Robert Venables

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Robert Venables , (* 1612 or 1613 ; † July 1687 ) was a British military man, known as the conqueror of Jamaica for Great Britain.

Venables was a first lieutenant in the English Civil War and was wounded at Chester in 1645 . In 1648 he became governor of Liverpool . From 1649 to 1654 he served under Oliver Cromwell as Colonel and later Major General of Ulster (and Governor of Londonderry ) in his conquest of Ireland.

He is known as the troop commander in a failed military operation against the Spanish in the Caribbean, which Cromwell ordered in 1654. The naval commander was William Penn . The expedition set sail in December 1654 and reached Barbados in January 1655 . In April they attacked Hispaniola but were crushed by the Spaniards. They then turned to Jamaica, where in May they conquered the capital Spanish Town with relatively little resistance. The expedition was poorly equipped, the troops undisciplined, there was dissent between Venerables and Penn and sicknesses due to illness - Venerables also fell ill. Venerables also made mistakes in leadership and never won the trust of his soldiers and officers whom he accused of cowardice after the defeat on Hispaniola. He sailed back in July and ended up as a prisoner in the Tower when he returned in September. He was released in December, but lost his general rank and received no further command under Cromwell. In the Restoration, George Monck first made him Governor of Chester, which was revoked soon after.

He is also known for a book on fishing (The experienced angler 1662), published with a foreword by his friend Izaak Walton . It was printed five times during Venables' lifetime and was still published in 1827.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Venables, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English military
DATE OF BIRTH 1612 or 1613
DATE OF DEATH July 1687