‘Taking of Porto Bello by Adml: Vernon Novr: 22d. 1739’ (line engraving, coloured)

‘Taking of Porto Bello by Adml: Vernon Novr: 22d. 1739’. Coloured line engraving by W H Toms after Samuel Scott, publisher unknown, 23 March 1740. In 1731 the Spanish Coast Guard in the Caribbean boarded and searched the British merchant ship of Captain Robert Jenkins. During the violent search Jenkins' ear was severed. He took the matter to Parliament and it was said that he showed them the appendage in order to highlight this vicious attack upon British liberties. Political pressure eventually led the Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, to declare war against Spain on 19 October 1739. The subsequent War of Jenkins' Ear (1739-1741) had few successes for the British, but this medallion commemorates one small victory, Admiral Edward Vernon's attack on Porto Bello in Panama. Based in Jamaica, Vernon had somewhat rashly boasted that he could take Porto Bello with only six ships. On 22 November he succeeded in doing just that, but with insufficient forces to consolidate his position there, was obliged to destroy the fortifications and the port, and withdraw to Jamaica. Nevertheless, the victory sparked a wave of jingoism at home, raising unrealistic optimism as to what might be achieved in the Caribbean. The capture of Porto Bello elevated Admiral Vernon to a national hero. His victory there was followed closely by the public debut of the patriotic song, 'Rule, Britannia!' and Vernon was granted the freedom of London.