"All the Seas of the World: The First Global Naval War" Topic

…, 1739–1748: Volume 1, 1739–1745

"The War of Jenkin's Ear was fundamentally about silver. Silver was the only commodity that Asians would exchange with Europeans for their spices, tea, porcelain, and silk, but most of the world's silver was produced in Spanish America. Anyone who wished to trade in the Far East first had to trade with Spanish America. But Spain, like Britain, had a closed imperial trading system, with only limited legitimate opportunities for trade by British merchants. Attempts by Spanish authorities to prevent ‘smuggling' were highly resented in Britain, especially since Spain was regarded as a country of weak, incompetent cowards. When an agreement to settle the resulting disputes foundered in 1739, Great Britain declared war on Spain…"

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Armand