Battle of Nassau (1720)

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Raid on Nassau
Part of the War of the Quadruple Alliance
WoodesRogersStatueNassau.jpg
Statue of Woodes Rogers outside the British Colonial Hotel, Nassau
Date24–25 February 1720
Location
Result

British victory, [1] [2]

  • landing parties driven offshore; Nassau looted [2]
Belligerents
Bandera de Espana 1701-1748.svg  Spain Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg  Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Bandera de Espana 1701-1748.svg Francisco Cornejo
José Cordero
Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg Woodes Rogers
Strength
3 frigates,
9 sloops,
1,200 militia
2 frigates,
500 militia

The Raid on Nassau (or Battle of New Providence) took place in February 1720 when a Spanish force attempted to assault the British settlement of Nassau during the War of the Quadruple Alliance. [3]

Kingdom of Great Britain Constitutional monarchy in Western Europe between 1707 and 1801

The Kingdom of Great Britain was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 1 January 1801. The state came into being following the Treaty of Union in 1706, ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the kingdoms of England and Scotland to form a single kingdom encompassing the whole island of Great Britain and its outlying islands, with the exception of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. The former kingdoms had been in personal union since James VI of Scotland became King of England and King of Ireland in 1603 following the death of Elizabeth I, bringing about the "Union of the Crowns". Since its inception the kingdom was in legislative and personal union with Ireland and after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the kingdom was in a personal union with the Electorate of Hanover.

Nassau, Bahamas Largest city and capital of the Bahamas

Nassau is the capital and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has an estimated population of 274,400 as of 2016, just over 70% of the population of the country (≈391,000). Lynden Pindling International Airport, the major airport for the Bahamas, is located about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of Nassau city centre, and has daily flights to major cities in Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and the United States. The city is located on the island of New Providence, which functions much like a business district. Nassau is the site of the House of Assembly and various judicial departments and was considered historically to be a stronghold of pirates. The city was named in honour of William III of England, Prince of Orange-Nassau.

War of the Quadruple Alliance war (1717–1720) between Spain and the Quadruple Alliance (Britain, France, Austria, the Dutch Republic), resulting in Quadruple Alliance victory and the Treaty of The Hague

The War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718-1720) was caused by Spanish attempts to recover territorial losses agreed by the 1713 Peace of Utrecht. Primarily conducted in Italy, it included minor engagements in the Americas and Northern Europe, as well as the Spanish-backed 1719 Jacobite Rising.

Contents

Background

The Spanish force of 1,200 was largely drawn from Cubans and commanded by Francisco Cornejo. The threat of Spanish invasion had bedeviled New Providence for the past year, halting settlement on the island and prompting the construction of Fort Nassau, with 50 guns and 250 defenders. [4]

New Providence Caribbean island of the Bahamas

New Providence is the most populous island in The Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246,329 at the 2010 Census; the latest estimate (2016) is 274,400. The island was originally under Spanish control following Christopher Columbus's discovery of the New World, but the Spanish government showed little interest in developing the island. Nassau, the island's largest city, was formerly known as Charles-town, but it was burned to the ground by the Spanish in 1684. It was laid out and renamed Nassau in 1695 by Nicholas Trott, the most successful Lord Proprietor, in honor of the Prince of Orange-Nassau who became William III of England. The three branches of Bahamian Government: the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary, are all headquartered on New Providence. New Providence functions as the main commercial hub of The Bahamas. It is also home to more than 400 banks and trust companies, and its hotels and port account for more than two-thirds of the four million-plus tourists who visit The Bahamas annually. Other settlements on New Providence include Grants Town, Bain Town, Fox Hill, Adelaide, Yamacraw, South Beach, Coral Harbour, Lyford Cay, Paradise Island, Sea Breeze, Centreville, The Grove (South) and The Grove, Cable Beach, Delaporte, Gambier, Old Fort Bay, and Love Beach.

Old Fort of Nassau historic British fort in Nassau, Bahamas

The fort was a fort in Nassau, Bahamas, first built in 1697 and lasted for nearly two hundred years with a rich legacy of history until it was finally demolished in 1897. It was located on the north side of Marlborough St., on the site of the current British Colonial Hilton Nassau. Remnants of the old walls can be seen on the hotel grounds. For many years it was the only fort in Nassau.

Battle

Initial plans for an attack on the city from Nassau Harbour were forestalled by the discovery of two British guard ships in the harbour: the governor's flagship, East Indiaman Delicia (armed with 32 guns) and the 24-gun frigate HMS Flamborough. Spain's heavy ships of the line sat too deep for the harbour's shallow waters. Cornejo opted to bypass the city and the Spanish squadron crept ahead east along Hog's Island, landing three columns and seizing large amounts of plunder before being repelled by Governor Woodes Rogers's 500 militia. The Spanish ships remained in the bay for some time before retiring. [2]

A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat which serves its protective role at sea.

East Indiaman general name for any ship operating under charter or license to any of the East India Companies

East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India Companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vessels belonging to the Danish, Dutch (Oostindiëvaarder), English, French, Portuguese, or Swedish (ostindiefarare) East India companies.

Frigate Type of warship

A frigate is a type of warship, having various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.

Aftermath

Francisco Cornejo and José Cordero eventually set sail relatively unharmed, with over 100 captured slaves. Woodes Rogers, unable to pay the garrison and his health failing, set sail for England soon afterward. The governor had expended his personal fortune on Nassau's defenses, which had been the source of considerable anxiety and depression. Britain and Spain negotiated peace the following year.

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References

  1. Little p. 193–94
  2. 1 2 3 Marley p.243
  3. David Marley Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the Western Hemisphere, 1492 to the Present. Volume 2 Publisher ABC-CLIO, 2008 ISBN   9781598841008
  4. Presently location of British Colonial Hilton Nassau.

Bibliography