The Battle of las Palmas was an unsuccessful

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

naval expedition in 1595 during the Anglo-Spanish War against the Spanish island of

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that ...

. The English Fleet was originally directed towards

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, but had taken a detour in hopes of an easy victory and taking supplies. The English expeditionary fleet under Francis Drake,

Sir John Hawkins Sir John Hawkins (also spelled Hawkyns) (1532 – 12 November 1595) was a pioneering English naval commander, naval administrator and privateer. He pioneered, and was an early promoter of, English involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. Hawk ...

, and Sir Thomas Baskerville failed to achieve victory and was forced to withdraw from the Canary Islands towards the

Spanish Caribbean The Spanish West Indies or the Spanish Antilles (also known as "Las Antillas Occidentales" or simply "Las Antillas Españolas" in Spanish) were Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. In terms of governance of the Spanish Empire, The Indies was the de ...

, where Francis Drake died of

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

at Mosquito Gulf.

Background

Captain Drake proposed an attack on the Canary Islands in order to get provisions and plunder. Hawkins utterly refused to consider it, because an attack would have put the whole enterprise that sailed from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

two months ago in risk; while the main purpose of the voyage (control the Isthmus of Panama in the

Spanish Main During the Spanish colonization of America, the Spanish Main was the collective term for the parts of the Spanish Empire that were on the mainland of the Americas and had coastlines on the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico. The term was used to di ...

) would be delayed. A day later they agreed to discuss the issue at dinner on the ''Garland''. Captain Baskerville was sure he could take Las Palmas in four hours and persuade the inhabitants to ransom it within four days. John Troughton, captain of the ''Elizabeth Bonaventure'', reported in his journal that there was talk of Hawkins threatening to press on to

and leaving Drake and Baskerville to do whatever they chose, but the old man eventually succumbed to persuasion with an ill grace, and the English fleet remained together for the unplanned assault on

. After the English arrived, at eleven o'clock Drake sent one of the smaller ships forward to reconnoitre along the shore, past the Caleta de Santa Catalina and down to the fort of Santa Ana. He went himself in one of the ''Defiance's'' boats to take soundings off the Caleta and to lay buoys to guide the landing, after which he returned to the fleet. In Las Palmas the lieutenant-governor, Antonio Pamochamoso, watched him go and then ordered a boat to sail out and remove the buoys, but by the time the English were ready and anchored their ships and launched the assault.

Action

On 6 October, 21 English men-of-war appeared at Las Palmas in the Canary islands. Fifteen of them were positioned in front of the castle of Santa Catalina; the rest fought against the fort of Santa Ana protecting the disembarkation of the English troops. However, the governor Alonso de Alvarado and the Spanish garrison were able to organize their defense. They handled six small pieces of

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

, heavily damaged four of the English ships and after several days Drake was forced to withdraw. After that unexpected resistance Drake left to Puerto Rico with the intention of continuing his original directive of controlling the Isthmus of Panama and the Spanish Caribbean, but

died Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

off Portobelo after being repulsed at San Juan and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

.Duro p.106

Notes

References

* Hampdem, John: Francis Drake, privateer: contemporary narratives and documents. Taylor & Francis, 1972. * John Cummins. ''Francis Drake: Lives of a Hero''.Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (1997) * Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1898). ''Armada española desde la Unión de los Reinos de Castilla y de León.'' Madrid. Vol 3, Chapter VII (1593–1596). {{DEFAULTSORT:Las Palmas, Battle 1595 Conflicts in 1595 Naval battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) History of the Canary Islands Francis Drake Las Palmas 1595 in the British Empire 1595 in Spain