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The Raid on Cartagena de Indias was a successful attack by the French on the fortified city of Cartagena de Indias, on May 6, 1697, as part of the
On his return voyage to France, Pointis managed to avoid the English admiral John Nevell, whose squadron had been diverted from Cadiz,
La prise de Carthagène - 1697
{{Coord, 10.4114, N, 75.5350, W, source:wikidata, display=title 1697 in South America Cartagena, Raid on Cartagena, Raid on Cartagena, Raid on History of Cartagena, Colombia Cartagena (1697) Conflicts in 1697
The Raid on Cartagena de Indias was a successful attack by the French on the fortified city of Cartagena de Indias, on May 6, 1697, as part of the War of the Grand Alliance
The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between Kingdom of France, France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by t ...
.
Background
By 1695, theFrench Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
had declined to the point that it could no longer face the English
English usually refers to:
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English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
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People E ...
in an open sea battle and therefore had switched to privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
ing – ''guerre de course''. Bernard Desjean, Baron de Pointis
Bernard Desjean, Baron de Pointis (7 October 1645 – 24 April 1707) was a French admiral and privateer.
Pointis was born in Brittany. He took part in naval operations in the 1680s under Duquesne, like the bombardment of Algiers and the pu ...
, active in the Caribbean from the beginning of the war, was able to convince King Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of ...
to let him try a daring attack on the richest city of the region, Cartagena, in present-day Colombia.
Raid
He received command of a fleet of seven capitalship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
s, three frigates, and some smaller vessels. The squadron left from Brest, France
Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French m ...
, on January 7, 1697, and arrived at Saint-Domingue in the West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
on March 3. Pointis requested assistance from governor Jean du Casse
Jean-Baptiste du Casse (2 August 1646 – 25 June 1715) was a French privateer, admiral, and colonial administrator who served throughout the Atlantic World during the 17th and 18th centuries. Likely born 2 August 1646 in Saubusse, near Pau ...
, who gave his support only reluctantly, as he preferred an attack on Portobelo. One month later, a fleet with 1,200 soldiers and 650 buccaneer
Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 until about 168 ...
s appeared before Cartagena.
The renowned Spanish defences were not what they had once been, and Pointis conquered both fortresses which defended Cartagena relatively easily, losing only sixty men. Between May 6 and 24, the French plundered the city, accumulating loot valued at ten to twenty million livres.
Pointis then set sail directly for France, cheating his buccaneer allies of their promised share of the loot. Outraged, the buccaneers returned and plundered the city once more, this time untempered by the French regular soldiers, in an orgy of rape, extortion and murder.
Aftermath
On his return voyage to France, Pointis managed to avoid the English admiral John Nevell, whose squadron had been diverted from Cadiz, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, to pursue the French privateer. After a three-day chase, Nevell had captured only one ship. Unfortunately for him, this was a hospital ship infested with yellow fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...
, which now spread through the English and Dutch fleets. The disease killed 1,300 English sailors, six captains, and Admiral Nevell himself; only one captain in the Dutch fleet survived.
The French did not escape unscathed, as yellow fever spread through their fleet, too, killing hundreds of sailors. However, Pointis made it back to France and gave Louis XIV his share of two million livres. The rest of the loot made Pointis an immensely rich man.
He published ''Relation de l'expédition de Carthagène faite par les François en 1697'' in Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
the next year.
See also
* Sancho Jimeno de OrozcoReferences
* Lynn, John A. ''The Wars of Louis XIV: 1667–1714.'' Longman, (1999). * Roger N.A.M. ''The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain 1649–1815,'' Penguin Group, (2006).External links
La prise de Carthagène - 1697
{{Coord, 10.4114, N, 75.5350, W, source:wikidata, display=title 1697 in South America Cartagena, Raid on Cartagena, Raid on Cartagena, Raid on History of Cartagena, Colombia Cartagena (1697) Conflicts in 1697