The attack on Cawsand was a minor Spanish raid on the coast of

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, on the night of 14 March 1596 in the context of the Brittany Campaign during the Anglo-Spanish War. In August 1595 the area of

Mount's Bay Mount's Bay () is a bay on the English Channel coast of Cornwall, England, stretching from the Lizard Point, Cornwall, Lizard Point to Gwennap Head. In the north of the bay, near Marazion, is St Michael's Mount; the origin of name of the bay. ...

in Cornwall had been attacked by a Spanish raiding force led by Carlos de Amésquita. In that attack over two days,

Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...

Newlyn Newlyn () is a seaside town and fishing port in south-west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' It is the largest fishing port in England. Newlyn lies on the shore of Mount's Bay and for ...

, Mousehole, and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

were raided and torched. In March 1596 a Spanish pinnace arrived in

Cawsand Bay Cawsand Bay is a bay on the southeast coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The bay takes its name from the village of Cawsand at , to the northeast of the Rame Peninsula. Cawsand Bay is oriented north–south, opening eastward into Plym ...

just below Mount Edgcumbe with upwards of 25 men armed with muskets. The Spanish forces managed to land on the beach and made their way to the village. They fixed barrels of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

and brimstone to the doors of several houses and to two boats in the harbour, setting them on fire. The Spanish forces were spotted by one member of the militia who had gone ahead of the main force; he promptly opened fire with a

caliver An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. The term ''arquebus'' was applied to many different forms of firearms ...

, scaring the intruders off. Shortly after, the main militia force arrived in the village from

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in time to prevent the fire from spreading to the whole settlement. The defences were strengthened as it was feared that the Spanish forces would try again. The heights were then manned by 170 pikemen, 300 musketeers and cavalry commanded by Sir Nicholas Parker and maintained by sole expense of Richard Carew. A second naval raid on the area took place on 26 April 1599, when four Spanish warships captured five fishing boats from

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...

. Years later, when the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

s Pilgrims had a port of call at Cawsand, they recalled the Spanish forces’ burning of the village, and how they spared the brick walls by the beach.

Citations

;Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cawsand, Attack on

1596 in England 16th century in Cornwall Military raids Amphibious operations involving Spain Fires in England

See also

Citations