Arms and Armour

Battle of Cartagena de Indias

The Battle of Cartagena de Indias (Spanish: Sitio de Cartagena de Indias, lit. 'Siege of Cartagena de Indias') took place during the 1739 to 1748 War of Jenkins' Ear between Spain and Great Britain. The result of long-standing commercial tensions, the war was primarily fought in the Caribbean; the British tried to capture key Spanish ports in the region, including Porto Bello and Chagres in Panama, Havana, and Cartagena de Indias in present-day Colombia. Two previous naval attacks in 1740 had failed and for the third attempt in March 1741, the British had opted for a combined naval and land campaign. The British were initially successful; destroying the chain barrier across the narrow channel of Boca Chica and capturing the Fort San Luis. However a night assault on Fort San Lazaro failed and the British were forced to retreat, having suffered over 9,500–11,500 fatalities, in great part to disease, and considerable material losses. Some units suffered death rates of 80 to 90 percent. The victory demonstrated Spain's ability to defend its position and largely ended military operations in this area. Both countries shifted their focus to the wider European War of the Austrian Succession and hostilities ended with the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸Battle of the Little Bighorn
• ▸Ben Lomond (Tasmania)
• ▸Battle of Mohi

Uncatalogued shelf

Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.