Siege of Santo Domingo of 1808

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Siege of Santo Domingo (1808)
Part of the Spanish reconquest of Santo Domingo
Mapa de la colonia de santo domingo durante la ocupacion francesa.png
Map of the situation of the colony of Santo Domingo (1800) during the War of the Reconquest between France and the Anglo-Spanish alliance
Date7 November 1808 – 11 July 1809
Location
Result

Dominican victory

  • End of French rule
Belligerents
Flag of New Spain.svg Colony of Santo Domingo
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Flag of France (1794-1815).svg  France
Commanders and leaders
Flag of New Spain.svg Gen. Juan Sánchez Ramírez
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Comm. Hugh Lyle Carmichael
Flag of France.svg Gen. Joseph-David de Barquier   White flag icon.svg
Strength
1,850 regulars and militia
6 frigates
2,000 regulars

The siege of Santo Domingo (1808) (Spanish: Sitio de Santo Domingo de 1808) was the second and final major battle of the Spanish reconquest of Santo Domingo and was fought between November 7, 1808 and July 11, 1809 at Santo Domingo, Captaincy General of Santo Domingo. A force of Dominican and Puerto Rican of 1,850 troops led by Gen. Juan Sánchez Ramírez, with a naval blockaded by British Commander Hugh Lyle Carmichael, besieged and captured the city of Santo Domingo after an 8 months garrisoning of 2,000 troops of the French Army led by General Joseph-David de Barquier.

Contents

Background

Upon hearing the news of Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808, Juan Sánchez Ramírez launched a war against the French troops who were nominally controlling the island. After some initial defeats, the loyalists managed a key victory in November, in the Battle of Palo Hincado, where Sánchez Ramírez's 2,000 soldiers overwhelmed Gen. Louis Ferrand's 600. There, with his numbers diminished owing to the desertion of Dominicans, the French commander faced certain defeat.

Ferrand's pride was so wounded that he killed himself after the defeat. This would not stop the French, however, and General Dubarquier took over the fight. He resorted to enlisting Dominican slaves to fight against Sánchez Ramírez. Only with the help of the British Jamaicans could the loyalists expel the French, an event that would finally come to pass in 1809, the year in which British gunships fired into Santo Domingo, prompting Barquier to surrender the island.

See also

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