The Battle of Barbados also known as the Action of Carlisle Bay was a military action that took place off the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

island of

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

on 29 April 1665 just before the outbreak of the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...

. It was fought between an English force defending against an attacking Dutch force led by

Michiel de Ruyter Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch States Navy officer. His achievements with the Dutch navy during the Anglo-Dutch Wars earned him the reputation as one of the most skilled naval commanders in ...

. Although De Ruyter destroyed much of an English convoy at Carlisle Bay his fleet was severely damaged and was unable to launch an invasion of the island.

Events

;Background; English attacks on Dutch convoys and colonies had taken place in 1664, most notably the Conquest of New Netherland. In response the Dutch fitted out an expedition later in October, consisting of twelve battle ships under the command of the celebrated Admiral

. The expedition was to be directed against

British possessions A British possession is a country or territory other than the United Kingdom which has the British monarch as its head of state. Overview In common statutory usage the British possessions include British Overseas Territories, and the Commonwe ...

. Whilst on route, war was declared by both sides on 4 March 1665. ;Battle On April 29 de Ruyter's fleet arrived off Barbados intending to invade the island. First he had to neutralize the forts and the English warships in the area. Early in the morning de Ruyter rounded the point and entered Carlisle Bay and saw twenty nine merchant ships that lay in the bay. Barbados had however been pre warned about the impending attack and were well prepared, led by Governor Francis Willoughby. Most of the merchant ships were empty as the goods were loaded ashore. As de Ruyter entered the bay the forts and guns along with the guns from some armed merchant vessels opened fire. After an hour and a half de Ruyter had destroyed much of the English convoy, but heavy fire from the defences had caused heavy damage to De Ruyter's fleet in particular his flagship ''Speigel'' with nine men killed and 22 wounded. Unable to dent any of the defences he decided to give up the attack and withdrew from the bay with much difficulty. ;Aftermath De Ruyter managed to withdraw to the neutral French port of Saint-Pierre at

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

for repairs, arriving there on 1 May. His fleet was so damaged that he was unable to attack English held

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. A year later Willoughby on notification of the French having joined the Dutch side sent an expedition from Barbados against the small French garrison at

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

and captured the place establishing a short-lived English colony there.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbados, Battle of (1665) 1665 in the Dutch Empire West Indies Conflicts in 1665 Battles involving England Battles involving the Dutch Republic Second Anglo-Dutch War History of Barbados 17th century in the Caribbean 1665 in the British Empire 17th-century battles