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1635 Capture of Tortuga

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1635 Capture of Tortuga
Part of Thirty Years' War

Defeat of the Spanish Armada / 1796 oil on canvas by Philip James de Loutherbourg / via Royal Mus. Greenwich
Date21–23 January 1635 (1635-01-21 – 1635-01-23) / often misdated to Jan. 1634 or Dec. 1634
Locationthe southern harbour (ie Fort de Rocher)
Coordinates: 20°00′17″N 72°42′43″W / 20.004602721742035°N 72.711911066269°W / 20.004602721742035; -72.71191106626894
Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
  Spain
Commanders and leaders
  • England Philip Bell / Gov.
  • England Christopher Wormeley / Gov.
  • Spain Alonso de Cereceda / actg. Gov. Sto. Dom.
  • Spain Enrique Enríquez de Sotomayor / Gov. Pto. Rico
  • Spain Ruy Fernández de Fuenmayor / Gen.
  • Spain Francisco Turrillo de Yebra1 / Adm.
  • Spain Gonçalo de Frías / Capt.
  • John Murphy2 / informant
Units involved
  • 6 urcas
  • 3 pataches
  • sev. sm. craft
 4 bajeles
Strength
  • 150‍–‍600 residents / plus slaves, women, children
  • vars. sailors
  • 150 lancers
  • 50 infantry
  • 50 sailors
Casualties and losses
  • 196 killed
  • vars. wounded
  • 39 detained
  • 1 fort seized / 6-piece artillery
  • 1 settlement burnt / inc. logging camps, tobacco farms
  • 2 urcas burnt
  • 1 patache seized
  • 180 muskets seized
  • 2 killed
  • 4 wounded
  • some drowned
  • 0 detained
  • 1 aka Francisco Trujillo
  • 2 aka Juan Morfa Geraldino y Burco, Juan Morf, Juan Morfa, Juan de Morfa Geraldino

The 1635 Capture of Tortuga (often misdated to 1634) was a successful military campaign against the Anglo-French plantation, pirate, and buccaneering settlement of Tortuga, then a dependency of the Providence Island colony. It resulted in heavy casualties for the settlement, the severance of Tortuga's link with Providence Island, and Tortuga's further shift towards piracy and buccaneering.Template:Notetag

Prelude[]

Tortuga17thcentury

Planta de la Isla y fuerza de la Tortuga / 1653 draught by anon. / via Mus. Nav. Madrid

English, French, and Dutch buccaneers settled Tortuga (and the northern coast of Hispaniola) in the 1600s or the 1610s, living off feral game, dye-wood logging, and piracy. In 1630, they were joined by some 150 English tobacco farmers from St. Kitts, who were led to the southern coast of Tortuga (near that shore's only harbour) by Anthony Hilton. These new settlers quickly formalised their colony by association with Providence Island. On 21 July 1631, Providence established the dependency of Association (i.e. Tortuga), providing for its defence and labour needs, and vesting its government in Hilton and his associate, Christopher Wormeley. This latter assumed governorship in 1634, upon Hilton's death.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]Template:NotetagTemplate:Notetag

Among the indentured servants or engagés which Providence provided Tortuga were John Murphy and his cousin, Irish Catholics. Upon Wormeley's inauguration as governor, these and many others were required to take oaths of allegiance, whereupon Murphy and his cousin protested, leading to the latter's death and the former's defection to Cartagena (first) and Santo Domingo (later).[8]

Upon reaching Santo Domingo in 1634, Murphy informed local authorities that‍–‍ Template:Text and translation

Hereupon, Alonso de Cereceda, acting governor, convened a council of war, which resolved to 'dislodge the enemy from the said Island and punish their audacity before their greater expansion and fortification [occurs,] and because of the great [commercial] interest in the brazilwood and tobacco that they harvest and trade[,] and because it is [too] close to the route of the frigates and ships which come and go from this Island [Hispaniola] to that of Cuba[,] Cartaxena[,] and other parts[, being so located so as] to steal from these vessels.'[9]

Capture[]

Arrival[]

Turrillo and 50 infantry-men set off from Santo Domingo on 4 January 1635, with four baxeles in tow, to meet Fuenmayor and his 150 lancers at their rendezvous, Port Bayaha. The officers coordinated their attack while watering here, and shortly thereafter sailed due northwest, coasting the northern shore of Hispaniola.[10]

Capture[]

On 21 January 1635, under cover of night, Fuenmayor lead his armadilla or fleet across the Tortuga Channel, towards the island's southern port. The pilot, however, ran the ships aground, causing a ruckus which alerted four merchantmen to their presence. A loud and confused skirmish followed, as sailors rushed to man the fort and sound the alarm, while Spaniards simultaneously prepared their attack, with most taking to the ships' cannons, while a small contingent slipped away in canoes towards the beach. The kerfuffle resulted in the campaign's first casualties, for both sides.[11]Template:NotetagTemplate:Notetag

Startled awake by the fort's bugles, the settlement was likewise a scene of frenzied chaos as French and English residents collected their valuables to make a hurried escape. At the Governor's residence, Wormeley likewise set upon retreat, managing to scurry away before Fuenmayor arrived. At this point, Fuenmayor, Turrillo, and Frías, with a unit of 24 men, disembarked near the settlement, at once marching towards the Governor's house. An unidentified resident (presumed to be the 'Governor' by Fuenmayor) put up a fight, but was quickly despatched with two well-aimed spear-throws. The 'Governor' now slain, Fuenmayor set about methodically sacking and burning the settlement, killing all whom they encountered. Meanwhile, the armadilla eventually took the fort, and thereby the port, forcing the merchant vessels to retreat.[12][13][14]

By daybreak (on 22 January 1635), most or some of the settlers had made their escape, reportedly aboard rickety canoes towards Hispaniola. Fuenmayor's men now ventured further into Tortuga, under instructions 'that all the fields and houses be put to fire.'Template:Notetag

The campaign's last engagement came on 23 January 1635. Some 190 of the island's residents had resolved to oppose the Spanish, rather than flee. Consequently, they had determined to march towards Fuenmayor's camp on this day. The Spanish general, however, discovered their plot, and met the musket-armed settlers halfway into their march. The engagement was reportedly quick and bitter, with the Spaniards exacting a substantial toll, themselves suffering only minimal casualties.[15][16]Template:Notetag

Aftermath[]

On 27‍–‍28 January 1635, the Spanish ships finally entered the port. Fuenmayor spent the following three or four days combing Tortuga before departing, with the rest of his men (and prisoners) following not long thereafter. The 39 prisoners were condemned to hard labour, building fortifications in Santo Domingo.[17][18]Template:Notetag

On 10 April 1635, proprietors of the Providence Island colony deprived Wormeley of his office and banished him from the Tortuga, 'by reason of his cowardice and negligence in losing the island.' He is thought to have relocated to York County, Virginia, where he served in various public offices.[19][13][20][21]Template:Notetag

It has been suggested that settlers who hid were 'hunted down' during Fuenmayor's sweep of the island, though a 'handful managed to conceal themselves in out-of-the-way recesses until the Spaniards [...] sailed back to San Domingo.' In any case, as no garrison remained in Tortuga, the island is thought to have been resettled within a few months of Fuenmayor's departure, in mid- or late 1635.[13][18]Template:Notetag

Legacy[]

The capture was deemed 'a complete success.' Men who distinguished themselves were honoured with mercedes, and Fuenmayor was promoted to the governorship of Venezuela. It has been further suggested that this success encouraged campaigns against Dutch-held Curaçao and English-held Providence Island.[22][23][24][25]Template:Notetag

Wormeley, on the other hand, is said to have 'displayed the utmost cowardice.'[20][26] It has been suggested that Fuenmayor's campaign contributed to Tortuga's transition from a quasi-plantation, quasi-pirate settlement to 'a true pirate stronghold,' as the campaign resulted in the removal of Providence Island's plantation-oriented oversight, and the eventual desertion of tobacco farmers, leaving mainly pirates and buccaneers.[2]Template:Notetag

Notes[]

Template:Notefoot

Citations[]

  1. ↑ Crouse 1940, p. 81.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Galvin 1991, pp. 279-280, note no. 18.
  3. ↑ Galvin 1991, pp. 190, 198-200.
  4. ↑ Haring 1910, pp. 59-60.
  5. ↑ Moreau 2012, cap. 4 sec. 'La isla de Tortuga' para. 4.
  6. ↑ Latimer 2009, p. 76.
  7. ↑ Sainsbury 1860, sec. 'July 1631' items 'July 6' and 'July 21'.
  8. ↑ Block & Shaw 2011, pp. 44-45.
  9. ↑ anon. 1942c, p. 396.
  10. ↑ anon. 1942c, p. 393.
  11. ↑ anon. 1942c, pp. 393-394.
  12. ↑ anon. 1942c, p. 394.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Crouse 1940, p. 83.
  14. ↑ Galvin 1991, pp. 201-202.
  15. ↑ anon. 1942c, pp. 394, 397 misprinted as 497.
  16. ↑ Schmitt 2017, pp. 588-589.
  17. ↑ anon. 1942c, p. 395.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Schmitt 2017, p. 589.
  19. ↑ anon. 1928, p. 98.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Riches 1999, pp. 18-19.
  21. ↑ Sainsbury 1860, sec. 'April 1635' item 'April 10'.
  22. ↑ Rodríguez de la Torre 2018, para. 2.
  23. ↑ anon. 1941, p. 244, item no. 181.
  24. ↑ anon. 1942a, pp. 102-103, footnote no. 1.
  25. ↑ anon. 1942c, p. 397 misprinted as 497.
  26. ↑ Newton 1914, p. 193.

References[]

  1. anon. (1927). "The Wormeley Family". pp. 455–456. JSTOR 4244177. http://ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/login?url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4244177. 
  2. anon. (1928). "The Wormeley Family (Continued)". pp. 98–101. JSTOR 4244188. http://ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/login?url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4244188. 
  3. anon. (1941). "Colección Lugo : Archivo General de Indias : Reales órdenes de las libretas 15, 16, 44, 46 y 47". pp. 223–275. ISSN 1012-9472. http://agn.gob.do/index.php/publicaciones/boletin-agn/category/70-1941. 
  4. anon. (1942a). "Relaciones Históricas de Santo Domingo (Colección y notas de EMILIO RODRIGUEZ DEMORIZI)". pp. 3–120. ISSN 1012-9472. http://agn.gob.do/index.php/publicaciones/boletin-agn/category/69-1942. 
  5. anon. (1942b). "Colección Lugo (continuación de la libreta 15)". pp. 293–341. ISSN 1012-9472. http://agn.gob.do/index.php/publicaciones/boletin-agn/category/69-1942. 
  6. anon. (1942c). "Colección Lugo (continuación de la libreta 35)". pp. 355–414. ISSN 1012-9472. http://agn.gob.do/index.php/publicaciones/boletin-agn/category/69-1942. 
  7. anon. (1943a). "Colección Lugo (continuación de la libreta 36)". pp. 111–115. ISSN 1012-9472. http://agn.gob.do/index.php/publicaciones/boletin-agn/category/68-1943. 
  8. anon. (1943b). "Colección Lugo (continuación de la libreta 36)". pp. 254–268. ISSN 1012-9472. http://agn.gob.do/index.php/publicaciones/boletin-agn/category/68-1943. 
  9. anon. (1943c). "Colección Lugo (continuación de la libreta 38)". pp. 404–408. ISSN 1012-9472. http://agn.gob.do/index.php/publicaciones/boletin-agn/category/68-1943. 
  10. anon. (1944a). "Colección Lugo (continuación de la libreta 38)". pp. 144–190. ISSN 1012-9472. http://agn.gob.do/index.php/publicaciones/boletin-agn/category/67-1944. 
  11. anon. (1944b). "Colección Lugo (continuación de la libreta 39)". pp. 217–279. ISSN 1012-9472. http://agn.gob.do/index.php/publicaciones/boletin-agn/category/67-1944. 
  12. Block, Kristen; Shaw, Jenny (2011). "Subjects Without an Empire: The Irish in the Early Modern Caribbean". pp. 33–60. Digital object identifier:10.1093/pastj/gtq059. JSTOR 23015371. http://ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/login?url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23015371. 
  13. Crouse, Nellis M. (1940). French pioneers in the West Indies, 1624-1664 (1st ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. OCLC 485234. 
  14. Fernández Duro, Cesário (1899). AÑOS 1621 - 1652. Armada española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y de León. 5 (1st ed.). Madrid: Est. tipográfico "Sucesores de Rivadeneyra". OCLC 4413652. https://armada.defensa.gob.es/ArmadaPortal/page/Portal/ArmadaEspannola/mardigitalrevistas/prefLang-es/05a-cesareo-fernandez-duro. 
  15. Galvin, Peter R. (1991). The pirates' wake: A geography of piracy and pirates as geographers in colonial Spanish America, 1536-1718. (Volumes I and II) (PhD). Baton Rouge, Louis.: Louisiana State University. ProQuest 303961341. https://www.proquest.com/docview/303961341. 
  16. Haring, Clarence Henry (1910). Buccaneers in the West Indies in the Seventeenth Century (1st ed.). London: Methuen & Co.. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19139. 
  17. Lane, Kris (2016). Pillaging the empire : global piracy on the high seas, 1500-1750 (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. OCLC 904755960. 
  18. Latimer, Jon (2009). Buccaneers of the Caribbean: How Piracy Forged an Empire (1st ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Digital object identifier:10.4159/9780674054172. ISBN 9780674054172. https://www-degruyter-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/document/doi/10.4159/9780674054172/html. 
  19. Marley, David F. (1998). Wars of the Americas: a chronology of armed conflict in the New World, 1492 to the present (1st ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. OCLC 39024726. 
  20. Moreau, Jean-Pierre (2012). Pirates: flibuste et piraterie dans la Caraïbe et les mers du sud (1522-1725). Papeles del tiempo no. 6. Boadilla del Monte (Madrid): Antonio Machado Libros. OCLC 840414526. 
  21. Newton, Arthur Percival (1914). The colonising activities of the English Puritans: the last phase of the Elizabethan struggle with Spain. Yale Historical Publications: Miscellany. 1 (1st ed.). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. OCLC 2993127. http://www.llmcdigital.org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/default.aspx?redir=31970. 
  22. Riches, W. T. M. (1999). "White Slaves, Black Servants and the Question of Providence: Servitude and Slavery in Colonial Virginia 1609-1705". pp. 1–33. JSTOR 30002672. http://ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/login?url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30002672. 
  23. Robison, Todd M. (1998). "Subject to the power of the Infernall Spiritt" : Puritans, Privateers, and the Genesis of Buccaneers (MA). Greenville, N. Car.: East Carolina University. 
  24. Rodríguez de la Torre, Fernando (3 May 2018). "Fernández de Fuenmayor Figueroa, Ruy". Real Academia de la Historia. https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/35149/ruy-fernandez-de-fuenmayor-figueroa. 
  25. 1574-1660. Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies. 1 (1st ed.). London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1860. OCLC 456586992. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/colonial/america-west-indies/vol1. 
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