Battle of Porto Bello (1739)

E104202

battle naval battle

The Battle of Porto Bello (1739) was a notable early British naval victory against Spain during the War of Jenkins’ Ear, in which Admiral Edward Vernon captured the Spanish colonial port of Portobelo in present-day Panama.

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All labels observed (4)

Label	Occurrences
Battle of Porto Bello	4
Battle of Porto Bello (1739) canonical	3
Battle of Portobelo (1739)	1
British Caribbean campaign of 1739–1740	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T884103 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Battle of Porto Bello (1739)
Context triple: [War of Jenkins' Ear, hasPart, Battle of Porto Bello (1739)]

A. Battle of Nassau
The Battle of Nassau was a 1776 American Revolutionary War amphibious assault in the Bahamas, notable as one of the first major naval operations of the fledgling United States.
B. Battle of Lagos (1693)
The Battle of Lagos (1693) was a major naval engagement in which a French fleet decisively defeated an Anglo-Dutch convoy off the Portuguese coast during the Nine Years' War.
C. Siege of Havana (1762)
The Siege of Havana (1762) was a pivotal British amphibious assault and capture of the Spanish colonial capital of Cuba, significantly impacting the balance of power in the Caribbean during the Seven Years' War.
D. Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal (1710) was a pivotal British victory in North America during Queen Anne’s War that captured the French stronghold of Port Royal in Acadia, leading to British control of what became Nova Scotia.
E. Siege of Santiago
The Siege of Santiago was a decisive 1898 U.S. campaign in Cuba that trapped and forced the surrender of Spanish forces, effectively ending major combat in the Spanish–American War.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Battle of Porto Bello (1739)
Target entity description: The Battle of Porto Bello (1739) was a notable early British naval victory against Spain during the War of Jenkins’ Ear, in which Admiral Edward Vernon captured the Spanish colonial port of Portobelo in present-day Panama.

A. Battle of Nassau
The Battle of Nassau was a 1776 American Revolutionary War amphibious assault in the Bahamas, notable as one of the first major naval operations of the fledgling United States.
B. Battle of Lagos (1693)
The Battle of Lagos (1693) was a major naval engagement in which a French fleet decisively defeated an Anglo-Dutch convoy off the Portuguese coast during the Nine Years' War.
C. Siege of Havana (1762)
The Siege of Havana (1762) was a pivotal British amphibious assault and capture of the Spanish colonial capital of Cuba, significantly impacting the balance of power in the Caribbean during the Seven Years' War.
D. Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal (1710) was a pivotal British victory in North America during Queen Anne’s War that captured the French stronghold of Port Royal in Acadia, leading to British control of what became Nova Scotia.
E. Siege of Santiago
The Siege of Santiago was a decisive 1898 U.S. campaign in Cuba that trapped and forced the surrender of Spanish forces, effectively ending major combat in the Spanish–American War.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	battle ⓘ naval battle ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Battle of Portobelo (1739) ⓘ linked to: Battle of Porto Bello (1739)
belligerent	Great Britain ⓘ Kingdom of Great Britain ⓘ Spain ⓘ Spanish Empire ⓘ
captured	Portobelo ⓘ
casualtiesAndLosses	Spanish ships captured or destroyed ⓘ heavy Spanish casualties ⓘ light British casualties ⓘ
combatantCommanderFor	Don Francisco Javier de la Vega – Spain ⓘ linked to: Don Francisco Javier de la Vega Edward Vernon – Great Britain ⓘ
commander	Don Francisco Javier de la Vega ⓘ Edward Vernon ⓘ
commemoratedBy	British medals and prints ⓘ songs and popular celebrations in Britain ⓘ
conflictIn	War of Jenkins’ Ear ⓘ linked to: War of Jenkins' Ear
countryAtTimeOfBattle	Viceroyalty of New Granada ⓘ
date	1739-11-20 ⓘ
endDate	1739-11-22 ⓘ
era	18th century ⓘ
followedBy	British attacks on Cartagena de Indias ⓘ
inspired	Portobello in Edinburgh ⓘ celebrations and commemorations in Britain ⓘ place names such as Portobello Road in London ⓘ
involved	Royal Navy ⓘ linked to: English navy Spanish colonial forces ⓘ
location	Panama ⓘ Portobelo ⓘ Spanish Main ⓘ linked to: Spanish West Indies
modernLocation	Panama ⓘ
notableFor	boosting British public morale ⓘ early British success in the War of Jenkins’ Ear ⓘ enhancing the reputation of Admiral Edward Vernon ⓘ
objective	capture of Portobelo ⓘ disruption of Spanish colonial trade ⓘ
partOf	Anglo-Spanish War (1739–1748) ⓘ
precededBy	rising tensions between Britain and Spain over trade and maritime rights ⓘ
relatedTo	War of the Austrian Succession ⓘ
result	British victory ⓘ
startDate	1739-11-20 ⓘ
strategicImportance	control of a key Spanish Caribbean port ⓘ impact on Spanish treasure and trade routes ⓘ
strength	6 British ships of the line ⓘ Spanish coastal fortifications ⓘ Spanish garrison ⓘ
theatre	Caribbean Sea ⓘ West Indies ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (9)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

War of Jenkins' Ear → hasPart → Battle of Porto Bello (1739) ⓘ

Edward Vernon → militaryConflict → Battle of Porto Bello ⓘ

subject linked to: Admiral Edward Vernon