The Battle of Puerto Caballos ( Spanish: Batalla de Puerto Caballos ) is a naval battle during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604) that took place on February 17, 1603 off the coast of present Honduras and was associated with an attempt by the English fleet to capture the Spanish city and port of Puerto Caballos. Caballos (now Puerto Cortes ). The British were able to achieve victory after a fierce struggle. Two Spanish galleons were captured, one of which was subsequently burned. Anglo-French forces occupied this area and two weeks later withdrew with captured prey [2] .
| Battle of Puerto Caballos | |||
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| Main Conflict: Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604) | |||
 Spanish galleon like that taken by Nport from Puerto Caballos | |||
| date | February 17, 1603 | ||
| A place | Puerto Caballos (now Puerto Cortes, Honduras ) | ||
| Total | victory of the English [1] [2] | ||
| Opponents | |||
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| Commanders | |||
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| Forces of the parties | |||
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| Losses | |||
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Content
Background
Throughout the Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604), English privateers were detrimental to Spanish shipping. By the end of the war, due to the depletion of both sides, not only full-fledged battles between the fleets, but also privateer raids became less and less frequent. One of the most famous British privateers of this time was veteran Christopher Newport , who has always been in the Caribbean since 1602 . He lost his hand during a successful expedition in 1590 , but this did not prevent him from fighting [7] .
In November 1602, Tortuga Island north of Hispaniola Newport teamed up with Captain Michael Gere (another raid veteran against the Spanish Galleons). Gere had previously signed a contract with three French slave traders, hoping to attack a couple of Spanish galleons expected soon in Puerto Caballos (modern Puerto Cortes , Honduras ) [4] . The 300-ton English ships — Archangel Gera, Neptune Newport and the Phoenix by Anthony Hippons — added ships captured from the Spaniards, which increased the size of the fleet to eight units [1] .
Gere needed the help of Newport, who knew the coast of Honduras well: in May 1592, Newport made a successful raid on Puerto Caballos and captured a 200-ton merchant ship. However, the educated fleet of Newport and Gear needed resources, so they first went to Jamaica. On January 24, 1603 , heading for Puerto Caballos, the Anglo-French flotilla raided Jamaica, but the Spaniards repelled the attack. Newport and his associates withdrew with insignificant losses [1] .
Battle
In the darkness of February 17, English ships, followed by the French slavers, approached the port of Puerto Caballos and lowered seven boats for 200 people and light artillery. They hoped to capture two partially loaded Spanish galleons at anchor, without destroying them. The galleons were the 600-ton Nuestra Senora del Rosario Juan de Monasterio and the 400-ton San Juan Bautista Francois Ferrufino [1] . These were the flagship and vice flagship of the Navy of New Spain [4] . Almost at sunrise, the attackers raked to the galleons, hoping for an effect of surprise, but they were noticed by the sentries. Warning shots rang out, but the British and French still managed to get on board [7] .
The Spaniards fiercely resisted and restrained the attackers for several hours, but by this time Neptune and the Archangel approached the port and defused their guns against the Spaniards in support of the attack. Both sides were close to exhaustion, but the British finally seized control of the Nuestra Senora del Rosario . After that, the galleon of San Juan Bautista , seeing that the position was hopeless, surrendered [6] . To prevent the Spanish counterattack, Newport immediately ordered the port itself to be attacked. After a short battle, the Spaniards left the city, and after almost eight hours the battle ended [1] . The losses of both sides were approximately the same - about 30 fighters, but the Spaniards lost almost 200 people captured, most of whom were members of the crews of the captured galleons [6] [7] .
Occupation
The British and French then plundered ships and buildings ashore for eighteen days. Extraction was significant - 200 bags of anil (dye), 3000 hides and artillery from two captured galleons along with various goods from the city [3] [5] . Nuestra Senora del Rosario was significantly damaged by shelling from the sides of Neptune and the Archangel , supporting the attack. Newport decided to burn the galleon because it was too damaged to be towed, the captured cargo was transferred to San Juan Bautista [6] .
Disputes were noted between the British and French during the occupation of the city, but they did not concern trophies, but the fate of Spanish prisoners. Spanish eyewitnesses later claimed that the French wanted to kill them all, but the British refused to allow this. The British released some of the prisoners, but this did not stop the French from killing a certain number of Spaniards. In the last days of the occupation, Newport forced the French to release prisoners and even paid a ransom for several prisoners [1] .
Implications
In the end, the British and French left San Juan Bautista as the only trophy, Nuestra Senora del Rosario remained on fire at the exit from the port [1] . The French returned to Hispaniola, and the British headed towards Cuba. Puerto Caballos was repeatedly subjected to raids and robberies, until after the most serious attack it was completely devastated and was no longer restored [6] .
Gere and Newport remained in the Caribbean until May and captured a number of Spanish ships near Havana [5] . In the same month, they safely returned to England. Newport used the money from the sale of trophies to help create a Virginia company to populate North America. He returned to America, but in order not to rob, but to lay, with John Smith, John Rolfe and George Somers, the foundation of the first permanent English colony of Jamestown .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Marley p. 94
- ↑ 1 2 Bicheno p. 313
- ↑ 1 2 Bradley p. 129-130
- ↑ 1 2 3 Rodger, NA M The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain, Vol 1: 660–1649 . Oct 7, 2004 . Penguin. Date of appeal April 15, 2013.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Andrews pg. 180-81
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Nichols p. 186-87
- ↑ 1 2 3 Williams pg 180-181
Literature
- Andrews, Kenneth R. Elizabethan Privateering 1583–1603. - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 3 Jan 1964. - P. 180–81. - ISBN 9780521040327 .
- Bradley, Peter T. British Maritime Enterprise in the New World: From the Late Fifteenth to the Mid-eighteenth Century. - Edwin Mellen Press Ltd., 2010 .-- ISBN 978-0773478664 .
- Bicheno, Hugh. Elizabeth's Sea Dogs: How England's Mariners Became the Scourge of the Seas. - Conway, 2012 .-- ISBN 978-1844861743 .
- Juarros, Domingo, A Statistical and Commercial History of the Kingdom of Guatemala, (Spanish).
- Marley, David. Chronology of Armed Conflict in the Western Hemisphere. - abc-clio, 2008 .-- ISBN 978-1598841008 .
- Nichols, Allen Bryant. Captain Christopher Newport: Admiral of Virginia. - Sea Venture LLC, 2007. - ISBN 978-0615140018 .