page_title: Cartagena, Colombia
section_title: 1741 attack
hierarchical_section_title: Cartagena, Colombia / History / Viceregal era: 1717–1811 / 1741 attack
caption_attribution_description: English: View of the engagement during the battle of Cartagena de Indias
context_page_description: The city of Cartagena, known in the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias, is a city and major port on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region. Founded in 1533, city's strategic location between the Magdalena and Sinú Rivers gave it easy access to the interior of New Granada and made it a main port for trade between Spain and its overseas empire, establishing its importance by the early 1540s. During the colonial era it was a key port for the export of Peruvian silver to Spain and for the import of enslaved Africans under the asiento system. It was defensible against pirate attacks in the Caribbean.
  Modern Cartagena is the capital of the Bolívar Department, and had a population of 1,028,736, according to the 2018 census, making it the second-largest city in the region, after Barranquilla, and the fifth-largest city in Colombia. The urban area of Cartagena is also the fifth-largest urban area in the country. Economic activities include the maritime and petrochemicals industries, as well as tourism.
context_section_description: Starting in mid-April 1741, the city endured a siege by a large English armada under the command of Admiral Edward Vernon. The engagement, referred to as Battle of Cartagena de Indias, was part of the larger War of Jenkins' Ear. The English armada included 50 warships, 130 transport ships, and 25,600 men, including 2,000 North American colonial infantry. The Spanish defense was under the command of Sebastián de Eslava and Don Blas de Lezo. The British were able to take the Castillo de San Luis at Bocachica and land marines on the island of Tierrabomba and Manzanillo. The North Americans then took La Popa hill.
  Following a failed attack on San Felipe Barajas on April 20, 1741, which left 800 British dead and another 1,000 taken prisoner, Vernon lifted the siege. By that time he had many sick men from tropical diseases. An interesting footnote to the battle was the inclusion of George Washington's half brother, Lawrence Washington, amongst the British colonial troops. Lawrence later named his Mount Vernon estate in honor of his commander.
caption: Siege of Cartagena de Indias of 1741, where Spanish Empire forces of 2,800 men, commanded by Blas de Lezo, defeated the British fleet and armies of 23,600 soldiers under Admiral Edward Vernon. The failed siege was decisive for the victory of the War of Jenkins' Ear, in which the British wanted to take over various lands of Spanish America.[34]
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