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Battle of La Guaira | |||||||
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Part of the War of Jenkins' Ear | |||||||
Engraving of the attack by the British fleet on La Guayra (1743) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Great Britain | Spain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Charles Knowles Chaloner Ogle |
Gabriel de Zuloaga Mateo Gual José de Iturriaga | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Land: 2,400 Sea: 8 ships of line 9 frigates, bomb vessels and fireships, 2 transports[1] | 1,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
~600 killed ~1,300 total[1] | 300 killed or wounded |
The Battle of La Guaira or La Guayra, took place on 2 March 1743 in the Caribbean, off the coast of La Guaira, present day Venezuela. La Guaira was a port of the Royal Gipuzkoan Company of Caracas, whose ships had rendered great assistance to the Spanish navy during War of Jenkins' Ear in carrying troops, arms, stores and ammunition from Spain to her colonies, and its destruction would be a severe blow both to the Company and the Spanish Government. A British expeditionary fleet under Sir Charles Knowles was defeated, and the expedition ended in failure. 600 men were killed, among whom was the captain of HMS Burford, and many of the ships were badly damaged or lost. Knowles was therefore unable to proceed to Puerto Cabello until he had refitted.[2]