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The Convention of Pardo, also known as the Treaty of Pardo or Convention of El Pardo, was a 1739 agreement between
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
. It sought to resolve trade issues between the two countries and agree boundaries between
Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...
and the English colony of Georgia. The Convention established a Boundary Commission to set borders between Georgia and Florida, while Spain provided compensation of £95,000 for confiscated British property. In return, the British South Sea Company would pay £68,000 to settle Spanish claims for profits due on the '' Asiento de Negros''. Despite being owned by the British government, it refused to do so; both countries rejected the Convention, leading to the outbreak of the
War of Jenkins Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear, or , was a conflict lasting from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and the Spanish Empire. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It is con ...
on 23 October 1739.


Background

In the 18th century, wars were often fought over commercial issues, due to the then dominant economic theory of
mercantilism Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce a ...
. This viewed trade as a finite resource, so if one country increased its share, it must be at the expense of others. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht ending the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phi ...
included commercial provisions allowing Britain to trade directly with New Spain. They included the '' Asiento de Negros'', a monopoly to supply 5,000 slaves a year to its colonies in the Americas and the ''Navio de Permiso'', permitting British ships to sell 1,000 tons of goods in Porto Bello and
Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
. However, these turned out to be relatively unprofitable and have been described as a 'commercial illusion'; between 1717 to 1733, the British sent only eight ships to the Americas. The real profits came from smuggled goods that evaded customs duties, with demand from Spanish colonists creating a large
black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the ...
. Accepting it could not be stopped, the Spanish authorities used it as an informal instrument of policy. During the 1727 to 1729 Anglo-Spanish War, French ships carrying contraband were let through, while British ships were stopped. The British accepted the occasional confiscation of ships and goods as part of the cost of business but were concerned by the prospect of being replaced by the French. These were heightened by the 1733
Pacte de Famille The ''Pacte de Famille'' (, ''Family Compact''; es, Pacto de Familia) is one of three separate, but similar alliances between the Bourbon kings of France and Spain. As part of the settlement of the War of the Spanish Succession that brought ...
between
Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
and his uncle
Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...
, indicating greater alignment between France and Spain. The 1729 Treaty of Seville allowed the Spanish to board British vessels trading with New Spain; in 1731, Robert Jenkins, captain of the ''Rebecca'', claimed a coast guard officer severed his ear. The legend this was later exhibited to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
has no basis in fact and the incident forgotten with the easing of restrictions in 1732. The establishment of the British colony of Georgia in early 1733 increased tension, since it appeared to threaten
Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...
, vital for protecting trade between mainland Spain and its colonies. A second round of 'depredations' in 1738 led to demands for compensation, British newsletters and pamphlets presenting them as inspired by France. This placed political pressure on
Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lea ...
, the long-serving British
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
, to reach a satisfactory deal.


Negotiations

Delegates from both sides met at the
El Pardo El Pardo is a ward ('' barrio'') of Madrid belonging to the district of Fuencarral-El Pardo. As of 2008 its population was of 3,656. History The ward was first mentioned in 1405 and in 1950 was an autonomous municipality of the Community of Mad ...
palace in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
from late 1738. By January 1739, they had drawn up a basic agreement. The British had initially demanded £200,000 in compensation but ultimately accepted just £95,000. Spain originally demanded unlimited rights to search vessels, but this was eventually restricted to those in Spanish waters. In return, the British South Sea Company would pay Philip V of Spain £68,000 to settle his share of proceeds from the '' Asiento de Negros'' and a Boundary Commission established to settle borders between Georgia and Florida. The chief British negotiator Sir
Benjamin Keene Sir Benjamin Keene (1697–1757) was a British diplomat, who was British Ambassador to Spain from 1729 to 1739, then again from 1748 until his death in Madrid in December 1757. He has been described as "by far the most prominent British agent in ...
felt this was a good deal and signed on 14 January.


Aftermath

The Convention was extremely unpopular in London. Many merchant captains were unhappy that the British compensation claim had been more than halved, the South Sea Company being concerned by the agreement allowing the Spanish limited rights to search British ships. Within months, the situation had turned sharply towards war, and the Convention grew increasingly fragile. Opponents published a list of all those who voted in favour of the Convention, including details of their income from government positions. When the South Sea Company refused to pay the agreed £68,000,
Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...
rescinded the ''asiento de Negros''. On 20 July 1739, the Admiralty sent a naval force under Admiral Vernon to the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Grea ...
, reaching
Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbu ...
in early October. Three British ships attacked La Guaira, principal port of the Province of Venezuela on 22 October; Britain formally declared war the next day, beginning the
War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear, or , was a conflict lasting from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and the Spanish Empire. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It is co ...
. Sir Benjamin Keene was closely associated with Walpole and after his fall, there was some discussion of impeaching him for negotiating the Convention. The war later become submerged into the wider
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...
. The issues that had started the war were largely ignored during the Congress of Breda and the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle that ended it in 1748, as they were no longer priorities for the two sides. Some issues were eventually resolved in the 1750 Treaty of Madrid, but illegal British trade with the Spanish colonies continued to flourish. The Spanish Empire in the Caribbean remained intact and victorious despite several English attempts to seize some of its heavily defended and fortified colonies. Spain would later use its trading routes and resources to help the rebels' cause in the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. The issue resurfaced in the dispute between the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
and Spain known as the
West Florida Controversy The West Florida Controversy included two border disputes that involved Spain and the United States in relation to the region known as West Florida over a period of 37 years. The first dispute commenced immediately after Spain received the coloni ...
; it was initially resolved by
Pinckney's Treaty Pinckney's Treaty, also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo or the Treaty of Madrid, was signed on October 27, 1795 by the United States and Spain. It defined the border between the United States and Spanish Florida, and guaranteed the United S ...
in 1796, then settled when Spanish Florida was relinquished in the 1819 Adams-Onis Treaty.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * *
Simms, Brendan Brendan Peter Simms (born 1967, Dublin) is a Professor of the history of international relations in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. Early life Brendan Simms is the son of Anngret and David Sim ...
. ''Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire''. Penguin Books, 2008. * {{cite book , last1=Woodfine , first1=Philip , title=Britannia's Glories: The Walpole Ministry and the 1739 War with Spain , date=1998 , publisher=Royal Historical Society , isbn=978-0861932306 El Pardo (1739) War of Jenkins' Ear 1739 treaties El Pardo (1739) 1739 in Great Britain 1739 in Spain