BATTLE OF PUERTO BELLO 1739

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The painting after the stamp was designed was painted by George Chambers Senior and was commissioned around 1836 by E.H. Locker, Secretary and Commissioner of Greenwich Hospital. He later donated the painting to the Naval Gallery of the Hospital.
The painting shows the attack on Todo Fierro (Iron Fort). The ship in the foreground in the middle of the stamp is the flagship HMS BURFORD, then you can see the HMS STRAFFORD and the HMS WORCHESTER. On the right of the stamp is the HMS HAMPTON COURT under command of Commodore Brown.
The painting is now in the possesion of the National Maritime Museum in Greewich near London.
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 Portobello 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.
The settlement of Portobello was a major Spanish naval base on the Spanish Main. Following the failure of an earlier British naval force to take Portobello in 1727, in which he had taken part, then-Vice Admiral Edward Vernon had repeatedly claimed he could capture it with just "six ships". Following his appointment to command the Jamaica Station, Vernon organised an expedition with just six ships, despite criticism that this was far too few. Vernon was a strong advocate of small squadrons hitting hard and moving fast rather than larger slower-moving expeditions that were prone to heavy losses through disease.
Vernon's force appeared off Portobello on 20 November 1739. The British ships entered the bay prepared for a general attack, but a wind coming from the east obliged Vernon to concentrate his ships on the Todo Fierro harbour fort. The Spanish garrison was caught unprepared. When some Spaniards began to fly from several parts of the fort, several landing parties were sent inshore. The British sailors and marines scaled the walls of the fort, struck the Spanish colours in the lower battery and hoisted an English ensign. The Spaniards surrendered then at discretion. Of the 300-man Spanish garrison, only 40 soldiers led by Lieutenant Don Juan Francisco Garganta had remained into the fort.
Once captured Todo Fierro, Vernon shifted his ships against Santiago Fortress, sinking a Spanish sloop and causing other damages. At dawn on the following morning, the Spaniards requested terms. Governor Francisco Javier Martínez de la Vega y Retes surrendered at the afternoon. Portobello was occupied by the British at the cost of three dead and seven injured. Three prizes were taken: an armed snow which was renamed Triumph and two coastguards of 20 guns each one. The British occupied the town for three weeks, destroying the fortress and other key buildings and ending the settlement's main function as a major Spanish maritime base, before withdrawing.
The capture of Porto Bello became seen as a popular triumph throughout the British Empire and the name Portobello became frequently used to commemorate the battle such as the Portobello Road in London, the Portobello district of Edinburgh and Porto Bello in Virginia. The victory was particularly well received in America, where the Spanish had been preying on British shipping.
Admiral Vernon became a popular hero, and himself was commemorated in several names, perhaps most famously Mount Vernon the estate of George Washington. He was promoted to the rank of Admiral. Vernon was a notable opponent of the British government, and in the wake of the victory he was one of the advocates of a more belligerent approach towards Britain's enemies. The British Prime Minister Robert Walpole was placed under great pressure by the Opposition to launch similar raids along the Spanish coast.
Although British control lasted just three weeks the effect on Porto Bello was devastating; it being essentially abandoned due to a complete re-organisation of Spanish trading practices designed to make them less vulnerable. The economy of the town did not recover fully until the construction of the Panama Canal more than a century later.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Porto_Bello