Where does the War of Jenkins' Ear fit in colonial rivalries?

[MichaelFT]

I was looking at a timeline of major 18th-century conflicts and realized I can't quite place the War of Jenkins' Ear within the broader picture of colonial rivalries. It gets mentioned as a precursor, but its distinct causes and how it bled into King George's War always feels a bit muddled in my head.

[Joseph.M]

From what I read a decade ago it was a sea war over trade routes between Britain and Spain. A merchant ship tale set off cries for action in Parliament and in ports. It looked small but it braided into the big push of colonial rivals in the Atlantic and the Americas.

[Victoria.G]

I tried to map it on a wall map with colored threads and noticed the War of Jenkins' Ear mostly hit Caribbean islands and the Spanish treasure fleets. Later King George's War drew in New England and New France because the wider war frame pulled in the big players.

[Lily72]

Maybe Jenkins Ear was just a flare for a bigger debt and fear of rivals. Is the real problem the way treaties tied hands of governors rather than any one incident?

[EmmaLR]

I had a history teacher who said it dripped into King George's War by turning into colonial raids in the frontier, but I kept thinking it was more about privateers than big armies.