The Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was a minor military action of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

during which an English fleet of 13 ships under the command of Admiral John Jennings attempted unsuccessfully to seize the city of

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its ad ...

. Jennings previously relied on the English triumphs in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

demanding recognition for the sovereignty of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child o ...

over the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...

, but their offers were rejected.Proust p.116

Battle

By 1706, during the

, Philip V had lost

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

to an Anglo-Dutch fleet commanded by

George Rooke Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke (1650 – 24 January 1709) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and again at the Battle of Schooneveld during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain, ...

, the Spanish galleons in the port of

Vigo Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...

had been burnt or captured, and the Allied army was entering Castile after overrunning

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to s ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

. At this time, Admiral Jennings sailed into Santa Cruz bay with 12 ships of the line and several minor warships in order to capture the town. The English ships were subjected to a heavy gunfire from hidden

shore batteries In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to facil ...

, suffering many casualties. After an initial landing attempt was repulsed by the Spanish artillery of Castle of San Cristóbal, Jennings sent an emissary to the authorities of Santa Cruz who apologized for the attack saying that it was an error. In addition, the emissary urged the authorities of the island to join the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

side under the menace of take the city by force. The mayor José de Ayala y Rojas, head of the defense of Santa Cruz in the absence of Governor Agustín de Robles, refused, confirming the fidelity of the islands to King Philip V. ''«If Philip, our king, had lost his all in the Peninsula, these islands would still remain faithful to him.»'' He said. After this, the English fleet withdrew.

Aftermath

Although the British fleet retreated rapidly at night, the Spanish armed militia continued to patrol Santa Cruz for two days, and

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and officially San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. La Palma has an area of making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The ...

for a few months. For this victory over the English, a second lion head was added to the Coat of arms of Santa Cruz de TenerifeNicholas p.85 (the third lion head was added after the repulse of

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought a ...

in 1797). The British again attacked the Canary Islands in 1743, but were again beaten off.

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Vicente Bacallar y Sanna Vicente Bacallar y Sanna, 1st Marquess of San Felipe, later italianized into ''Vincenzo Bacallar Sanna'' (Cagliari – Sardinia, island now belonging to Italy), 6 February 1669 – The Hague (Netherlands), 11 June 1726). He was a Sardinian nob ...

Comentarios de la guerra de España e historia de su rey Felipe V, El Animoso
(1725), tomo I, libro VII, año VI. {{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Battle of 1706 Conflicts in 1706 Naval battles involving Spain Naval battles involving England Battles of the War of the Spanish Succession History of the Canary Islands Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Battle

Aftermath

See also

Notes

References

External links