After the Spanish settlement of the island of Puerto Rico, things were not entirely peaceful like the settlers had anticipated.
It has now come to our attention that the British have recently attempted to raid the ports and ships on the island of Puerto Rico, completely disregarding the peace agreement previously made between the two empires. Spanish spies discovered that Queen Elizabeth I authorized Francis Drake and John Hawkins to seize the island. Their motive was not surprisingly the promise of gold of silver worth two million ducats, which was being stored in San Juan. Clearly, the reward was great if these men were successful.
Drake and Hawkins sailed from Plymouth on August 28th with a large convoy of twenty-seven ships and 4,500 sailors. Due to inclement weather, they reached the island of Guadeloupe in the middle of November, which severely slowed their progress. By this time, several Spanish frigates spotted the pursuers while on their way to San Juan. Ultimately, news of the upcoming British invasion reached the island shortly before Drake and Hawkins. The inhabitants of Puerto Rico acted fast. By the time Drake and Hawkins arrived on San Juan Bay, the entrance to the harbor was blocked by two sunken ships and the five frigates that had spotted their presence earlier. Also, the city was emptied, except for the 800 seamen from the frigates and 750 men inside the forts. The British ships were subjected to endless rounds of cannon shots, and the efforts to steer their vessels out of the line of fire were unsuccessful. Drake nearly lost his life when a cannon shot blew through his cabin; luckily, he was not killed. However, Hawkins perished earlier in a rampant fever epidemic, and the remaining crew had begun to show signs of the disease, as well. Desperate, Drake then ordered the men to invade the island. His men were able to set fire to some of the frigates, but the casualties were so high that Drake was forced to retreat. Unfortunately, Drake died by late January as a victim of the fever epidemic that killed Hawkins. (See page 4 for obituaries)
The story of conflict does not end here! Another brave soul accepted the task of capturing San Juan three years later: George Clifford, the Earl of Cumberland. This mission differed from the previous in one important aspect: the island was not given advanced notice of the impending attack, and it did not have the support of Spanish seamen in the ports as before. Thus, when Cumberland and his men entered San Juan on June 16th, there was little resistance. Cumberland learned from Drake’s mistakes and avoided sailing directly into the bay; instead, he landed his troops four leagues east of the city. Two days later, the invading troops marched right into the city, only to find it deserted, except for 400 men quartered in the Morro fort. Governor Mosquera refused to surrender control of the island, so Cumberland was forced to siege the city. The men in El Morro resisted for fifteen days, but finally surrendered due to a shortage of food and ammunition. After his victory, Cumberland declared Puerto Rico under British jurisdiction and sent the remaining Spanish soldiers to Jamaica.
However, holding the island proved more difficult than overcoming it. Two weeks after the victory, 400 of Cumberland’s men fell victim to an epidemic. Cumberland made preparations to leave the island, and he left Sir John Berkeley to succeed him. Before Cumberland left, he raided the island. He took artillery, 1,000 boxes of sugar, a few thousand hides, 2,000 quintales of ginger (one quintal = 100 lbs), a ship full of slaves and pearls, and the church organ and bells. By September, Berkeley abandoned the island, as well. This departure ended the British occupation before the Spanish arrived to rescue the island.
Clearly, Puerto Rico continues to be severely bruised because of its strategic value. The main goal during the seventeenth century became the need to fortify the islands belonging to the Spanish empire. Not long after Cumberland fled, Puerto Rico began to rebuild a castle and fort near the site where Cumberland succeeded in outflanking the Spaniards.
Did the conflict finally cease there? The answer is no. The Dutch also saw many gains in the takeover of Puerto Rico. They were the next empire to attempt to take San Juan. See next week’s issue for the outcome of this invasion!
Sources:
Noel, Jesse. “The Seventeenth Century, Hapsburg Era.” Revista de Historia de América. No. 89 (Jan. - Jun., 1980), pp. 29-48. Published by: Pan American Institute of Geography and History. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/20139358>
Wagenheim, Olga Jiménez De. Puerto Rico: An Interpretive History from Pre-Columbian Times to 1900. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener, 1998. Print.
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