Raid on Matina

Last updated
Raid on Matina
Part of the War of Jenkins' Ear
Date13 August 1747
Location
Result British victory [1]
Belligerents
Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg Britain Bandera de Espana 1701-1748.svg Spain
Commanders and leaders
Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg Thomas Owen Bandera de Espana 1701-1748.svg Francisco Rodriguez
Strength
45 British & Indians [2] 80 soldiers & militia [3]
Casualties and losses
Light All killed, wounded or captured [4]

The Raid on Matina or the Battle of Matina was a small but significant military engagement that took place on 13 August 1747 between British Baymen and Miskito from the Mosquito Coast and Spanish forces over the Spanish fortification at Matina in the Captaincy General of Guatemala. [5] The engagement was part of a larger conflict which was known as the War of Jenkins' Ear. The British and Miskito destroyed the fort after a short sharp fight before destroying the crops and taking away plunder from the surrounding Cacao rich area. [1] [6]

Contents

Events

Background

At the mouth of the Río Matina in the Spanish colonial region of the Captaincy General of Guatemala lay Fuerte de San Fernando de Matina, a wooden blockhouse which had been built by the Spanish in 1741-42. It was garrisoned by thirty four soldiers and twenty local armed militia. Between 1742 and 1747 illegal trade between landowners in Costa Rica and with British Jamaica and the Baymen of the Mosquito Coast (of present-day Nicaragua) were stopped as a result of the fort. [7]

In April 1747 a group of British baymen and Miskitos took about ten prisoners near Matina and threatened to burn the plantations and invade Cartago if trade was not resumed with them. [1] For this reason the Spanish governor sent a reinforcement of fifty soldiers in the area. The commander of the fort was Don Francisco Rodriguez, and together with the reinforcements ordered to put permanent lookouts in places where they could watch any approaching British troops to avoid surprise. [8]

Attack

In early August 1747, 45 British and a troop of Miskitu soldiers commanded by British Captain Thomas Owen was ordered to attack the fort, by order of the English governor of Jamaica Edward Trelawny. [5]

Transported by Pirogues from Jamaica they landed in Moin near Limón, which beyond had an extensive swamp – the Spanish thinking it was impassable had no lookouts in the area. After beaching the vessels the British were able to advance without being spotted and they walked through the jungle to the fort. The high Canebrake meant they were concealed and watched patiently for five days studying the defences and awaited for the right moment to attack. [2]

Finally on 13 August at 11 a.m. the British attacked from the south west, and took the garrison by complete surprise. [8] The soldiers and militiamen had only just prepared a meal which meant that main door of the fort was wide open with only two soldiers guarding the barracks. In addition only four men were guarding the fort walls. When the assault began, only two of those four guards were able to enter before the fort door was closed. The English brought with them two hand grenades each, and used them to bomb the door but they could not break it. They then surrounded and attacked the wall where they fired through the gun holes inside. Quickly the British soon found weaknesses in the perimeter where they could fire their muskets at close range – this caused confusion inside the fort. [3]

A little more than fifteen minutes of since the start of the assault, the fort's commander Rodriguez decided he couldn't resist and therefore surrendered. [5]

Aftermath

In total there were four deaths and several wounded among the Spanish. Those who survived were taken prisoner. [3]

Subsequently, the British and miskitos ravaged the surrounding area; cocoa farms were looted; cannons, muskets and ammunition were taken. [2] Once this was done the barracks were burned and the fortress was destroyed. They then made a withdrawal to their beached pirogues Moin and sailed without further incident back to Jamaica. [5]

The fort thus failed to stop the attacks by filibusters and with the fort's destruction smuggling continued well until Costa Rica's Independence the following century. San Fernando was the first and last stronghold built by the Spanish in the Costa Rican Caribbean and the fort was never rebuilt. [3] The Spanish in retaliation attempted to rout the British and Miskitos from the area but failed repeatedly. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosquito Coast</span> Coastline in Central America

The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskitu Nation and was long dominated by British interests and known as the Mosquito Kingdom. From 1860 suzerainty of the area was transferred to Nicaragua with the name Mosquito Reserve, and in November 1894 the Mosquito Coast was militarily incorporated into Nicaragua. However, in 1960, the northern part was granted to Honduras by the International Court of Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miskito people</span> Indigenous people of Central America

The Miskitos are a native people in Central America. Their territory extends from Cape Camarón, Honduras, to Río Grande de Matagalpa, Nicaragua, along the Mosquito Coast, in the Western Caribbean Zone. Their population is estimated at 700,000 people as of 2021 according to the official Miskito Database.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limón</span> District and city in Costa Rica

Limón, commonly known as Puerto Limón, is a district, the capital city and main hub of Limón province, as well as of the Limón canton in Costa Rica. It is the seventh largest city in Costa Rica, with a population of over 55,000, and is home of the Afro-Costa Rican community. Part of the community traces its roots to Italian, Jamaican and Chinese laborers who worked on a late nineteenth-century railroad project that connected San José to Puerto Limón. Until 1948, the Costa Rican government did not recognize Afro-Caribbean people as citizens and restricted their movement outside Limón province. As a result of this "travel ban", this Afro-Caribbean population became firmly established in the region, which influenced decisions not to move even after it was legally permitted. Nowadays, there is a significant outflow of Limón natives who move to the country's Central Valley in search for better employment and education. The Afro-Caribbean community speaks Spanish and Limonese Creole, a creole of English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miskito language</span> Misumalpan language spoken in Honduras and Nicaragua

Miskito is a Misumalpan language spoken by the Miskito people in northeastern Nicaragua, especially in the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, and in eastern Honduras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Castillo (municipality)</span> Place in Río San Juan Department, Nicaragua

El Castillo is a municipality located on the Río San Juan in the Río San Juan Department of Nicaragua. The settlement of what would eventually become the municipality of El Castillo began in 1673, when construction of the Fortaleza de la Limpia Pura e Inmaculada Concepción, was begun. The village of El Castillo eventually grew around the fortress, which continued to be strategically important to the Captaincy General of Guatemala until the late 18th century.

San Juan de Nicaragua, formerly known as San Juan del Norte or Greytown, is a town and municipality in the Río San Juan Department of Nicaragua.

The Battle of St. George's Caye was a military engagement that lasted from 3 to 10 September 1798, off the coast of British Honduras. However, the name is typically reserved for the final battle that occurred on 10 September.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Roatán</span> 1782 battle in the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Roatán was an American War of Independence battle fought on March 16, 1782, between British and Spanish forces for control of Roatán, an island off the Caribbean coast of present-day Honduras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black River (settlement)</span> British settlement on the Mosquito Shore

The Black River settlement was a British settlement on the Mosquito Coast in Central America. It was established in 1732 by a British colonist named William Pitt. The settlement, made on territory claimed but never really controlled by Spain, was evacuated in 1787 pursuant to terms of the Anglo-Spanish Convention of 1786. The Spanish then attempted to colonize the area, but the local Miskitos massacred most of its inhabitants on September 4, 1800. The settlement was abandoned, and its remains can still be seen near the village of Palacios in the Honduran department of Gracias a Diós.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Castillo (village)</span> Comarca and village in Río San Juan Department, Nicaragua

El Castillo is a village of about 1,500 people situated on the southern bank of the Río San Juan in southern Nicaragua. It is one of 27 comarcas of the municipality of El Castillo, a subdivision of the Río San Juan Department. The village is situated approximately 6 kilometers from the border with Costa Rica, at the Raudal del Diablo rapids of the San Juan River. The site on which the village of El Castillo is built was initially established in 1673 as a Spanish fortification to defend against pirate attacks upon the city of Granada. The settlement of El Castillo and its fortress continued to be strategically important to the Captaincy General of Guatemala until the late 18th century.

The western Caribbean zone is a region consisting of the Caribbean coasts of Central America and Colombia, from the Yucatán Peninsula in southern Mexico to the Caribbean region in northern Colombia, and the islands west of Jamaica are also included. The zone emerged in the late sixteenth century as the Spanish failed to completely conquer many sections of the coast, and northern European powers supported opposition to Spain, sometimes through alliances with local powers.

The Battle of Rio Nuevo took place between 25 and 27 June 1658 on the island of Jamaica between Spanish forces under Cristóbal Arnaldo Isasi and English forces under governor Edward D'Oyley. In the battle lasting over two days the invading Spanish were routed. It is the largest battle to be fought on Jamaica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juan Expedition (1780)</span>

The San Juan Expedition took place between March and November 1780 during the American War of Independence when a British force under the command of John Polson and Captain Horatio Nelson landed on the coast of the present-day Nicaragua, with the aim of sailing up the San Juan River to capture the strategically crucial towns of Granada and León, located on the northwestern shore of Lake Nicaragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Black River</span> 1782 battle in the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of the Black River was a series of conflicts between April and August 1782 during the American War of Independence. They were fought between British and Spanish forces for control of the Black River settlement, located on the Mosquito Shore. Spanish forces forced out a small British garrison and most of the settlers in April 1782. The British responded in August, regrouping the settlers and reinforcing them with troops from Jamaica. They successfully recaptured the settlement from the disease-depleted Spanish force.

The Miskito Sambu, also known simply as the Miskito, are an ethnic group of mixed cultural ancestry occupying a portion of the Caribbean coast of Central America known as the Mosquito Coast region. Although older records, beginning with Spanish documents of the early 18th century, refer to the group as "Mosquitos Zambos", modern ethnographic terminology uses the term Miskito.

Rafaela de Herrera y Torreynosa (1742–1805) was a Spanish criolla. She is considered a national heroine of Nicaragua, due to her actions in the defense of the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception during the Battle for the Río San Juan de Nicaragua in 1762 against the British forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle for Río San Juan de Nicaragua</span>

The battle for Río San Juan de Nicaragua was one of several important battles that took place during the Anglo-Spanish War, a subconflict of the Seven Years' War, which lasted from December 1761 until February 1763. The conflict, which took place in July–August 1762, began when William Lyttelton, the British governor and commander-in-chief of Jamaica, sent a naval expedition to Nicaragua with the primary objective of capturing the town of Granada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afro-Nicaraguans</span> Nicaraguans of African descent

Afro-Nicaraguans are Nicaraguans of Sub-Saharan African descent. Five main distinct ethnic groups exist: The Creoles who descend from Anglo-Caribbean countries and many of whom still speak Nicaragua English Creole, the Miskito Sambus descendants of Spanish slaves and indigenous Central Americans who still speak Miskito and/or Miskito Coast Creole, the Garifunas descendents of Zambos expelled from St. Vincent who speak Garifuna, the Rama Cay zambos a subset of the Miskito who speak Rama Cay Creole, and the descendants of those enslaved by the Spanish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afro-Hondurans</span> Ethnic group

Afro-Hondurans or Black Hondurans are Hondurans of Sub-Saharan African descent. The CIA world factbook regards their population to be around 2% of the country's population, while other sources estimate the percentage of Afro-Hondurans as being 10%; the latter number including Garifunas. Estimates vary with concervative estimates ranging as low as 1% and higher estimates ranging to 30%. They descended from: enslaved Africans by the Spanish, as well as those who were enslaved from the West Indies and identify as Creole peoples, and the Garifuna who descend from exiled zambo Maroons from Saint Vincent. The Creole people were originally from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, while the Garifuna people were originally from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Garifunas arrived in the late seventeen hundreds and the Creole peoples arrived during the eighteen hundreds. About 600,000 Hondurans are from Garífuna descent that are a mix of African and indigenous as of Afro Latin Americans. Honduras has one of the largest African community in Latin America. The total of Garifuna, Creole, and African population estimation is about 3,000,000 with about 30% estimation of Honduras, Which makes Honduras have the highest population of blacks in Central America. In total it is about 884,000 Hondurans of African descent which is an estimate of Garifunas and Africans all together.

Matina is a district of the Matina canton, in the Limón province of Costa Rica.

References

Citations
  1. 1 2 3 Marley p 408
  2. 1 2 3 Floyd, Troy S (1967). The Anglo-Spanish Struggle for Mosquitia. University of New Mexico Press. pp. 83–85. ISBN   9780826300362.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Guardia pp 170-72
  4. Black p 128
  5. 1 2 3 4 Laycock
  6. 1 2 Olsen & Shaddle p.762
  7. Jones, Chester Lloyd (1935). Costa Rica and Civilization in the Caribbean, Chester Lloyd Jones Issue 23 of University of Wisconsin studies in the social sciences and history. University of Wisconsin. p. 16.
  8. 1 2 Creedman p 114
Bibliography
External links