siege, early modern

Blockade of Porto Bello

Name: Blockade of Porto Bello
Location: Portobelo, Panama

Blockade of Porto Bello was a siege conducted in 1726 at Portobelo, in what is now Panama; it lasted about 2 years. It was part of the Anglo-Spanish War of 1727–1729, which ran from 1727 to 1729. The recorded result: Spanish victory; Spanish treasure fleet evades blockade. Recorded strength: 11 ships of line; 1 frigate; 2 sloops of war; 1 snow; 4,750 men against 2,000 troops.

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View across entrance to Porto Bello harbour, Panama. Looking NW from Fort Santiago.. Lobsterthermidor at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Fought1726lasted about 2 years

WherePortobelo, Panama9.554N, 79.672W

OutcomeSpanish victory; Spanish treasure fleet evades blockade.

BelligerentsKingdom of Great BritainagainstSpain

Part ofAnglo-Spanish War of 1727–17291727 to 1729

Record

Date	1726 (year precision) to 1728
Place	Portobelo, Panama 9.554N, 79.672W
Kind	Siege, early modern
Strength	11 ships of line; 1 frigate; 2 sloops of war; 1 snow; 4,750 men	2,000 troops
Casualties and losses	4,000+ dead; 1 ship wrecked
Commanders	Francis Hosier Edward St Lo Edward Hopson	Antonio de Gaztañeta Gregorio Guazo Juan de Andía

The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Battle of Mata Asnillos 1671, 64 km S
Battle of Aguadulce 1901, 174 km SW
Wager's Action 1708, 445 km E
Battle of Cartagena de Indias 1741, 462 km E
Battle of Cartagena de Indias 1586, 463 km E

In the same war

After: Thirteenth Siege of Gibraltar 11 February 1727

Elsewhere in 1726

Battle of Cailaco Timor-Leste
Battle of Mount Leigong China

Blockade of Porto Bello is one of 2,009 engagements of the 18th century in the atlas and one of 8 in present-day Panama.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q4927235, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Blockade of Porto Bello, revision 1370604638, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.