The Catholic Defender: The Catholic Church during the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–1748)

During the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–1748), the Catholic Church served as a central geopolitical, ideological, and strategic instrument for the Spanish Empire in its conflict against Protestant Great Britain. While the conflict was triggered by commercial disputes and smuggling in the Caribbean, it was heavily framed on both sides as a religious crusade. 

The role and impact of the Catholic Church during this war can be broken down into several distinct areas:

Ideological Warfare: The "Black Legend" vs. Holy Crusade

The war was intensely amplified by sectarian propaganda that leveraged the religious divide between the two empires

British Anti-Catholicism: In Great Britain and its American colonies, politicians and the press used Captain Robert Jenkins' severed ear to stoke historical anti-Catholic sentiment. They framed the Spanish as cruel, tyrannical, and driven by "Popish" superstition, leaning heavily on the historic Spanish Inquisition and the "Black Legend" to unify public backing for the war. 

Spanish Divine Right: For Spain, defending its territories was viewed as a holy duty to protect Catholic lands from heretical Anglo-Protestant expansion. The Spanish crown relied on the Church to preach obedience, boost morale, and frame the defense of major ports like Havana and Cartagena de Indias as a defense of the Catholic faith. 

Religious Sanctuary as a Weapon: Fort Mose

The most direct military application of Catholicism during the conflict occurred on the border between British Georgia and Spanish Florida.

The Sanctuary Policy: For decades, the Spanish Crown utilized a religious edict offering freedom to enslaved people escaping from British colonies, provided they converted to Catholicism and pledged allegiance to the Spanish

The Black Militia: This policy peaked in effectiveness right before and during the War of Jenkins' Ear. Escaped slaves formed the first legally sanctioned free Black settlement in North America at Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose (Fort Mose), just north of St. Augustine. 

 During General James Oglethorpe’s British siege of St. Augustine in 1740, the Catholic Black militia of Fort Mose played a crucial role in defeating British forces at the Battle of Fort Mose, helping repel the British invasion of Florida. 

 Imperial Finance and Crown Controls

While the Church supported the war effort ideologically, the conflict also highlighted growing financial friction between Church and State.

The Spanish Empire faced immense economic strain trying to defend its vast maritime trade routes. The crown frequently looked to the wealthy Catholic Church and various monastic orders in the New World to help subsidize military logistics, defense works, and fortifications.

 Simultaneously, the Bourbon monarchy in Spain was embracing "regalism"—a political philosophy aimed at expanding secular control over ecclesiastical wealth. The financial strains of the war accelerated royal efforts to tax or reclaim church-held properties to generate state revenue.

Missionaries as Border Defenders

In the frontier regions of the Americas (such as the shifting borders of Florida, Georgia, and the Southwest), Catholic missionary orders acted as de facto territorial agents. Missions served as physical defensive outposts designed to pacify and convert Indigenous populations, binding them to the Spanish crown as allies against British territorial advances

 the alliances between Catholic missionaries and Indigenous groups shaped colonial history, diplomacy, and cultural survival.

Major Missionary Alliances

Jesuits in New France: French Jesuits built close ties with the Huron (Wyandot) and Algonquin peoples. They traded military and political support for access to communities and religious conversion.

• Franciscans in the Southwest: Spanish Franciscans worked with Pueblo communities in New Mexico. These groups often formed strategic bonds to defend against rival regional groups like the Apache.

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• Jesuit Reductions in Paraguay: Jesuits established self-governing settlements with the Guarani people. This alliance helped protect the Guarani from European slave raiders.