The Anglo-Spanish War of 1727–1729 was a
limited war that took place between
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
and
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
during the late 1720s, and consisted of a failed Spanish
attempt to capture Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
and an unsuccessful British
Blockade of Porto Bello with a high British death toll. It eventually ended with a return to the previous
status quo ante bellum following the
Treaty of Seville.
Background
During the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
, Spain lost
Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
to an Anglo-Dutch fleet and when the war finished in 1714, Spain was forced to accept the loss of Gibraltar in the
Treaty of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...
, but it was a long-term goal of Spain to recover both Gibraltar and the island of
Menorca from the British.
After the
Treaty of Vienna in 1725, Spain had the support of
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and thought the time to be right to try to recapture Gibraltar. In reaction, Britain signed the
Treaty of Hanover with
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
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
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
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
Marquis de las Torres and supervision of Chief Engineer of the Spanish Royal Engineer Corps
Marquis of Verboom, laid siege to the city (''Thirteenth Siege of Gibraltar''). Depending on the sources, Spanish troops were between 12,000 and 25,000. British defenders were 1,500 at the beginning of the siege, increasing up to about 5,000 by troops brought from overseas by a fleet commanded by
Charles Wager.
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
Convention of El Pardo and the
Congress of Soissons. The final peace, that confirmed the status-quo, was concluded in the 1729
Treaty of Seville.
Many of the outstanding issues between the two states had not been resolved, and a decade later the
War of Jenkins' Ear broke out between them. Britain emerged from the conflict by forming a very strong
alliance with Austria, that lasted until 1756.
References
External links
The diary of a soldier in the garrison of Gibraltar under siege, 1727
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anglo-Spanish War (1727-29)
Conflicts in 1727
Conflicts in 1728
Conflicts in 1729
Spanish 1727
Wars involving Spain
Military history of Gibraltar
1720s in Spain
1720s in Great Britain
Spain–United Kingdom military relations