Anglo-Spanish War (1727–1729)
Anglo-Spanish War | |||||||
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Part of the Anglo-Spanish wars | |||||||
Contemporary representation of the siege of Gibraltar in 1727 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Great Britain | Spain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
George I Robert Walpole |
Juan Guillermo Ripperdá |
The Anglo-Spanish War of 1727–1729 was a
Background
During the
After the Treaty of Vienna in 1725, Spain had the support of Austria and thought the time to be right to try to recapture Gibraltar. In reaction, Britain signed the Treaty of Hanover with France and Prussia.
Some historians put the beginning of the war in 1726, the year in which the Anglo-Spanish relation was already very tense. A British fleet was sent to the Spanish West Indies to disturb Spanish shipping without actually starting a war.
Action
Porto Bello
Britain had tried to use its naval power early in the dispute, by blockading Porto Bello in Panama but the attempt proved a disaster, in which 4,000 men were lost to disease. The main objective of the blockade had been to prevent Spanish galleons leaving and sailing for Spain, but the blockade failed to accomplish this - and eventually withdrew.
Siege of Gibraltar
On 11 February 1727 Spain, under command of the
After a four-month siege, with several unsuccessful and costly attempts, Spanish troops gave up and retired on 12 June. Spain had lost over 1,400 men while the British had suffered around 300 casualties.
The Spanish had expected material help from the Austrians promised under the Treaty of Vienna, but they received little. They had been outmaneuvered by British diplomats, who had concluded a secret deal with the Austrians to prevent them intervening.
Peace
No more hostilities took place and a truce was declared in February 1728, with a preliminary agreement of issues at the March
References
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2017) ) |
External links
- The diary of a soldier in the garrison of Gibraltar under siege, 1727
- ASEDIO DE GIBRALTAR (1727)
- La guerra de 1726-1727. La campaña de las Indias