The Battle of Rio Nuevo took place between 25 and 27 June 1658 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 ...

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.Black pp. 48–49

Background

In 1655, an English force led by Admiral Sir William Penn, and General

Robert Venables Robert Venables (ca. 1613–1687), was an English soldier from Cheshire, who fought for Parliament in the 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and captured Jamaica in 1655. When the Anglo-Spanish War began in 1654, he was made joint comma ...

seized the island, and successfully held it against two Spanish attempts to retake it. The former Spanish governor of Jamaica, Don Cristóbal Arnaldo Isasi, attempted to recapture the island with forces from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbe ...

in mid-1657, but the attack was repulsed at the

Battle of Ocho Rios The Battle of Ocho Rios also known as Battle of Las Chorreras was a military action which took place on the island of Jamaica on 30 October 1657 where a Spanish force under Cristóbal Arnaldo Isasi hoping to take back the island was defeated ...

by acting governor Colonel Edward D'Oyley. On 20 May 1658, Isasi attempted another invasion with more men recruited from New Spain; the ''Tercios Mexicano'' (Mexican Regiment). Isasi also had at his disposal four troop transports and armed ships. In total, the invasion force consisted of 31 captains, 31 ensigns, 28 sergeants and 467 soldiers. While this force anchored for two days near the mouth of Rio Nuevo, three English coast guard vessels chanced upon the Spanish but were chased away by gunfire. The English scouts reported back to D'Oyley, who mustered all available militia and soldiers who were fit to fight. The Spanish in the meantime fortified their camp and were joined by around 50 tattered Spanish guerrillas.

Battle

On 25 June, D'Oyley mustered a total of 700 soldiers and militia and ten ships to transport them. The English troops disembarked near the Rio Nuevo. The English then captured the Spanish transports, sealing off any escape for the invaders. The Spanish, seeing this, attempted to make a stand behind their newly fortified redoubt. The English declined to come to grips and fired on the Spanish position with cannon and

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

s for two days. Their superior firepower had a devastating effect, and when the surviving Spanish attempted to break out, most were killed or captured. What was left of the invasion force fled into the hills and jungle. They had lost over 300 dead and wounded, mostly killed, and 150 prisoners, as well as eleven flags, six guns, and most of their arms and ammunition. English casualties numbered around sixty. Most of the wounded on both sides died of tropical diseases.

Aftermath

The victorious English conveyed the Spanish artillery back to 'The Point' and to Fort Cromwell, installing it into their defences. Isasi tried to keep up the struggle until he was defeated in 1660, escaping from what is now the area of the Tower Isle resort and fleeing to Cuba by canoe with his remaining supporters. To dissuade further Spanish attempts to retake Jamaica, the English under

Christopher Myngs Vice Admiral Sir Christopher Myngs (sometimes spelled ''Mings'', 1625–1666) was an English naval officer and privateer. He came of a Norfolk family and was a relative of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell. Samuel Pepys' story of Myngs' humble bir ...

launched attacks on Spanish ports such as

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta ("Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta"), is a city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena ...

and Tolu, forcing the Spanish to the defensive. The battle of Rio Nuevo was the last Spanish attempt to recapture Jamaica. Spain ceded the island to England in 1670 under the Treaty of Madrid.

Battlefield today

The Rio Nuevo Battle Site Heritage Park and Museum was opened in August 2009.

Notes

References

* V Black, Clinton. ''The Story of Jamaica from Prehistory to the Present''. Collins, London, 1965. * Marley, David. ''Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the New World, 1492 to the Present''. ABC-Clio, 1998. * Morales Padrón, Francisco. ''Spanish Jamaica''. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers, 1953, (2003).

External links

British Civil Wars, Commonwealth and Protectorate website – The Anglo-Spanish War 1655–1660

Opening of the Battle of Rio Nuevo battle site

Plaque commemorating the site of the Battle of Rio Nuevo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Rio Nuevo (1658) Conflicts in 1658 Rio Nuevo Rio Nuevo Rio Nuevo 1658 in the Colony of Santiago 1658 in Jamaica 1658 in the British Empire 1658 in the Caribbean Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660)