[Anglo-Spanish Wars]: [War of Jenkins' Ear]:

$7,500 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

A PLAN FOR ATTACKING THE SPANISH SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST INDIES IN THE NORTH AND SOUTH SEAS IN CASE OF A WAR [manuscript title]. An intriguing, unsigned early 18th-century manuscript, outlining a plan of attack against all Spanish possessions in the Americas with an army of soldiers and sailors raised in the British colonies in North America and the Caribbean. Half strategic document and half sales pitch, this plan describes the selection of officers, recruitment of soldiers in America, timelines and troop strength for assaults on Portobelo, Cartagena, Havana, Lima, and Vera Cruz, and, perhaps most importantly, the vast material wealth to be found in the Spanish colonies. It is unclear to what degree this document represents an official plan, or whether it was devised by a military authority, a government minister, or perhaps a deeply invested merchant.Spain's possessions in the New World were long the subject of British envy. The current plan likely dates from the years either immediately preceding or following the Anglo-Spanish War of 1727–29, and certainly prior to the War of Jenkins' Ear, during which a strategy quite similar to this was employed. This unknown strategist's scheme is optimistic, presuming that a relatively small force of twenty ships and about 12,000 men would be sufficient for the endeavor."In order to this undertaking," the document begins, "it will be necessary for Officers to be Appointed and dispatched to the several Colonies his Majesty is Posses'd o

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