformed testicles, another king with an insatiable sex appetite, and assorted other weird characters of the Spanish court.)
The Brits thought Spanish territories would be ripe for the taking - notably Havana and Cartagena, ports of origin for the gold, silver, and other high value items that would labor across the oceans in treasure galleons. We also have the nascent colony of Georgia, founded by James Oglethorpe, eyeing Spanish Florida (capital St. Augustine). Likewise, the Spanish claimed Georgia as their own.
Once the first third of the book is done that elegantly describes the years leading to the conflict, it is roughly divided into sections:
- British capture of Porto Bello, a key port in Panama (yes, the capture was so celebrated that Portobello Road / Market in London is named after it. The anthem Rule Britannia was composed as a direct result of this victory.)
- American invasion of Florida to attempt capture of St. Augustine
- British expeditionary force to attempt capture of the town of Cartagena, key to Spanish South America
- Spanish "counter invasion" of Georgia to wrest control back to Spain and perhaps rollup the southern American colonies
- Anson's round the world odyssey (of which HMS Wager played a footnote and led to a 2023 best seller)
Casualties were appalling, typically 90% and not from combat, but from malaria, yellow fever, and other rigors of the tropics. George Washington's brother Lawrence plays a prominent role. Oh, and Mt Vernon is named after Washington's fleet commander, Admiral Vernon (who knew?).
Gaudi's writing style is brisk and engaging with lots of side trips down various peccadillos of leading court and government figures in both Britain and Spain. He has done quite a bit of research and does a bit of analysis when it comes to conflicting accounts of a single event or campaign.
I had four quibbles
1 - No Notes. Despite an impressive bibliography and lots of references to first hand accounts, there are no Notes. This puts a taint to what one reads that probably is unfair, but still.
2 - The maps - Much time is lavished on the Cartagena expedition but the only map is a period engraving of the siege that originally was 17.5" x 25" but is squeezed down to a large postcard size and requires a magnifying glass to read it. The rule of thumb for histories, especially military histories is that maps should be included that clearly show all the place names mentioned in the text. Gaudi failed us here. The St. Augustine campaign is slightly better though it suffers from gray lettering on gray backgrounds.
3 - The asides occasionally sprinkled throughout the text. Here's an example (p. 293):
As the Highlanders watched in astonishment from the cover of the underbrush, Spanish troops stacked arms, broke out their cookpots and began to prepare their food -- a hearty paella, one would like to think, rich with shellfish ...
4 - At the end of the failed Spanish invasion of Georgia, Gaudi asserts
Thus, a few hundred Spaniards lost on a hot day in a marsh on St. Simons Island in July 1742 had decided the fate of a continent
Really? Let's suppose the Spanish had won. Did this mean they had the resources to conquer the rest of North America, or even the Eastern seaboard? Spain was a declining power and force projection was hardly her strength.
Aside from these quibbles, you've got to give credit to Gaudi for breathing life into a story that has been mostly forgotten and yet one where, if you are an American, British, or Spanish, it is part of your history with a few echoes still detectable. It was ironic that the day I finished the book, the NY Times had a full page travel piece called "36 hours in Cartagena" where you can still see the forts that protected the city from Vernon's and Wentworth's siege in 1741.
And thank goodness for quinine and the general eradication of malaria. Being posted to the Caribbean area in the mid-18th century was an almost guaranteed death sentence, no matter your rank.
November 15, 2022
"Readable" and easy-to-follow, but not a timeless classic of style. Backcover blurbs praise the humor, but I only found the occasional use of schoolboy vocabulary fatuous and distracting. It covers a fascinating, neglected period in colonial American history and the research seems thorough, although the absence of citations makes me question Gaudi's intellectual seriousness. Still, the text is bubbling over with a ludicrous cast of rascally, odious, courageous, cowardly and generally larger-than-life personalities that the author reanimates with dash.
Also, the copy-editing for this book was so unimaginably bad that I can only guess it was some sort of AI-mediated process. Long sections devoid of almost any punctuation and typos galore.
Also, the copy-editing for this book was so unimaginably bad that I can only guess it was some sort of AI-mediated process. Long sections devoid of almost any punctuation and typos galore.
May 15, 2023
This book isn't for everyone. The War of Jenkins' Ear is often referred to as a joke, as though it were trivial. Gaudi shows it really wasn't. He goes into the weeds into each battle, which some people might not want (hence the four stars rather than five). But, he does such a great job describing the larger political context, and, if you like battle descriptions, his are perfect.
August 23, 2023
The War Of Jenkins' Ear: The Forgotten Struggle For North And South America 1739-1742, by Robert Gaudi
By and large, the War of Jenkins' Ear, or what is alternatively and less colorfully known as the Anglo-Spanish War of 1739-1742, has been largely forgotten everywhere, especially because it was a war fought with considerable incompetence by both the English and the Spaniards. Each side managed to have at least a couple of brilliant campaigns, but not enough to overcome the ramshackle incompetence and immense waste of life that was involved on all sides. If the Spanish could celebrate the successful defense of St. Augustine and Cartagena, the British were able to sack Porto Bello and defend Georgia against superior numbers. If Spain had Don Blas, Britain had people like Admiral Vernon and Oglethorpe. Of interest to American readers, this book also gives a cameo role to a certain Virginia officer named Captain Lawrence Washington, who got a fatal case of tuberculosis while serving as one of the Virginia militia officers in the Caribbean front. One of the few possible decisive aspects of the war, not immediately evident at the time, was the way it hardened attitudes between Americans and British in a way that would become increasingly challenging to the survival of the British Empire in North America.
This book is a decent-sized work at nearly 350 pages of length in its core material. The book begins with a prologue that shows how the author became familiar with Vernon medals and was put on the trace of the War of Jenkins' Ear. This is followed by a discussion of the incident by which one honest Captain Jenkins lost his ear after being tortured by a member of the Spanish coast guard off the coast of Cuba (1). The author then provides some deep background to the conflict (2) as well as a discussion of the 18th century diplomatic and political and economic contest between England and Spain, including industrial sabotage and massive smuggling, that led to the outbreak of war (3). After this, there is a discussion of Admiral Vernon and his initial moves against Spain in Panama to avenge previous English losses (4). After that comes a discussion of Oglethorpe's life history as well as his unsuccessful invasion of West Florida (5). Two chapters cover the massive fiasco that was the attempt by a massive and incompetently led English amphibious force that sought to take Cartagena de Indias from the Spanish (6, 7), leading to the death of tens of thousands of soldiers and sailors. This is followed by a discussion of Spain's calamitous failure of an invasion of Georgia, thwarted by Oglethorpe (8). A short chapter covers the efforts of the English at Santiago, Panama (again), and Ruatan (9). Then a chapter that seems to be out of another story altogether discusses the circumnavigation of the globe by a small English squadron that managed to get a successful prize that made its survivors wealthy when they got back to England (10), as well as a discussion of the unsatisfactory end of the war (11). The book then ends with a bibliography and index.
Overall, there is a lot to enjoy about the book. Its subject matter ranges from numismatics to discussions of smuggling and financial bubbles (the notable South Sea Bubble in particular), to a rare circumnavigation of the globe to the corruption inherent in trying to make money off of the asiento contract. There is a lot of military and diplomatic history as well as political history to be found here, and those who appreciate works about the more famous (and more decisive) French & Indian War will also find much to appreciate in this earlier conflict that in many ways was a preamble to much of Britain's strategy against Spain that was successfully undertaken between 1760 and 1762 in that latter conflict. It is striking just how few big ideas that the British had when it came to imperial wars against the Spanish, and included in those were: take Havana, take Florida, take Manilla. Even the backup plans here are the sort of plans that the United States was still using in 1898--take Santiago and Manilla and win fleet actions. If the War of Jenkins' Ear was poorly managed on both sides, and led to a lot of misery and not much else, and quickly became subsumed in a larger and more portentous conflict in the War of Austrian Succession, which marked Prussia's entrance as a Great Power on the European continent after its successful seizure of Silesia, there is still a lot here that resonates with future conflicts and provides important context to wars of imperialism fought against Spain for a long time to come.
By and large, the War of Jenkins' Ear, or what is alternatively and less colorfully known as the Anglo-Spanish War of 1739-1742, has been largely forgotten everywhere, especially because it was a war fought with considerable incompetence by both the English and the Spaniards. Each side managed to have at least a couple of brilliant campaigns, but not enough to overcome the ramshackle incompetence and immense waste of life that was involved on all sides. If the Spanish could celebrate the successful defense of St. Augustine and Cartagena, the British were able to sack Porto Bello and defend Georgia against superior numbers. If Spain had Don Blas, Britain had people like Admiral Vernon and Oglethorpe. Of interest to American readers, this book also gives a cameo role to a certain Virginia officer named Captain Lawrence Washington, who got a fatal case of tuberculosis while serving as one of the Virginia militia officers in the Caribbean front. One of the few possible decisive aspects of the war, not immediately evident at the time, was the way it hardened attitudes between Americans and British in a way that would become increasingly challenging to the survival of the British Empire in North America.
This book is a decent-sized work at nearly 350 pages of length in its core material. The book begins with a prologue that shows how the author became familiar with Vernon medals and was put on the trace of the War of Jenkins' Ear. This is followed by a discussion of the incident by which one honest Captain Jenkins lost his ear after being tortured by a member of the Spanish coast guard off the coast of Cuba (1). The author then provides some deep background to the conflict (2) as well as a discussion of the 18th century diplomatic and political and economic contest between England and Spain, including industrial sabotage and massive smuggling, that led to the outbreak of war (3). After this, there is a discussion of Admiral Vernon and his initial moves against Spain in Panama to avenge previous English losses (4). After that comes a discussion of Oglethorpe's life history as well as his unsuccessful invasion of West Florida (5). Two chapters cover the massive fiasco that was the attempt by a massive and incompetently led English amphibious force that sought to take Cartagena de Indias from the Spanish (6, 7), leading to the death of tens of thousands of soldiers and sailors. This is followed by a discussion of Spain's calamitous failure of an invasion of Georgia, thwarted by Oglethorpe (8). A short chapter covers the efforts of the English at Santiago, Panama (again), and Ruatan (9). Then a chapter that seems to be out of another story altogether discusses the circumnavigation of the globe by a small English squadron that managed to get a successful prize that made its survivors wealthy when they got back to England (10), as well as a discussion of the unsatisfactory end of the war (11). The book then ends with a bibliography and index.
Overall, there is a lot to enjoy about the book. Its subject matter ranges from numismatics to discussions of smuggling and financial bubbles (the notable South Sea Bubble in particular), to a rare circumnavigation of the globe to the corruption inherent in trying to make money off of the asiento contract. There is a lot of military and diplomatic history as well as political history to be found here, and those who appreciate works about the more famous (and more decisive) French & Indian War will also find much to appreciate in this earlier conflict that in many ways was a preamble to much of Britain's strategy against Spain that was successfully undertaken between 1760 and 1762 in that latter conflict. It is striking just how few big ideas that the British had when it came to imperial wars against the Spanish, and included in those were: take Havana, take Florida, take Manilla. Even the backup plans here are the sort of plans that the United States was still using in 1898--take Santiago and Manilla and win fleet actions. If the War of Jenkins' Ear was poorly managed on both sides, and led to a lot of misery and not much else, and quickly became subsumed in a larger and more portentous conflict in the War of Austrian Succession, which marked Prussia's entrance as a Great Power on the European continent after its successful seizure of Silesia, there is still a lot here that resonates with future conflicts and provides important context to wars of imperialism fought against Spain for a long time to come.
October 1, 2025
The War of Jenkins' Ear: one of the most colorful names for a military conflict in history. This was one of many wars between the English and Spanish. It is notable for being fought almost entirely in the Caribbean, and that it stemmed almost entirely from Caribbean issues almost entirely specific to the , Most people have never heard of it. I've known of it since childhood because I've always been a big history nerd and I grew up in Florida.
The first third of the book covers the background of the conflict: mostly trade-related issues in the aftermath of the War of Spanish Succession. One chapter covers James Oglethorpe and his failed 1740 attempt to capture St. Augustine, another covers the 1742 Spanish invasion of Georgia, which likewise failed, and third briefly summarizes an ill-equipped English squadron sent on a harrowing journey to the far side of the world, leading to the events chronicled in the more recent best-seller The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder. The remainder covers the English attempts to capture various valuable Spanish ports on the the Caribbean.
There are cameo appearances by the grandfather of poet Lord Byron and George Washington's older half-brother.
This book is mostly a swift read. The author is a journalist, not a professional historian, although he did previously write a book about Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. Gaudi definitely has a "voice" but I found is tone somewhere between snarky and flippant. It's a bit like if Winston Groom wrote with the tone of Dennis Miller. Gaudi does acknowledge conflicting sources and opinions on events covered, but clearly feels strongly about some of the prominent historical figures involved. Some of the chapters are quite long, but all of them are nicely broken up into short sections of only a few pages each making giving plenty of clear stopping points.
There are theater-wide maps located in the endpapers. There are also a few maps at the beginning - mostly historic to the war, and nearly all printed too small to be easily read. An small portrait of a relevant person leads off each chapter, but that's it for illustrations. There is a Bibliography and Index, but no Citations.
Serious historians will probably find this book a bit amateurish, and some readers will not care for the author's tone, but it's good for what it is: a history of an obscure conflict that is accessible to a wider audience. I would give it a 3.5 if I could, but I'll round up for the readability. I'd only mildly recommend it to the average history reader. However, if you've read The Wager or visited the Castillo de San Marcos or Fort Frederica, and you want one book to understand those in context, this book is worth a read.
The first third of the book covers the background of the conflict: mostly trade-related issues in the aftermath of the War of Spanish Succession. One chapter covers James Oglethorpe and his failed 1740 attempt to capture St. Augustine, another covers the 1742 Spanish invasion of Georgia, which likewise failed, and third briefly summarizes an ill-equipped English squadron sent on a harrowing journey to the far side of the world, leading to the events chronicled in the more recent best-seller The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder. The remainder covers the English attempts to capture various valuable Spanish ports on the the Caribbean.
There are cameo appearances by the grandfather of poet Lord Byron and George Washington's older half-brother.
This book is mostly a swift read. The author is a journalist, not a professional historian, although he did previously write a book about Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. Gaudi definitely has a "voice" but I found is tone somewhere between snarky and flippant. It's a bit like if Winston Groom wrote with the tone of Dennis Miller. Gaudi does acknowledge conflicting sources and opinions on events covered, but clearly feels strongly about some of the prominent historical figures involved. Some of the chapters are quite long, but all of them are nicely broken up into short sections of only a few pages each making giving plenty of clear stopping points.
There are theater-wide maps located in the endpapers. There are also a few maps at the beginning - mostly historic to the war, and nearly all printed too small to be easily read. An small portrait of a relevant person leads off each chapter, but that's it for illustrations. There is a Bibliography and Index, but no Citations.
Serious historians will probably find this book a bit amateurish, and some readers will not care for the author's tone, but it's good for what it is: a history of an obscure conflict that is accessible to a wider audience. I would give it a 3.5 if I could, but I'll round up for the readability. I'd only mildly recommend it to the average history reader. However, if you've read The Wager or visited the Castillo de San Marcos or Fort Frederica, and you want one book to understand those in context, this book is worth a read.
July 13, 2024
Having read The Wager, I was motivated to learn more about The War of Jenkins' Ear, called by the Spanish Guerra del Asiento, lit. 'War of the Agreement'. Coming a generation before the American Revolution, this conflict lasted from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and Spain. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It was related to the 1740 to 1748 War of the Austrian Succession and is part of, in my mind, a few centuries of world wars arising from Europe. The name was coined in 1858 by British historian Thomas Carlyle, and refers to Robert Jenkins, captain of the British brig Rebecca, whose ear was severed by the guarda costa (effectively privateer) Juan de León Fandiño, commander of the Spanish patrol boat La Isabela while searching his ship for contraband in April 1731.
Response to the incident was tepid until opposition politicians in the British Parliament, backed by the South Sea Company, used it seven years later to incite support for a war against Spain, hoping to improve British trading opportunities in the Caribbean. The author of this book stresses the trade dimension. The British also wanted to retain the lucrative Asiento de Negros, a contract issued by Spain to British merchants granting them permission to sell slaves in Spanish America, which is why the Spanish call it the Guerra del Asiento. This is interesting because in the later Revolutionary War, the American slave trade was one thing at least some colonists were protecting as Britain was outlawing it.
Starting from a chance discovery of a medal commemorating Admiral Edward Vernon, this work becomes a meditation on the vagaries of fame (so many place names from Vernon and his accomplishments now forgotten...) as well as the successful, plucky British naval-led tactics succeeding against a greater foe.
Response to the incident was tepid until opposition politicians in the British Parliament, backed by the South Sea Company, used it seven years later to incite support for a war against Spain, hoping to improve British trading opportunities in the Caribbean. The author of this book stresses the trade dimension. The British also wanted to retain the lucrative Asiento de Negros, a contract issued by Spain to British merchants granting them permission to sell slaves in Spanish America, which is why the Spanish call it the Guerra del Asiento. This is interesting because in the later Revolutionary War, the American slave trade was one thing at least some colonists were protecting as Britain was outlawing it.
Starting from a chance discovery of a medal commemorating Admiral Edward Vernon, this work becomes a meditation on the vagaries of fame (so many place names from Vernon and his accomplishments now forgotten...) as well as the successful, plucky British naval-led tactics succeeding against a greater foe.
September 22, 2024
The first third drags somewhat, but that’s to be expected when delivering the war’s necessary context—politics, politics, and more politics. The book gets really good once the war begins.
July 27, 2025
Very interesting story about a war that no one knows/cares about. Specifically the failed Spanish invasion of Georgia in the 1740s was eye opening.
May 20, 2025
I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into with this one, but it turned out to be raucous good fun.
I should start by saying the title given here is misleading. Gaudi informs us that the War of Jenkins' Ear is typically considered to have occurred between 1739 and 1742. For English readers this encompasses the first part of the War of the Austrian Succession, which began in Germany in 1740, but as France and England were not yet at war it is divided into the War of Jenkins' Ear in the first years, and then the War of the Austrian Succession after 1742.
This work is more in the nature of a popular history meant to entertain as well as inform, so there there is a huge cast of historical figures. They come at you with dizzying speed, from degenerates like Philip Wharton, opportunists like Alberoni, enigmatic kings like Louis XV and Philip V, the cursed Charles II, the imposing Walpole, and most of all Admiral Vernon.
We learn an awful lot of colourful information about these men and many others, including George Washington's older brother and Lord Byron's grandfather. We learn of the South Sea Bubble, of the infamous Asiento slave trade, of the long contest between Spain and Britain, but the core of the narrative ultimately revolves around the amphibious operations carried out by Vernon against the Spanish colonial empire.
Vernon boasted that he could fatally harm this empire with minimal effort, which he ostensibly proved with his successful attack on Portobelo in Panama. This was to prove his charge that Walpole's policy of blockade under Hosier was ill-conceived.
But soon we find the boastful Vernon running into catastrophe. The bulk of the central sections of the book are absorbed in the fascinating attempt on Cartagena de Indias, and while it is primarily a popular history an impressive amount of attention is paid to the military aspects and to the affect of disease on the British forces.
Some problems I have with the book are that it repeats some cliches. When talking about Soissons the author makes a snide remark about the Gallic tribes surrendering to Caesar here, beginning, so Gaudi chides, a French tradition. Repeating this 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys' trope is pretty bad taste, and ought to be known as nonsense by any student of history.
The author is evidently American, since he refers to George Washington as 'our first President,' and this perhaps explains his use of Black Legend Hispanophobic cliches, referring to the Spanish Empire as enervated and dilapidated, the fortresses as in a state of despair. The governor of Portobelo is described as cowardly and corrupt. Montiano is described as hesitant. The inhabitants of Santiago de Cuba are depicted as superstitious, instead of providing for the defence of their city, we learn, they waste time praying in their churches. The notorious Fandino is portrayed, perhaps, in the most stereotypical manner. A coward and a rogue, cruel to a fault but gutless. His character could have been lifted from an Elizabethan pamphlet.
This all smacks of the Anglophone tradition of denigrating Spaniards and portraying British and Americans are heroes by contrast, which seems especially the case with someone like Oglethorpe who is given much praise in this book. Deservedly, I would argue, but his daring is sharply contrasted with Montiano's timidity.
This is not to censure Gaudi too severely, for this thread permeates the Anglophone historical tradition going back centuries, and is difficult to escape. Gaudi is also quick to praise Spaniards who he feels deserve it. Blas de Lezo at the top, though even here Gaudi is at pains to point out that Blas de Lezo was Basque by origin, and that ungrateful Spain did not recognise his services for a long time. Don Garganta's defence of Portobelo is also contrasted with the slimy Governor Retes.
Echoes of this can be found too in Gaudi's support for Vernon's contention that the Spaniards had no gusto and that Santiago de Cuba and Cartagena de Indias could have been taken by a determined assault from the outset.
Gaudi mentions that Harding is against this view, in a book published in the 1990s which supports the much maligned (by Gaudi) General Wentworth. Wentworth disagreed with Vernon that these places could be taken so easily, and his pursuit of more formal siege tactics constitute a consistent theme here.
The reader is free to choose who is right, Harding or Gaudi. I only say that Gaudi's view, based on Vernon's own contentions, is contemptuous of Spanish capabilities and presumes upon their pusillanimity. One doubts whether the Spaniards were really so pathetic as that.
Nonetheless, an argument can be made that the operations were bungled by Wentworth as well as by others. Clearly the British required a great deal of practical experience in these combined operations, and the first lesson they must have learned was that there needs to be harmony between the naval and army commanders.
Even if Wentworth and Vernon were very capable, their sour relations alone would have impeded their overseeing of operations and reduced England's chances of success. The sad reality is that they may have been mediocre commanders as well as uncooperative ones.
The book wraps everything up neatly by quickly summarising the later lives and careers of our main cast, while looking forward to the American Revolution. One might point out here that the American participation at Cartagena de Indias could be compared to the Australian experience at Gallipoli; ostensibly arrogant and incompetent British aristocratic officers wasting the lives of their colonial cousins. Gaudi suggests that the seeds of American Revolution were laid here, with some justice.
A brief account is also given of the extraordinary voyage of Lord Anson, and his almost unbelievable capture of the Manila Galleon. Drake's circumnavigation aside, this was the first time the British really penetrated into the Pacific Ocean. That was then a 'Spanish Lake,' which is demonstrated by the fact that the first prizes taken were loaded with treasure but were not even armed. The Spanish were expecting no threats in these waters.
This must have been due to the lack of British bases at this time. For to reach the Pacific the British had to sail around Cape Horn, which Gaudi does a good job in demonstrating to the reader involved an almost unfathomably hellish odyssey.
Both the Spanish and British who attempted to round the cape were annihilated by storms and Anson only by some miracle survived. The length of the voyage caused the crews to be wracked with scurvy and disease, and it should be mentioned that the Spanish themselves apparently did not typically sail around the cape. They sailed from Manila to Acapulco, having bases in both Luzon and Mexico, and moved the goods overland to the Caribbean in order to avoid just such a voyage.
This is perhaps belabouring the point, but I am particularly interested in maritime history and this gave me a few epiphanies regarding that subject.
There are a smattering of mistakes here and there which I made a list of as I read. For example Gaudi says Anson reached Espiritu Santo in the Philippines, but Espiritu Santo is not in the Philippines, nor anywhere near them. It is in the New Hebrides northeast of Australia, near the Solomons. But this is only a minor grievance and of concern only to the overly-pedantic.
Overall this is a very entertaining and informative work. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would read it again.
I should start by saying the title given here is misleading. Gaudi informs us that the War of Jenkins' Ear is typically considered to have occurred between 1739 and 1742. For English readers this encompasses the first part of the War of the Austrian Succession, which began in Germany in 1740, but as France and England were not yet at war it is divided into the War of Jenkins' Ear in the first years, and then the War of the Austrian Succession after 1742.
This work is more in the nature of a popular history meant to entertain as well as inform, so there there is a huge cast of historical figures. They come at you with dizzying speed, from degenerates like Philip Wharton, opportunists like Alberoni, enigmatic kings like Louis XV and Philip V, the cursed Charles II, the imposing Walpole, and most of all Admiral Vernon.
We learn an awful lot of colourful information about these men and many others, including George Washington's older brother and Lord Byron's grandfather. We learn of the South Sea Bubble, of the infamous Asiento slave trade, of the long contest between Spain and Britain, but the core of the narrative ultimately revolves around the amphibious operations carried out by Vernon against the Spanish colonial empire.
Vernon boasted that he could fatally harm this empire with minimal effort, which he ostensibly proved with his successful attack on Portobelo in Panama. This was to prove his charge that Walpole's policy of blockade under Hosier was ill-conceived.
But soon we find the boastful Vernon running into catastrophe. The bulk of the central sections of the book are absorbed in the fascinating attempt on Cartagena de Indias, and while it is primarily a popular history an impressive amount of attention is paid to the military aspects and to the affect of disease on the British forces.
Some problems I have with the book are that it repeats some cliches. When talking about Soissons the author makes a snide remark about the Gallic tribes surrendering to Caesar here, beginning, so Gaudi chides, a French tradition. Repeating this 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys' trope is pretty bad taste, and ought to be known as nonsense by any student of history.
The author is evidently American, since he refers to George Washington as 'our first President,' and this perhaps explains his use of Black Legend Hispanophobic cliches, referring to the Spanish Empire as enervated and dilapidated, the fortresses as in a state of despair. The governor of Portobelo is described as cowardly and corrupt. Montiano is described as hesitant. The inhabitants of Santiago de Cuba are depicted as superstitious, instead of providing for the defence of their city, we learn, they waste time praying in their churches. The notorious Fandino is portrayed, perhaps, in the most stereotypical manner. A coward and a rogue, cruel to a fault but gutless. His character could have been lifted from an Elizabethan pamphlet.
This all smacks of the Anglophone tradition of denigrating Spaniards and portraying British and Americans are heroes by contrast, which seems especially the case with someone like Oglethorpe who is given much praise in this book. Deservedly, I would argue, but his daring is sharply contrasted with Montiano's timidity.
This is not to censure Gaudi too severely, for this thread permeates the Anglophone historical tradition going back centuries, and is difficult to escape. Gaudi is also quick to praise Spaniards who he feels deserve it. Blas de Lezo at the top, though even here Gaudi is at pains to point out that Blas de Lezo was Basque by origin, and that ungrateful Spain did not recognise his services for a long time. Don Garganta's defence of Portobelo is also contrasted with the slimy Governor Retes.
Echoes of this can be found too in Gaudi's support for Vernon's contention that the Spaniards had no gusto and that Santiago de Cuba and Cartagena de Indias could have been taken by a determined assault from the outset.
Gaudi mentions that Harding is against this view, in a book published in the 1990s which supports the much maligned (by Gaudi) General Wentworth. Wentworth disagreed with Vernon that these places could be taken so easily, and his pursuit of more formal siege tactics constitute a consistent theme here.
The reader is free to choose who is right, Harding or Gaudi. I only say that Gaudi's view, based on Vernon's own contentions, is contemptuous of Spanish capabilities and presumes upon their pusillanimity. One doubts whether the Spaniards were really so pathetic as that.
Nonetheless, an argument can be made that the operations were bungled by Wentworth as well as by others. Clearly the British required a great deal of practical experience in these combined operations, and the first lesson they must have learned was that there needs to be harmony between the naval and army commanders.
Even if Wentworth and Vernon were very capable, their sour relations alone would have impeded their overseeing of operations and reduced England's chances of success. The sad reality is that they may have been mediocre commanders as well as uncooperative ones.
The book wraps everything up neatly by quickly summarising the later lives and careers of our main cast, while looking forward to the American Revolution. One might point out here that the American participation at Cartagena de Indias could be compared to the Australian experience at Gallipoli; ostensibly arrogant and incompetent British aristocratic officers wasting the lives of their colonial cousins. Gaudi suggests that the seeds of American Revolution were laid here, with some justice.
A brief account is also given of the extraordinary voyage of Lord Anson, and his almost unbelievable capture of the Manila Galleon. Drake's circumnavigation aside, this was the first time the British really penetrated into the Pacific Ocean. That was then a 'Spanish Lake,' which is demonstrated by the fact that the first prizes taken were loaded with treasure but were not even armed. The Spanish were expecting no threats in these waters.
This must have been due to the lack of British bases at this time. For to reach the Pacific the British had to sail around Cape Horn, which Gaudi does a good job in demonstrating to the reader involved an almost unfathomably hellish odyssey.
Both the Spanish and British who attempted to round the cape were annihilated by storms and Anson only by some miracle survived. The length of the voyage caused the crews to be wracked with scurvy and disease, and it should be mentioned that the Spanish themselves apparently did not typically sail around the cape. They sailed from Manila to Acapulco, having bases in both Luzon and Mexico, and moved the goods overland to the Caribbean in order to avoid just such a voyage.
This is perhaps belabouring the point, but I am particularly interested in maritime history and this gave me a few epiphanies regarding that subject.
There are a smattering of mistakes here and there which I made a list of as I read. For example Gaudi says Anson reached Espiritu Santo in the Philippines, but Espiritu Santo is not in the Philippines, nor anywhere near them. It is in the New Hebrides northeast of Australia, near the Solomons. But this is only a minor grievance and of concern only to the overly-pedantic.
Overall this is a very entertaining and informative work. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would read it again.
May 10, 2023
I give this book two stars for the attempt at uncovering a long-forgotten war, especially in a period of history that I am getting increasingly interested in. So why only two stars then? In as concise a way as I can muster: the writing is complete dogsh-t.
This is not your typical history book, written in a professional manner and organized in a coherent way so as to provide as little confusion as possible for the reader. No. This "popular" history tries to jam as many wacky and zany facts as possible in an attempt to attract the attention of the reader while completely derailing the description of the events at hand. It's as if the author doesn't trust that the war itself will be appealing enough to readers, so he has to jingle his keys to try and get their attention.
Honestly, I got a third of the way into the book, over 100 pages out of roughly 340, and Gaudi had not even gotten to the actual war yet. All that I have received so far is a bloated background leading up to the conflict, a background that, if handled by a more competent author, would take 30-50 pages to establish.
A great example of this is when he is describing one of the world's first economic crashes called the South Sea Bubble. He includes longwinded passages like the following:
"'It was while Law's Plan was at its greatest height of popularity, while people were crowding in thousands to the Rue Quincampoix and ruining themselves with frantic eagerness, that the South Sea directors laid before Parliament their famous plan for paying off the national debt.'
"So begins Charles Mackay's account of the financial disaster that became known as the South Sea Bubble, in his seminal volume Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, one of the first studies of crowd behavior and mass hysteria, published in 1841. (Among skeptical essays on fortune tellers, magnetizers, witch hunters, alchemists, and other quacks, Mackay pauses to examine the emergence and spread of urban slang, which he sees as 'one of the popular follies of great cities.' One expression, 'What a shocking bad hat!' made the rounds of London society circa 1820 before fading out a decade or so later. Like many other slangy refrains, its original meaning-that the person at whom it was aimed wore a really awful hat-expanded over time. Eventually the phrase came to be used as a general exclamation of surprise or derision in any number of circumstances. In the opinion of this writer, it begs for a revival!)"
-Robert Gaudi, 2021, p. 43-44
The first time I came across a passage like that, I didn't think much of it. It was unconventional for sure, but it can be excused if done selectively. But after I read something like that for the umpteenth time, I was pulling my hair out. The frequent borrowing of phrases from other books, the lack of original analysis, the unrelated tangents that serve nothing to further the story, the frequent interjections of Gaudi's opinion on phrases or politics, oh my god it's absolutely maddening. I was finding myself saying out loud "GET ON WITH THE F--KING POINT!!!"
This doesn't even mention the frequent diversions taken to explain a historical figure's genitalia or sex drive or really any sex-related fact. Again, this is just Gaudi trying to jingle his keys in front of the reader to try and keep their attention. It's annoying at best, insulting at worst. Here's a great example of what I mean:
"Unfortunately for the Hapsburg dynastic survival, Carlos's most severe deficiency lay in the sexual realm. Married twice to women from aristocratic families of exemplary fertility, he failed to provide the required heir. Urologists now suspect that his habit of premature ejaculation had its causes in a 'posterior hypospadias'-he passed urine and ejaculate through an opening half way down the penile shaft-or that he may have been intersex, with ambiguous genitalia."
-Robert Gaudi, 2021, p. 15
Is all that necessary? Like... really? Let me take a crack at revising this mess.
"Carlos cast the Habsburg Dynasty into turmoil since his inability to reproduce left him without any offspring. With no clear heir to take the throne upon his imminent death, he was forced to choose between Archduke Charles, from the Austrian branch of the Hapsburg lineage, and Duc d'Anjou, a member of the French House of Bourbon and grandson of Louis XIV. War loomed on the horizon, and Carlos' decision could spell devastation for both Spain and Europe as a whole."
This small paragraph condenses an entire PAGE of this book. Hopefully, this helps illustrate just how bloated the writing is throughout the book. It's a shame since I was really looking forward to learning about this war. I guess I'll just have to look somewhere else.
This is not your typical history book, written in a professional manner and organized in a coherent way so as to provide as little confusion as possible for the reader. No. This "popular" history tries to jam as many wacky and zany facts as possible in an attempt to attract the attention of the reader while completely derailing the description of the events at hand. It's as if the author doesn't trust that the war itself will be appealing enough to readers, so he has to jingle his keys to try and get their attention.
Honestly, I got a third of the way into the book, over 100 pages out of roughly 340, and Gaudi had not even gotten to the actual war yet. All that I have received so far is a bloated background leading up to the conflict, a background that, if handled by a more competent author, would take 30-50 pages to establish.
A great example of this is when he is describing one of the world's first economic crashes called the South Sea Bubble. He includes longwinded passages like the following:
"'It was while Law's Plan was at its greatest height of popularity, while people were crowding in thousands to the Rue Quincampoix and ruining themselves with frantic eagerness, that the South Sea directors laid before Parliament their famous plan for paying off the national debt.'
"So begins Charles Mackay's account of the financial disaster that became known as the South Sea Bubble, in his seminal volume Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, one of the first studies of crowd behavior and mass hysteria, published in 1841. (Among skeptical essays on fortune tellers, magnetizers, witch hunters, alchemists, and other quacks, Mackay pauses to examine the emergence and spread of urban slang, which he sees as 'one of the popular follies of great cities.' One expression, 'What a shocking bad hat!' made the rounds of London society circa 1820 before fading out a decade or so later. Like many other slangy refrains, its original meaning-that the person at whom it was aimed wore a really awful hat-expanded over time. Eventually the phrase came to be used as a general exclamation of surprise or derision in any number of circumstances. In the opinion of this writer, it begs for a revival!)"
-Robert Gaudi, 2021, p. 43-44
The first time I came across a passage like that, I didn't think much of it. It was unconventional for sure, but it can be excused if done selectively. But after I read something like that for the umpteenth time, I was pulling my hair out. The frequent borrowing of phrases from other books, the lack of original analysis, the unrelated tangents that serve nothing to further the story, the frequent interjections of Gaudi's opinion on phrases or politics, oh my god it's absolutely maddening. I was finding myself saying out loud "GET ON WITH THE F--KING POINT!!!"
This doesn't even mention the frequent diversions taken to explain a historical figure's genitalia or sex drive or really any sex-related fact. Again, this is just Gaudi trying to jingle his keys in front of the reader to try and keep their attention. It's annoying at best, insulting at worst. Here's a great example of what I mean:
"Unfortunately for the Hapsburg dynastic survival, Carlos's most severe deficiency lay in the sexual realm. Married twice to women from aristocratic families of exemplary fertility, he failed to provide the required heir. Urologists now suspect that his habit of premature ejaculation had its causes in a 'posterior hypospadias'-he passed urine and ejaculate through an opening half way down the penile shaft-or that he may have been intersex, with ambiguous genitalia."
-Robert Gaudi, 2021, p. 15
Is all that necessary? Like... really? Let me take a crack at revising this mess.
"Carlos cast the Habsburg Dynasty into turmoil since his inability to reproduce left him without any offspring. With no clear heir to take the throne upon his imminent death, he was forced to choose between Archduke Charles, from the Austrian branch of the Hapsburg lineage, and Duc d'Anjou, a member of the French House of Bourbon and grandson of Louis XIV. War loomed on the horizon, and Carlos' decision could spell devastation for both Spain and Europe as a whole."
This small paragraph condenses an entire PAGE of this book. Hopefully, this helps illustrate just how bloated the writing is throughout the book. It's a shame since I was really looking forward to learning about this war. I guess I'll just have to look somewhere else.
April 19, 2022
A lively, entertaining account of a war forgotten by almost everyone except history buffs and, in my case students of Florida history. Incidentally, Goodreads has the title wrong- the dates should be "1739-1742" not "1748". The War itself, one of many that wracked Europe in the 18th century, was fought in the Americas and was inconclusive; at its end very little had changed. Gaudi packs his narrative with all sorts of interesting details, e.g., an account of the castrati, the rock stars of the 18th century. His history is well-organized, populated with fascinating characters, and told with verve and wit. Even the general reader, with little interest in the topic, would find it enjoyable.
Now for the nit-picking:
The War of Jenkins' Ear is also beset with some sloppy editing, a phenomenon that seems to be on the rise and was rare up until the past 20 years ago. I noted occasional typos grammatical faux pas, sentence fragments, names of ship not italicized, etc.
What was more concerning was the chronology for the Castillo de San Marcos. The fort was built between 1672 and 1695. According to Gaudi's text, construction began in 1695 and went on for 22 year - the 22 years is correct- but was first besieged in 1689, six years before the text says construction began! A minimally competent editor should have caught this.
A word about the maps:
The end papers feature an excellent modern map of Florida and Georgia in 1735 which is helpful. For some reason, however, Fort Mose is identified as "Fort Moosa." Gaudi always refers to it as "Fort Mose". The text and the map should be in agreement. There is also an inset map of the Savannah River and its tributaries - nice, but has practically nothing to do with the text.
The modern maps of the St. Augustine campaign and siege are excellent.
The failed British assault on Cartagena is the most significant battle of the war. Instead of a modern map, the editors include a contemporary map that is so poorly reproduced as to be useless.
Last of all, a map of the Caribbean would have been most helpful.
Apparently, not enough thought was given to which maps would be of use to the reader.
Now for the nit-picking:
The War of Jenkins' Ear is also beset with some sloppy editing, a phenomenon that seems to be on the rise and was rare up until the past 20 years ago. I noted occasional typos grammatical faux pas, sentence fragments, names of ship not italicized, etc.
What was more concerning was the chronology for the Castillo de San Marcos. The fort was built between 1672 and 1695. According to Gaudi's text, construction began in 1695 and went on for 22 year - the 22 years is correct- but was first besieged in 1689, six years before the text says construction began! A minimally competent editor should have caught this.
A word about the maps:
The end papers feature an excellent modern map of Florida and Georgia in 1735 which is helpful. For some reason, however, Fort Mose is identified as "Fort Moosa." Gaudi always refers to it as "Fort Mose". The text and the map should be in agreement. There is also an inset map of the Savannah River and its tributaries - nice, but has practically nothing to do with the text.
The modern maps of the St. Augustine campaign and siege are excellent.
The failed British assault on Cartagena is the most significant battle of the war. Instead of a modern map, the editors include a contemporary map that is so poorly reproduced as to be useless.
Last of all, a map of the Caribbean would have been most helpful.
Apparently, not enough thought was given to which maps would be of use to the reader.
March 14, 2022
"The War of Jenkins' Ear", how can you not be intrigued with a title like that? Have always heard about it in the course of my studies over the years but never actually knew any of the details.
A relatively minor conflict but with ramifications that went far beyond its outcome. A rapidly declining Spanish empire, a disastrous investment scheme, a Royal Navy coming in to its own but struggling with it's Army counterparts, depredations against merchant shipping (hence Captain Jenkins' missing ear), Americans abroad and at war for the first time (and getting no respect) and a cast of characters that boggle the mind.
Captain Lawrence Washington of Virginia, older brother of George, decorated for bravery in action against the Spanish and earning a citation from Admiral Edward Vernon, whom Washington later named his home after. Vernon daring to challenge the slow monotony and delay of the army so as to avoid the rains and disease in the tropics that so debilitated soldiers and sailors alike. Disease was the great killer of this war.
James Oglethorpe. Frankly, I knew him as the founder of the colony of Georgia but learned he was much more than that. The author describes him as "founder, philanthropist, social reformer, anti-slavery activist, soldier and visionary." Interesting.
Don Blas de Lezo, defender of Cartagena. One-armed, one-legged and missing an eye. That about says it all for this determined and courageous Spaniard. On the other side, Captain Charles Knowles. A competent, controversial naval officer, engineer, royal governor, author of strongly worded pamphlets, scientist and inventor
A relatively minor conflict but with ramifications that went far beyond its outcome. A rapidly declining Spanish empire, a disastrous investment scheme, a Royal Navy coming in to its own but struggling with it's Army counterparts, depredations against merchant shipping (hence Captain Jenkins' missing ear), Americans abroad and at war for the first time (and getting no respect) and a cast of characters that boggle the mind.
Captain Lawrence Washington of Virginia, older brother of George, decorated for bravery in action against the Spanish and earning a citation from Admiral Edward Vernon, whom Washington later named his home after. Vernon daring to challenge the slow monotony and delay of the army so as to avoid the rains and disease in the tropics that so debilitated soldiers and sailors alike. Disease was the great killer of this war.
James Oglethorpe. Frankly, I knew him as the founder of the colony of Georgia but learned he was much more than that. The author describes him as "founder, philanthropist, social reformer, anti-slavery activist, soldier and visionary." Interesting.
Don Blas de Lezo, defender of Cartagena. One-armed, one-legged and missing an eye. That about says it all for this determined and courageous Spaniard. On the other side, Captain Charles Knowles. A competent, controversial naval officer, engineer, royal governor, author of strongly worded pamphlets, scientist and inventor
October 24, 2022
I had heard this phrase "War of Jenkin's Ear" a time or two before, so I was intrigued, given how much I had enjoyed Robert Gaudi's "African Kaiser". This book doesn't quite deliver. Yes, it is a great insight into a narrow chunk of 17th century world history that I know very little about and it is an engaging read. Robert's writing is as good as ever.
He makes a convincing argument that had things gone differently in either Cartagena or in Georgia/Florida in the 1740s, the rest of the "new world" history would have been remarkably changed. Could the American Revolution even occurred if the southern colonies had been taken by the Spanish? How would central and south America fared with a switch from Spanish to British colonialism? Better? Worse?
But there just isn't all that much here as a book - and the wrap-up seems rather abrupt for some parts of the story. I enjoyed it, I learned some things (including why the Washington family selected the name "Vernon" for their home). But it seemed like it would have fit into a larger narrative or needed to pull in some more threads to be sufficient for my taste.
As always, the quality of leadership has tremendous impact on outcomes. As always, serving in the 18th century British military was a horrific experience and poor leadership ensured it would be even more lethal than average.
He makes a convincing argument that had things gone differently in either Cartagena or in Georgia/Florida in the 1740s, the rest of the "new world" history would have been remarkably changed. Could the American Revolution even occurred if the southern colonies had been taken by the Spanish? How would central and south America fared with a switch from Spanish to British colonialism? Better? Worse?
But there just isn't all that much here as a book - and the wrap-up seems rather abrupt for some parts of the story. I enjoyed it, I learned some things (including why the Washington family selected the name "Vernon" for their home). But it seemed like it would have fit into a larger narrative or needed to pull in some more threads to be sufficient for my taste.
As always, the quality of leadership has tremendous impact on outcomes. As always, serving in the 18th century British military was a horrific experience and poor leadership ensured it would be even more lethal than average.
March 14, 2024
Not your dry telling of dates - facts - events. Lots of background on the players and events. No holds bared on the mistakes and errors made as Spain and England waged their on again - off again strife over just about everything, but now primarily the Caribbean and North America. Many of the politicians have always been presented as good leaders with strong ideas and noble ideals. This was far from the truth and only in recent decades have the weaknesses of many been described. Military leaders on the winning side get great coverage and the losers are always maligned. But the truth is that they all had good and bad traits which are only marginally presented. Here is a little side note period with more coverage of the events in enough detail to show how they will influence major events in later years but also shows how these events were more important than we have been led to believe.
March 2, 2022
This got a good review in the Washington Post and so my sister bought it and then she passed it on to me. It is a very readable history about a time in history that I did not know much about. I had heard of the War of Jenkins' Ear (with a name like that, it's hard not to notice) but I knew nothing about it, even the time period which was from 1739-1742. Basically, a war between England and Spain, it was England's last real chance to win the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and South and Central America and bring them under their influence. It didn't succeed but Spain also wasn't able to win the new colony of Georgia and increase their hold in North America. I learned a lot especially about Admiral Vernon and Lawrence Washington who served with him and named his estate -- left to his little brother George -- Mt. Vernon!
March 23, 2022
It’s an accessible yet detailed book about a specific historical event that gives just enough color and background to let you appreciate each moment but not so much to take you out of it. It seems like finding that balance is often the hardest part of writing historical books, and this one knocked it out of the park.
I enjoyed the book immensely in a lot of ways, but if the author uses Goodreads, please hear our plea to hire a new copy editor
I enjoyed the book immensely in a lot of ways, but if the author uses Goodreads, please hear our plea to hire a new copy editor
January 18, 2024
What I liked most about this nonfiction book was learning about the history of a war between Spain and Britain in the West Indies that I did not know about. Some colonial Americans, including the older brother of George Washington were involved. And part of North America was invaded by the Spanish during this war.
This book was well-written and funny with lots of research, but better maps of the battles would have been nice.
This book was well-written and funny with lots of research, but better maps of the battles would have been nice.
January 21, 2022
This is a fascinating read about the people leading naval fights over the New World between England and Spain providing roots of the American Revolution and fun facts including explaining how Mt Vernon was named. Reading this while traveling between St. Augustine and Ruatan is so stimulating. This is a study of human nature as well as what was lacking before public health!
October 7, 2022
Great read
The author tells a great story of world war and the tactics lean earlier age. He does a great job of describing the various stages of the war and the unbelievable misery involved. There were some really surprising nuggets that were new to me but I won't discuss here so I don't spoil the fun for you. Overall this is a great read.
The author tells a great story of world war and the tactics lean earlier age. He does a great job of describing the various stages of the war and the unbelievable misery involved. There were some really surprising nuggets that were new to me but I won't discuss here so I don't spoil the fun for you. Overall this is a great read.
August 9, 2025
This war is a fascinating diamond lost in the rough of history. Far more influential than it's prestige would suggest. Deemed the first true world war with battles in the Americas, Europe, and East Asia, it is also a testament to one of the earliest triumphs of distinctly American arms, both in defeat and victory.
January 14, 2024
Skipped to the end to see what he said about Lawrence Washington and naming Mount Vernon after Edward Vernon and he got some facts wrong so I stopped midway through. Up to that point the narrative was very scattered and not engaging so I don’t think I’ll miss much.
September 4, 2024
It's a lively and readable telling of a minor conflict, but as other reviewers here have pointed out, the snarky tone gets almost unbearable after a while. Gaudi just isn't as funny as he thinks he is, and the forced attempts at humor really drag the book down.
January 5, 2022
A bit tedious in the details, but an interesting bit of history and why countries go to war.
January 6, 2022
Nice book
Want to read
February 22, 2022Seems like a great time period
March 27, 2022
An interesting story about a time in history which is not understood and it provides insight into why Washington’s home was named Mount Vernon. Also teaches about the role chance plays in history.
June 6, 2022
This was an enjoyable and well written account of a mostly forgotten war. The people are well described and the action moves.
May 29, 2023
An enjoyable, if relatively light tale of an interesting sidenote in the conflicts of 18th century Empires.
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