Preston–Somers expedition
Preston–Somers expedition | |||||||
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Part of the Anglo-Spanish War | |||||||
Venezuela Province coast in the 1570s | |||||||
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Spain | England | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 80 killed[4] |
The Preston–Somers expedition, or the Capture of Caracas, was a series of military actions that took place from late May until the end of July 1595 during the
After failing to meet, the expedition went on their own venture along the coast of the Spanish
The failure of a ransom led to the plundering and torching of the city and to the capture of
Background
England's war with Spain had been going on for nearly ten years; Spanish colonies, warships, and merchants were subject to attacks by English
Having sailed from
Expedition
By 18 May, Preston and Somers had reached
Cumana and La Guaira
On 1 June the eight English privateer vessels and the Spanish prize appeared before Cumaná off Spanish Venezuela and seized three more caravels in the bay.[12] Upon landing however they found the residents had been alerted to their presence; the English then decided on a ransom or otherwise threatened to set the town on fire.[17] The ruse succeeded and a modest amount of foodstuffs were acquired from the Spanish. The English departed in peace the following evening, after having burned the caravels.[4]
The English moved further along the main coast and anchored a mile and a half east of
Caracas
The Spanish did everything they could to bar their advance, so they concentrated their strength along the main road also known as the Kings Highway leading up to Caracas.
At night the English slipped out of the fort, and knew that by heading up the mountains they would be difficult to see, let alone be engaged. The Spanish did not maintain close watch upon the English movements, and this worked to Preston's and Somers' advantage.[17] Without haste they marched a column undetected through the rain during the night.[1] They had help from a lone Indian whom they used as a guide, and were able to advance up a little-known track high into the mountain, keeping well clear of the main road.[13] They marched through the thickly wooded slopes in the dark, some of the time having to cut their way through, and halted at a stream for refreshment and waited for dawn. They walked close around the summit of Pico Naiguatá, then marched down through the early morning fog and were within sight of the town by daylight.[15] The English could not believe their luck when at midday on 8 June they appeared unexpectedly outside Caracas completely undetected.[12] They had marched for six miles in impossible terrain, and what's more, apart from fatigue there were no casualties.[18] A part of the city's militia had formed in front of them, but the majority were still gathered along the main road.[13]
Preston and Somers then formed three groups, the main battle group in the center, and two smaller, flanking forces on either side.
The English remained in possession of Caracas for five days and the Spanish offered a parley from which the English attempted a ransom of 30,000 ducats.[17] The Spanish offered 2,000, then 3,000, but being so small Preston and Somers then set about sacking and plundering the place, stripping it of anything of value.[12] A ransom of 4,000 ducats was offered to spare the remains of the town, but Preston and Somers soon received intelligence from Indians that the Spanish had sent for help and were delaying the negotiations until reinforcements could arrive.[5][15] Preston and Somers were furious as the Spanish had gone against their honour of a parley, and as a consequence in the morning they burned Caracas and some surrounding settlements to the ground.[4] They then departed the way they came, taking whatever they could away from the Spanish militia who now had more reinforcements. The militia entered Caracas soon after the English had left, only to find the vast majority of it in ruins.[17] The English had returned to La Guaira by noon on 14 June with the booty, exhausted by their arduous trek.[10] The next day Preston and Somers set the fortress ablaze, as well as demolishing its defenses, and were thus prepared to leave.[21]
Chichiriviche and Coro
The next morning the English departed from La Guaira and headed West. On the 16th they soon arrived outside
On 20 June, having made their way along the coast, the English sighted Coro Bay. Preston led his formation there and ferried all his troops ashore by 11 p.m.[4] Their target was the town of Coro, which was established at the south end of the Paraguaná Peninsula in a coastal plain, flanked by the sandy Médanos Isthmus. The area was famous for having been colonized by the Germans as sort of a part payment from the Spanish in the 1520s to 1540s.[23] The town had a small garrison under command of Governor Juan de Riberos.[11]
Somers stayed behind with fifty men to secure the anchorage, but the Spanish were soon aware of his force and hastily marshalled militia to impede them.[24] The English attempted a night time assault on the town, but ran into a barricade the Spaniards had built, blocking their advance.[22] The English attacked in number but the Spaniards defended stoutly, repelled their attack at first, and then tried to advance around the barricade to outflank it, but this too failed and losses were beginning to mount.[5] With more men coming up however, the English launched another assault and managed to fight their way through, driving the defenders off.[4] There was soon a running fight with the English pursuing the Spaniards, who really only delayed their advance. They reached Coro itself and after another small fight, the town was gained and secured the following morning with relatively few casualties.[24] The English held the town, but its buildings had stood empty as the residents along with de Riberos had received ample warning of the advance and fled inland with their valuables. Preston then ordered the town to be sacked and the English went on the plunder again.[5][25]
Coro was held for about two days and on preparing a ransom Preston had learned that a rain storm had struck the English anchorage.[4] The cables of Somers's fifty-man pinnace had parted which was then driven out to sea.[25] Preston therefore ordered Coro thoroughly sacked and torched; all the buildings were destroyed including the church and chapel.[11] Preston hastened his column back to the coast and set sail in order to search for Somers.[26] The following evening Somers stood just outside Lake Maracaibo's entrance seeking safety, but with the wind up they both decided to leave, and with wind astern headed toward Hispaniola on 26 June.[14]
Aftermath
By 30 June, the Preston–Somers squadron sighted Hispaniola and next day anchored off
Four days later the remaining privateer vessels anchored off Jamaica, and stayed there for a few days before proceeding toward the Caymans.[5] They reached Cabo Corrientes, Cuba by the 22nd, and there they decided to impose a short blockade off Havana in an attempt to take a few small prizes.[26] Prizes were short coming with only two small ships captured, and disease began to take its toll. Dysentery raged throughout the vessels, having already killed eighty men, and soon the expedition was terminated.[14] Being fortunate that the Spaniards had not caused any damage, and not to chance further luck, they headed home to England.[4][12]
Aftermath
Before the English left the Caribbean, they encountered and fell in with Raleigh's ships returning from Guiana, with whom they kept company.
The expedition's success in terms of plunder was only moderate, and it just about covered the cost with little profit having been made.[5] The expedition had only been meant to support Raleigh's in his quest for El Dorado, and had done far more than it should have done.[14] As an independent expedition it was highly successful in terms of military results, however.[5] The capture of Caracas via the mountains was a rare feat, and except for the losses to disease, casualties were fairly light.[3]
Seventeenth-century Spanish historian José de Oviedo y Baños described the feat performed by Preston and Somers: "This was a hidden path, rather, an old disused path, used by the native Indians to ascend the mountain. From there down the mountain into the valley of St. Francis, a road so rocky and impassable that it seemed impossible for a human foot to use."[27]
Somers and Preston were both
After returning to Caracas, the governor Diego de Osorio ordered walled of
Legacy
In 1607, both Preston and Somers reunited, in a way, to become involved in the foundation of the Colony of Virginia: specifically Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, on the banks of the James River.[28] Somers is remembered today as the founder of the English colony of Bermuda, then known as the Somers Isles, a commercial venture.
The Preston–Somers raid would be the only attack that Caracas would suffer in its colonial history, unlike other coastal cities on the Spanish Main. This fact was exploited for a tourism campaign in 1980 to promote Venezuela as "the best kept secret of Caribbean".[29]
Some sources (mainly
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c Bradley 2010, pp. 113–114.
- ^ a b c d Bicheno 2012, p. 313.
- ^ a b Andrews 1959, pp. 396–398.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Marley 2008, pp. 87–88.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Raine 2008, pp. 71–73.
- ^ Clowes, William Laird (1966). The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Volume 1 The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present. S. Low, Marston. p. 651.
- ^ a b Southley, T. (1827). Chronological History of the West Indies – Volume 1. pp. 218–219.
- ^ a b Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. p 305 .
- ^ John Lombardi, Venezuela, Oxford, England, 1982, p. 72.
- ^ a b c d Marley 2005, pp. 830–831.
- ^ a b c Ferry 1989, p. 18.
- ^ a b c d e f g Navy and Army Illustrated, Volume 15. Hudson & Kearns. 1902. p. 409.
- ^ a b c d Andrews 1984, p. 291.
- ^ a b c d e f Dean 2013, pp. 243–244.
- ^ a b c d Shorto, G. (13 June 2013). "George Somers, Amyas Preston and the Burning of Caracas". The Bermudian. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ a b Andrews 1959, pp. 377–379.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Southey 1827, pp. 220–221.
- ^ a b c Andrews 1959, pp. 380–382.
- ^ a b Ravelo, R. (3 May 2012). "Don Alonso Andrea de Ledesma, El Quijote de Caracas. (Spanish)". Los Hijos de Rousseau.
- ^ a b Casanova, E. "El Nacimiento del Quijote (Spanish)". Analítica. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ a b Andrews 1959, pp. 383–385.
- ^ a b Andrews 1959, pp. 386–387.
- ^ Moses, B. (1914). The Welser Company in Venezuela in The Spanish Dependencies in South America: An Introduction to the History of Their Civilisation Vol. 1. New York: Harper & Brothers.
- ^ a b c d Southey 1827, p. 221.
- ^ a b Andrews 1959, pp. 388–389.
- ^ a b c Andrews 1959, pp. 391–393.
- ^ Madariaga, S. (1945). Cuadro Histórico de Las Indias Colección (Spanish). Editorial sudamericana. p. 166.
- ^ Woodward 2009, pp. 191–199.
- ^ "¡Así era Venezuela! El secreto mejor guardado del Caribe – SMSbuenos". Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
Bibliography
- Andrews, K. R. (1984). Trade, Plunder and Settlement: Maritime Enterprise and the Genesis of the British Empire, 1480–1630. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521276986.
- Andrews, K. R. (1959). English Privateering Voyages to the West Indies, 1588–1595. Kraus. ISBN 9780811504027.
- Banos, D. J. (1987). Historia de la Conquista Y Poblacion de la Provincia de Venezuela. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520058514.
- Bicheno, H. (2012). Elizabeth's Sea Dogs: How England's Mariners Became the Scourge of the Seas. Conway. ISBN 9781844861743.
- Bradley, P. T. (2010). British Maritime Enterprise in the New World: From the Late Fifteenth to the Mid-eighteenth Century. Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 9780773478664.
- Chartrand, R. (2006). The Spanish Main, 1493–1800 (Fortress). Osprey. ISBN 9781846030055.
- Dean, J. S. (2013). Tropics Bound: Elizabeth's Seadogs on the Spanish Main. The History Press. ISBN 9780752496689.
- Ferry, R. J. (1989). The Colonial Elite of Early Caracas: Formation and Crisis, 1567–1767. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520063990.
- Konstam, A. (2000). Elizabethan Sea Dogs, 1560–1605 (Elite). Osprey. ISBN 9781841760155.
- Marley, D. (2005). Historic Cities of the Americas: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576070277.
- Marley, D. (2008). Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the Western Hemisphere. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598841008.
- Raine, D. F. (2008). Sir George Somers: a man and his times. University of California: Pompano Publications. ISBN 9780921962106.
- Woodward, H. (2009). A Brave Vessel: The True Tale of the Castaways Who Rescued Jamestown and Inspired Shakespeare's The Tempest. Viking. ISBN 9780143117520.