Battle of Guadalupe Island (1595)

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Battle of Guadalupe Island (1595)
Part of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)
Pointe de la Grande Vigie - Guadeloupe.jpg
Panoramic view from Guadalupe Island.
Date8 November 1595
LocationOff Guadalupe Island, Caribbean Sea
Result Spanish victory [1] [2]
Belligerents
Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg  Spain
Commanders and leaders
Francis Drake Pedro Tello de Guzmán
Strength
9 ships [3] 5 frigates [3]
Casualties and losses
1 ship captured [2] [3]
45 killed and 25 captured [2] 		Light [2]

The Battle of Guadalupe Island, also known as the Battle of Guadalupe, was a naval action that took place off Guadalupe Island (French: Guadeloupe), Caribbean Sea, on 8 November 1595, between a Spanish force of five frigates commanded by Don Pedro Tello de Guzmán and Don Gonzalo Méndez de Cancio (who was appointed Admiral on 19 August 1595), and an English squadron of nine ships (rear of Francis Drake's fleet), during the unsuccessful English military expedition of 1595 against Spain and their possessions, led by Sir Francis Drake himself, Sir John Hawkins and Sir Thomas Baskerville, as the context of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). [1] [2] The result was a Spanish victory. [3] One of the English ships, the Francis, was captured and the others fled from the battle. [3] [4] Then, knowing Drake's plans, the Spanish flotilla took advantage over the bulk of Drake's fleet, and arrived at San Juan on 13 November, reinforcing the town with 500 soldiers and supplies. [5] The Spaniards organized different artillery positions in strategic locations, and the five frigates were positioned to cover the entrance of the bay with their artillery, awaiting the arrival of Drake. [6] On 22 November, with the defenses completed, the English fleet arrived off San Juan and tried to invade the town. [6] The result was another Spanish victory over Drake's forces. [6] [7]

Guadeloupe Overseas region and department in France

Guadeloupe is an insular region of France located in the Leeward Islands, part of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. Administratively, it is an overseas region consisting of a single overseas department. With a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and an estimated population of 400,132 as of January 2015, it is the largest and most populous European Union territory in North America.

French language Romance language

French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French (Francien) has largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the (Germanic) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole. A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French.

Caribbean Sea A sea of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by North, Central, and South America

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and south west, to the north by the Greater Antilles starting with Cuba, to the east by the Lesser Antilles, and to the south by the north coast of South America.

Contents

See also

Spanish Main

In the context of Spain's New World Empire, its mainland coastal possessions surrounding the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico were referred to collectively as the Spanish Main. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the southern portion of these coastal possessions was known as the Province of Tierra Firme, or the "mainland province".

The Battle of las Palmas was an unsuccessful English naval expedition in 1595 during the Anglo-Spanish War against the Spanish island of Gran Canaria. The English Fleet was originally directed towards Puerto Rico, but had taken a detour in hopes of an easy victory and taking supplies. The English expeditionary fleet under Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins, and Sir Thomas Baskerville failed to achieve victory and was forced to withdraw from the Canary Islands towards the Spanish Caribbean, where Francis Drake died of dysentery at Mosquito Gulf.

Battle of San Juan (1595)

The Battle of San Juan (1595) was a Spanish victory during the Anglo–Spanish War. This war broke out in 1585 and was fought not only in the European theatre but in Spain's American colonies. After emerging from six years of disgrace following the resounding defeat of the English Armada at Lisbon in 1589, Francis Drake embarked on a long and disastrous campaign against Hispanic America, suffering several consecutive defeats there. On 22 November 1595 Drake and John Hawkins tried to invade San Juan with 27 ships and 2,500 men. After failing to be able to land at the Ensenada del Escambron on the eastern end of San Juan Islet, he attempted to sail into San Juan Bay with the intention of sacking the city. Unable to capture the island, following the death of his comrade, John Hawkins, Drake abandoned San Juan, and set sail for Panama where he died from disease and received a burial at sea after failing to establish an English settlement in America.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1898). Armada Española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y Aragón. Vol. III. Instituto de Historia y Cultura Naval. p.107
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Rodríguez González. Victorias por Mar de los Españoles. Biblioteca de Historia. pp. 79-88
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1898). p.107
  4. ↑ Rodríguez González pp. 79-88
  5. ↑ Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1898). p.108
  6. 1 2 3 Fernández Duro, Cesáreo pp.108-109
  7. ↑ Van Middeldyk p.68

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References

Cesáreo Fernández Duro Spanish naval historian

Cesáreo Fernández Duro was a Spanish naval captain, writer, scholar and historian.

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