OF
THE FORTY-SIXTH,
OR THE
SOUTH DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT;
ORIGINALLY NUMBERED
THE FIFTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.
1739
The claim of the Spanish Government to the right of search, and the aggressions committed by that power on the commerce of Great Britain, in the West Indies, by the guarda-costas, and other ships acting by authority of the King of Spain, contrary to the existing treaties, led to a convention between the two Crowns, which was concluded on the 14th of January, 1739. This convention stipulated, that compensation should be made by Spain to the English Government, in reparation for the hostilities committed on the British subjects in the American seas. The Court of Madrid, however, violated the convention, and ultimately war was proclaimed against Spain on the 23rd of October, 1739.