The Battle of Ocho Rios also known as Battle of Las Chorreras was a military action which took place on the island of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispanio ...

on 30 October 1657 where a Spanish force under Cristóbal Arnaldo Isasi hoping to take back the island was defeated by the English occupying force under the Governor Edward D'Oyley. The English had occupied Jamaica in 1655 but had been reduced significantly by disease in the aftermath. They ran through governors at a rapid rate: General

Robert Sedgwick Major General Robert Sedgwick (c. 1611 – 1656) was an English colonist, born 1611 in Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, and baptised on 6 May 1613. Biography He was the son of William Sedgwick of London, and brother of English priest William Se ...

arrived and died in 1655, General William Brayne replaced him and died in 1656, and then General Edward D'Oyley who had already been on the island took over as Governor being acclimatised to the island's harsh tropical conditions. Two years after the English invasion, Cristóbal Arnaldo Isasi, the former Spanish governor, had been hiding in the hills with the runaway slaves (later known as

maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...

). He requested a force to be sent from Cuba to retake the island for Spain. He now had reinforcements from Cuba and had them land at Las Chorreros (present day

Ocho Rios Ocho Rios (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as ''Ochi'' by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth in th ...

). By now he had assembled a total of nearly 300 soldiers and around 100 militia or guerrillas. D'Oyley, aware of Spanish ships being seen off the northern coast, decided to set out and attack. He sailed north to meet them and landed his force of around 900 militia near Ocho Rios, where, close to Dunn's River Falls he defeated Isasi and his force in a short battle. Isasi fled back into the hills whilst the rest of the Spanish were captured and were later repatriated back to Cuba under terms. Isasi tried again in 1658 at Rio Nuevo but this time with reinforcements from New Spain and the presence of a fort. In a repeat of what happened at Ocho Rios D'Oyley achieved the same feat by sailing north and defeated him again.

Notes

;References * Firth, C.H. ''Last Years of the Protectorate vol. II'' (London 1909)

External links

British Civil Wars, Commonwealth and Protectorate website – The Anglo-Spanish War 1655–1660
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocho Rios (1657) Conflicts in 1657 Battles in Jamaica Battles involving England Battles involving Spain 1657 in the Colony of Santiago 1657 in Jamaica 1658 in the British Empire 1658 in the Caribbean Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660)

See also

Notes

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