What were Francis Drake's raids on the Spanish Caribbean?
Drake raids the Spanish Caribbean
Drake ataca el Caribe español
1585–28 January 1596. Francis Drake, 'El Draque' to the Spaniards, had robbed the mule trains at Nombre de Dios in 1572 and the silver ship Cacafuego off Peru in 1579.
Where: The Spanish Caribbean, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Panama, Cuba
What happened
Francis Drake, 'El Draque' to the Spaniards, had robbed the mule trains at Nombre de Dios in 1572 and the silver ship Cacafuego off Peru in 1579. In 1585–86 he led nearly 30 ships and 2,000 men against the Spanish Main, sacking Santo Domingo and Cartagena de Indias and burning St Augustine in Florida. The raids, and his attack on Cádiz in 1587, helped push Philip II to send the Armada. In 1595 Drake returned with 27 ships to seize Puerto Rico and Panama: the guns of El Morro, begun in 1539 to guard San Juan bay, drove him off on 22–23 November, and he died of dysentery at Portobelo on 28 January 1596. Spain's answer was stone: the great fortresses of San Juan, Havana, Cartagena and Portobelo that still stand.
Say it
El castillo del Morro protegía la bahía de San Juan de los piratas.
El Morro castle protected San Juan bay from pirates.
Why it matters
The privateers made the Caribbean a war zone for two centuries and left the fortified harbours, and the pirate stories, that define its cities today.
Read about it
- Los corsarios del Caribe — The Privateers of the Caribbean
- El Morro de San Juan — El Morro in San Juan
- Cartagena de Indias — Cartagena de Indias
Connected
- Havana is founded (c. 16 November 1519)
- Silver and the first global trade (1545–1800)
- The Armada sails against England (30 May 1588–October 1588)
- The Armada sails against England (30 May 1588–October 1588)
Sources
- Francis Drake — World History Encyclopedia
- San Juan National Historic Site: Timeline — U.S. National Park Service
- Castillo San Felipe del Morro — U.S. National Park Service