War of Jenkins' Ear: A British naval force arrived at the settlement of Portobello in the Spanish Main, capturing it the next day.

The War of Jenkins' Ear (1739-1748) was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain. Most of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. The conflict is considered to be related to the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748).

The Battle of Porto Bello, or the Battle of Portobello, was a 1739 battle between a British naval force aiming to capture the settlement of Portobelo in Panama, and its Spanish defenders. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, in the early stages of the war sometimes known as the War of Jenkins' Ear. It resulted in a popularly acclaimed British victory.

Portobelo is a historic port and corregimiento in Portobelo District, Colón Province, Panama. Located on the northern part of the Isthmus of Panama, it is 32 km (20 mi) northeast of the modern port of Colón now at the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It has a population of 4,559 as of 2010, and functions as the seat of Portobelo District.

During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Spanish Main comprised the parts of the Spanish Empire that were on the mainland of the Americas and had coastlines on the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico. The term was used by English speakers to distinguish those regions from the numerous islands Spain controlled in the Caribbean, which were known as the Spanish West Indies.