Raid On Manila (1798)
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The raid on Manila of January 1798 was a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misrep ...
military operation during the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
intended to scout the strength of the defences of
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, capital of the
Spanish Philippines Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine ** Spanish history ** Spanish cultur ...
, capture a
Manila galleon The Manila galleon (; ) refers to the Spain, Spanish trading Sailing ship, ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico (New Spain), across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year betwe ...
and assess the condition of the
Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...
squadron maintained in the port.
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had transformed from an ally of
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in the
War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...
into an enemy in 1796. Thus, the presence of a powerful Spanish squadron at Manila posed a threat to the China Fleet, an annual convoy of
East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...
merchant ships from
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
in
Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
to Britain, which was of vital economic importance to Britain. So severe was this threat that a major invasion of the Spanish Philippines had been planned from
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
during 1797, but had been called off following the
Treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...
in Europe and the possibility of a major war in India between the British
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
and the
Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...
. To ensure the safety of the merchant ships gathering at Macau in the winter of 1797–1798, the British commander in the East Indies, Rear Admiral Peter Rainier, sent a convoy to China escorted by the
frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
HMS ''Sybille'' and HMS ''Fox'' and commanded by Captain Edward Cooke. After completing his mission Cooke decided to investigate the state of readiness of Spanish forces in Manila himself. He was also intrigued by reports that a ship carrying treasure was due to sail from Manila, which would make a valuable prize. Sailing in ''Sybille'' and accompanied by Captain Pulteney Malcolm in ''Fox'', Cooke reached the Spanish capital on 13 January 1798. Anchored in
Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...
, Cooke pretended that his ships were French vessels and successfully lured successive boatloads of Spanish officials aboard, taking them
prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...
in turn. Once he had determined from his captives the state of defences in Manila, that the treasure ship had been unloaded at
Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...
and that the Spanish squadron was undergoing extensive repairs and thus unavailable for operations, he sent a raiding party against a squadron of gunboats in the mouth of the
Pasig River The Pasig River (; ) is a water body in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it bisects the Philippine capital of Manila and Metro Manila, its surrounding urban area into northern and southern halves. Its m ...
. Capturing the gunboats in a bloodless attack, Cooke then released his prisoners and sailed southwards, unsuccessfully assaulting Zamboanga before returning to Macau.


Background

In 1796, after three years of the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and the
French Republic France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
signed the Treaty of San Ildefonso. The secret terms of this treaty required Spain to renounce its alliance with
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
and subsequently to declare war on its former ally. In the East Indies this shift of political allegiance meant that the dominant British forces in the region were faced with the threat of attack from the
Spanish Philippines Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine ** Spanish history ** Spanish cultur ...
to the east. Britain dominated the East Indies in 1796, controlling the trade routes through the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
from the ports of
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
,
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
and
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
.
Dutch Ceylon Dutch Ceylon (; ) was a governorate established in present-day Sri Lanka by the Dutch East India Company. Although the Dutch managed to capture most of the coastal areas in Sri Lanka, they were never able to control the Kingdom of Kandy locate ...
, the
Dutch Cape Colony The Cape of Good Hope () was a Dutch United East India Company (VOC) supplystation in Southern Africa, centered on the Cape of Good Hope, from where it derived its name. The original supply station and the successive states that the area was ...
and parts of the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
had been captured in 1795, and the French presence in the region had been confined to Île de France and a few subsidiary islands in the Western Indian Ocean. Some of the most important trade routes began at Canton and
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
in
Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Early in each year a large convoy known as the "China Fleet", composed of large
East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...
merchant ships in the employ of the British
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
, sailed westwards to Europe from Macau laden with
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
and other commercial cargo. This convoy was economically significant to Britain: one convoy in 1804 was valued at over £8 million (the equivalent of £ as of ). In January 1797 the convoy had been attacked by the French squadron in the East Indies, comprising six
frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
commanded by Contre-amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey. In the ensuing Bali Strait Incident the commander deceived Sercey into believing that the unescorted convoy contained disguised
ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...
and the French admiral retreated, only learning of his error on his return to Île de France. There was considerable concern in India that Sercey might try again in 1798, or that the Spanish, who maintained a powerful squadron at
Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...
, might make an attempt of their own. Rainier's initial impulse on learning in November 1796 of the impending declaration of war between Britain and Spain was to draw up plans for a major invasion of the Philippines, centred on Manila in repetition of the successful British capture of Manila in 1762. Co-operating with the
Governor-General of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...
Sir John Shore and Colonel Arthur Welleley among others, a substantial naval and military forces were earmarked for the operation which was in the advance planning stages, when unexpected news arrived in India in August 1797 announcing the
Treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...
which brought the
War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...
to an end. Britain now faced France and Spain alone, while emissaries from the
Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...
of the
Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...
, an old opponent of Britain in Southern India, were seeking French assistance with a renewed outbreak of hostilities. The resources planned for the operation against Manila were therefore retained in India and the operation cancelled, but the protection of the China Fleet was still essential and Rainier diverted some of his squadron eastwards to China. A number of merchant ships had gathered at Bombay in the spring of 1797 in preparation for the trip to Macau to load trade goods and join the China Fleet. To escort this force, Rainier provided the 40-gun
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
HMS ''Sybille'', captured from the French at the
Battle of Mykonos The Battle of Mykonos was a minor naval engagement fought in the main harbour of the Cycladic island of Mykonos on 17 June 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. A Royal Navy squadron led by fourth rate ship HMS ''Romney'' was escorting ...
in 1794, and the 50-gun HMS ''Centurion'', which sailed with the convoy in July, taking passage through the
Straits of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...
, joined there by the ships of the line HMS ''Victorious'' and HMS ''Trident'' and the 32-gun frigate HMS ''Fox'' under Captain Pulteney Malcolm for the final voyage to Macau. The convoy arrived without incident on 13 December 1797, although the crews had been substantially weakened by tropical illnesses.


Cooke's raids


Reconnaissance of Manila

With his convoy safely at anchor in Macau and the China Fleet several weeks from sailing, Cooke decided to reconnoitre Manila and make observations on the port and the Spanish squadron based there. As an added motivation, rumours in Macau suggested that the annual
Manila galleon The Manila galleon (; ) refers to the Spain, Spanish trading Sailing ship, ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico (New Spain), across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year betwe ...
was due to arrive. This ship brought up to two million Spanish silver dollars from
Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...
across the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
stopping at
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
on its way to Manila. Depositing its dollars in the Philippines, the ship then loaded trade goods from the East Indies for the return journey to
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
. This round trip was essential to the maintenance of the Spanish Empire in the East Indies, which operated at an enormous financial loss only mitigated by the substantial subsidy from New Spain. Spanish dollars were the accepted currency across most of the East Indies, and disruption of this financial system could have profound effects on regional trade; but British sailors had nevertheless been attacking the Manila galleons since Thomas Cavendish in 1587. Leaving the heavier warships at Macau, Cooke sailed on 5 January 1798 only with ''Sybille'' and ''Fox'', the latter carrying a Mr. Bernard, an experienced linguist. Passing
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
, Cooke's ships encountered a small Spanish merchant vessel, which was lured towards the frigates, which were flying French tricolors. Seizing the Spanish vessel, Cooke closely questioned the captain and learned that most of the Spanish squadron in Manila were undergoing extensive repairs at Cavite and were unfit to sail. Cooke rewarded the captain by releasing his vessel with its cargo intact, although he did remove 3,900 silver dollars. The Spanish squadron had suffered badly in a
typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...
in April 1797 and much of the damage had still not been repaired by the time Cooke's small squadron arrived off Manila. Cooke had taken precautions to disguise his ships as French vessels, modelling ''Sybille'' on the powerful 40-gun ''Forte'' and ''Fox'' on the smaller ''Prudente''.


Dinner on ''Sybille''

Late in the afternoon of 13 January 1798, ''Sybille'' and ''Fox'' arrived in
Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...
, slipping unchallenged past the fortress of
Corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...
and then sailing across the bay on the morning of 14 January, anchoring between Manila and Cavite. From his vantage point Cooke could see the Spanish squadron dismasted and under repair in Cavite, the ships of the line ''San Pedro Apóstol'', ''Europa'' and ''Montañés'' and the frigates ''Santa Maria de la Cabeza'' and ''Santa Lucía'' in dock and unfit for action. Other sourcers says it was frigates Fama and Nuestra Señora del Pilar. To Cooke's disappointment he could also see the Manila galleon, ''Marquesetta'' being unloaded at the Cavite docks and another valuable merchant ship ''Rey Carlos'' aground in the harbour. The Spanish had learned only shortly before Cooke's arrival that the British frigate HMS ''Resistance'' under Captain Edward Pakenham was in Philippine waters and had decided to remove the valuable cargo from the treasure ship rather than risk an attack. ''Fox'' was the first British ship into the anchorage, and was consequently approached by the guard boat, whose crew came aboard. Malcolm, like Cooke, spoke French fluently and with Bernard translating was able to persuade the officer in charge that the new arrivals were ''Forte'' and ''Prudente'' seeking supplies and Spanish reinforcements for
commerce raiding Commerce raiding is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging its combatants or enforcing a blockade against them. Privateering is a fo ...
operations. The officer offered supplies but cautioned that none of the Spanish ships would be in a position to sail until March at the earliest. Cooke then joined the party on the deck of ''Fox'', claiming to be Commodore Latour, a French officer who, unknown to the Spanish, had been killed in the action of 9 September 1796 off Sumatra. The Spanish officer was now completely convinced by the ruse, which had been augmented by fake French uniforms. Inviting the visitor below decks, Cooke then passed
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
around and together they drank a series of toasts, including "the downfall of England". For an hour the officers drank, Malcolm and Cooke learning detailed information about the state of the defences and squadron in the Philippines, until a second boat pulled alongside ''Fox'' containing more officers keen to greet the French arrivals. This vessel was the personal
barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...
of the Spanish commander at Cavite, Rear-Admiral Don
Ignacio María de Álava Ignacio María de Álava y Sáenz de Navarrete (24 October 1750 – 26 May 1817) was a Spanish Navy officer who fought at the Battle of Trafalgar. Naval career Álava joined the Spanish navy in 1766. In his early years, he was involved in fightin ...
, who was not aboard, but who sent a message via an aide in a third boat. Each time, the officers were escorted below to join the festivities whereupon their crews were seized at gunpoint and taken below decks as
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
. In Malcolm's cabin, the captured officers were informed of their situation, promised release before the British frigates sailed, and offered more wine. The crew of ''Fox'' meanwhile forced the captured Spanish sailors to strip and donned their clothing. Climbing into the Spanish boats this party rowed for the mouth of the nearby
Pasig River The Pasig River (; ) is a water body in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it bisects the Philippine capital of Manila and Metro Manila, its surrounding urban area into northern and southern halves. Its m ...
, where they had learned that three heavy gunboats were moored. Taking the crews by surprise, the British boarding parties drove off the Spanish without a fight and brought all three boats alongside ''Fox''. These vessels normally carried crews of thirty and were well-armed, one with a 32-pounder long gun and two with
24-pounder long gun The 24-pounder long gun was a heavy calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. 24-pounders were in service in the navies of France, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States. They were comparable ...
s, each supplemented by four
swivel guns A swivel gun (or simply swivel) is a small cannon mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that ro ...
. The harbour captain reached ''Fox'' shortly afterwards, furious at the seizure of the gunboats and demanding they be returned. Malcolm received him with a tirade of near incomprehensible French and brought him to join the other captured officers in his cabin, while the boat's crew were imprisoned below decks. Shortly afterwards, at 16:00, Cooke and Malcolm hosted a large dinner for their officer captives and sent food and
grog Grog is a term used for a variety of alcoholic beverages. Origin and history Popularization of rum and invention of grog Following Invasion of Jamaica, England's conquest of Jamaica in 1655, rum gradually replaced beer and brandy as the drink ...
to the crew, the total number of Spanish sailors on ''Fox'' now numbering approximately 200. Once the meal was finished, Cooke allowed all of the captives to return to their boats and row for shore without the conditions of
parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...
, although he retained the captured gunboats.


Zamboanga

Cooke led his small squadron past Corregidor on 15 January and turned south. Four days later in a storm one of the gunboats broke its tow line and was never seen again, lost with its twelve crew. The frigates subsequently scouted
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
before reaching Zamboanga on 22 January. There Cooke raised Spanish colours in an attempt to deceive the authorities into supplying food and water to his squadron but ''Sybille'' grounded on a sandbank at the entrance to the port which raised the suspicions of a guard boat sent by the governor of Zamboanga, Raymundo Español.
Recuerdos de un hecho glorioso
', ''Por esos mundos'', No 161, June 1908, p. VIII–X.
The captain of the Spanish boat asked the British ships the names of their captains, and on receiving no answer but a volley of rifle fire, he put the town on alert. With the defenders forewarned, Cooke abandoned his ruse and after refloating ''Sybille'' the following morning, ordered a bombardment of the fort protecting the harbour. This had little effect, though later the Spanish recovered at least 450 cannonballs from different calibres, and Malcolm then attempted an
amphibious landing Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...
in order to storm the landward side of the fort. The boats came under heavy fire, one smashed by a cannonball, killing two and wounding four. Another boat grounded on a sandbar and became stuck; so with his force in disarray, as 250 villagers armed with lances ambushed and drove the British from the beach, Malcolm called off the operation. After exchanging shot for an hour both frigates cut their anchor cables and retreated out of range, with two dead and one wounded on ''Sybille'' and eight wounded on ''Fox'', in addition to those lost in the boats. The defenders lost a single man killed and 4 wounded. With his frigates now requiring repairs, Cooke withdraw half a league from Zamboanga and spent three days refitting the masts and rigging of the ships. Then he sailed north, scuttling the two remaining gunboats as he did not believe they would survive the return journey to Canton. Four days later, on 27 January the squadron halted at a village named "Pullock" in the north of the
Sultanate of Maguindanao The Sultanate of Maguindanao ( Maguindanaon: ''Kasultanan nu Magindanaw'', Jawi: كسولتانن نو مڬیندنو; Filipino: ''Kasultanan ng Mangindánaw'') was a Sunni Muslim sultanate that ruled parts of the island of Mindanao, in th ...
to collect fresh water. On the beach a boat party from ''Sybille'' was set upon by Lumad tribesmen. Two were killed and nine others taken captive and dragged into the forest before rescuers could arrive. Cooke complained to Sultan Kibab Sahriyal at Kuta Wato and the captured sailors were eventually recovered, although not before ''Sybille'' and ''Fox'' had sailed for China to escort the merchant convoy back to India.


Aftermath

Cooke's opportunistic diversion had determined that the Spanish forces in the Philippines posed no immediate threat, although the mission had cost 18 lives: Admiral Rainier later expressed his satisfaction with the outcome in a letter to the Admiralty. More might have been achieved with reinforcements: Historian C. Northcote Parkinson suggests that had Cooke's squadron united with ''Resistance'' together they may have been able to destroy the disarmed Spanish warships at Cavite. He also notes however that in this scenario Pakenham would have been commanding officer, a man with considerably less imagination and guile than Cooke. Historian Richard Woodman was critical of the mission, considering the operation to have "no glorious outcome" and citing the failure to capture the treasure ships as its greatest short-coming. The 1798 China Fleet sailed without further incident. During the ensuing year ''Resistance'' was destroyed by an accidental explosion in July in the
Bangka Strait Bangka Strait is the strait that separates the island of Sumatra from Bangka Island () in the Java Sea, Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, India ...
, and the majority of Rainier's forces were focused on disrupting the French occupation of
Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...
in the
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
. This diversion of British resources created gaps in the coverage in merchant shipping and Sercey was able to send the frigate ''Preneuse'' and corvette ''Brûle-Gueule'' to Manila late in the year to join the repaired Spanish squadron. At the beginning of February 1799, this combined force sailed to Macau, taking the British defences by surprise. The British commander Captain William Hargood counterattacked, advancing on the Franco-Spanish force which retreated during the day and disappeared under cover of darkness that evening in the
Wanshan Archipelago The Wanshan Archipelago, formerly known as the Ladrones Islands, is a 104-island archipelago that is a part of Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai, Xiangzhou District in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China. Administration Most of the islands of the arch ...
. The combined squadron then dispersed and the China Fleet was not attacked again until the
Battle of Pulo Aura The Battle of Pulo Aura was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars fought on 14 February 1804, in which a large British East India Company (EIC) convoy intimidated, drove off and chased away a powerful French Navy squadron. Although the ...
in 1804, at which a French squadron was again driven off in confusion. The frigates Cooke had mimicked, ''Forte'' and ''Prudente'' were sent to operate independently against British trade in the Indian Ocean in early 1799. ''Prudente'' was captured by HMS ''Daedalus'' at the Action of 9 February 1799 near Southern Africa, and ''Forte'' was intercepted by HMS ''Sybille'' under Cooke on 28 February near
Balasore Balasore, also known as Baleswar, is a city in the state of Odisha, about from the state capital Bhubaneswar and from Kolkata, in eastern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Balasore district and the largest city as well as heal ...
in
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
. In the ensuing battle ''Forte'' was captured but Cooke mortally wounded, dying on 25 May.


Citations


References

* at
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manila, raid on Conflicts in 1798 Naval battles of the French Revolutionary Wars involving Great Britain Naval battles of the French Revolutionary Wars involving Spain Military history of Manila History of the Philippines (1565–1898) False flag operations 18th century in Manila 1790s in the Philippines