Silver from South America sustained trade with China, making the route strategically more valuable than the whalers Porter attacked in the Pacific. Royal Navy captains and merchant contacts circulated details about Essex, while Porter's crew openly discussed plans and ship characteristics in ports. One account has a merchant overhearing the Americans in a pub, verifying the ship's armament, and passing the information to a British frigate captain over dinner. That precise story cannot be substantiated and may have grown through sailors' gossip. It is treated as a plausible illustration of poor operational security, with its details left uncertain.
Chapter · 28:28-41:22
Silver routes exposed Porter's poor operational security
British protection of South American silver routes combined with Porter's indiscretion to reveal Essex's movements, armament, and intentions.