The War of Jenkins' Ear : the forgotten struggle for North and South America, 1739-1742 / Robert Gaudi.

By:

Gaudi, Robert [author.]

Material type: Text

TextPublisher: New York, NY : Pegasus Books, 2021Edition: First Pegasus Books cloth editionDescription: xix, 364 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9781643138190 :
1643138197 :

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

940.2/53 23/eng/20211025

LOC classification:

DA67 .G38 2021

Summary: "In the early 18th century, the British and Spanish Empires were fighting for economic supremacy in the Americas. Tensions between the two powers were high, and wars blossomed like violent flowers for nearly a hundred years, from the War of Spanish Succession (sometimes known as Queen Anne's War in the Americas), culminating in the War of Jenkins' Ear. This war would lay the groundwork for the French and Indian War and, eventually, the War of the American Revolution. The War of Jenkins' Ear was a world war in the truest sense, engaging the major European powers on battlefields ranging from Europe to the Americas to the Asian subcontinent. In this definitive work of history--the only single comprehensive volume on the subject--The War of Jenkins' Ear explores the war that established the future of two entire continents"-- Provided by publisher.

Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Book	Olean Public Library Adult Non-Fiction	Nonfiction	940.253 G (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		3190800232643

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Filled with unforgettable characters and maritime adventure, the incredible story of a forgotten war that shaped the fate of the United States--and the entire Western Hemisphere.

In the early 18th century, the British and Spanish Empires were fighting for economic supremacy in the Americas. Tensions between the two powers were high, and wars blossomed like violent flowers for nearly a hundred years, from the War of Spanish Succession (sometimes known as Queen Anne's War in the Americas), culminating in the War of Jenkins' Ear.

This war would lay the groundwork for the French and Indian War and, eventually, the War of the American Revolution. The War of Jenkins' Ear was a world war in the truest sense, engaging the major European powers on battlefields ranging from Europe to the Americas to the Asian subcontinent.

Yet the conflict that would eventually become known as the War of Jenkins' Ear--a moniker coined by the 19th century historian Thomas Carlyle more than a century later--is barely known to us today. Yet it resulted in the invasion of Georgia and even involved members of George Washington's own family. It would cost fifty-thousand lives, millions in treasure, and over six hundred ships.

With vivid prose, Robert Gaudi takes the reader from the brackish waters of the Chesapeake Bay to the rocky shores of Tierra del Fuego. We travel around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Pacific to the Philippines and the Cantonese coast, with stops in Cartagena, Panama, and beyond. Yet even though it happened decades before American independence, The War of Jenkins' Ear reveals that this was truly an American war; a hard-fought, costly struggle that determined the fate of the Americas, and in which, for the first time, American armies participated.

In this definitive work of history--the only single comprehensive volume on the subject-- T he War of Jenkins' Ear explores the war that established the future of two entire continents.

"In the early 18th century, the British and Spanish Empires were fighting for economic supremacy in the Americas. Tensions between the two powers were high, and wars blossomed like violent flowers for nearly a hundred years, from the War of Spanish Succession (sometimes known as Queen Anne's War in the Americas), culminating in the War of Jenkins' Ear. This war would lay the groundwork for the French and Indian War and, eventually, the War of the American Revolution. The War of Jenkins' Ear was a world war in the truest sense, engaging the major European powers on battlefields ranging from Europe to the Americas to the Asian subcontinent. In this definitive work of history--the only single comprehensive volume on the subject--The War of Jenkins' Ear explores the war that established the future of two entire continents"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 345-350) and index.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Prologue: At the Georgetown Flea (p. xiii)
1 The Incident (p. 1)
2 Deep Background (p. 12)
3 The Road to Jenkins Ear (p. 60)
4 Admiral Vernon (p. 116)
5 The Redoubtable Oglethorpe (p. 157)
6 Cartagena de Indias (p. 199)
7 Disaster (p. 263)
8 The Invasion of Georgia (p. 281)
9 Santiago, Panama & Ruatan (p. 300)
10 Around the World (p. 318)
Epilogue: The End of the Story (p. 331)
Bibliography (p. 345)
Index (p. 351)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Historian Gaudi (African Kaiser) delivers an action-packed account of a largely forgotten 18th-century conflict between Britain and Spain over trade in the Americas. Gaudi documents decades of rising tensions between the two countries and describes how the Spanish guarda costa abused its right to stop and search British merchant ships in the West Indies for contraband. In 1731, Spanish privateer Juan de León Fandiño cut off British captain Robert Jenkins's ear during a search of his trading brig Rebecca; Jenkins returned to England with his severed ear "preserved in a bottle" and presented it to King George II. The incident helped spark "arguably the first 'world war' known to history," according to Gaudi. He spotlights Adm. Edward Vernon, whose capture of Porto Bello in Panama launched the war in 1739; Gen. James Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia, who led an ill-fated invasion of Spanish Florida; and George Washington's half brother Lawrence Washington, who fought under Admiral Vernon and named Mt. Vernon after him. Gaudi's extensively researched narrative clarifies the historical context without sacrificing drama and color, though it's short on analysis. Still, early American history buffs will relish this comprehensive treatment of an obscure yet consequential episode. (Nov.)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Robert Gaudi is a writer, historian and journalist. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Washington Examiner, Harper's, Landscape Architecture Magazine, and Tri-Quarterly, among other publications. He has variously worked for the National Endowment for the Arts, sold tickets at a movie theater, tended bar and managed a classic car restoration shop. He graduated from the Univeristy of Virginia in Charlottesville and attended the University of Southern California's Graduate Film School and The University of Iowa's Writers Workshop. He lives with his children in Washington D.C.