The date slip to 1739 leads into the War of Jenkins' Ear rather than the River Plate. The panel describes the declared dispute over Spanish restrictions and British access to enslaved-person trading in Spanish America as only part of the conflict. British merchants also wanted entry to the much more lucrative Spanish American silver trade. Enslaved people were sold as the legal or semi-legal foothold through which other commerce could be pursued. The aside is a reminder that a colorful war name can obscure coercive imperial economics and the central place of slavery in Atlantic competition.
Notable Point · 35:46-38:20
The War of Jenkins' Ear, slave trading, and Spanish American silver
A date slip opens a concise explanation of how slave trading and access to Spanish American silver sat behind the War of Jenkins' Ear.