Naval battle of October 16 and 17, 1799
| date | October 16th bis 17th October 1799 |
|---|---|
| place | Atlantic Ocean |
| output | British victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Captain William Pierrepont |
Kpt.Don Juan de Mendoza |
| Troop strength | |
| 4 British frigates | 2 Spanish frigates |
| losses | |
|
1 killed |
2 Spanish frigates captured |
The naval battle of October 16-17, 1799 was a naval battle between units of the Royal Navy and the Spanish Fleet , in which the frigates of the Royal Navy succeeded in capturing two Spanish frigates that were part of the annual cash transport and the income of the New World brought to Spain .
prehistory
Great Britain and Spain have been at war with each other since 1796 , after both had initially waged war against revolutionary France . At that time, Spain still had large colonies in Central and South America. Large amounts of money were transported from these colonies to Spain every year: on the one hand royal gold for the state treasure, but also private assets from wealthy traders and commodities coveted in Europe. During the war, Spain used its warships to safely transport these treasures.
In 1799, the two Spanish 34- gun frigates Thétis and Santa-Brigida were chosen to transport the annual cash transport to Spain. Both ships left Vera Cruz in what is now Mexico on August 21, 1799 and set course for Spain, using any Spanish port. This concession represented a tribute to the prevailing state of war with Great Britain: a British blockade squadron could lie in front of the Spanish naval port of Cadiz and the Mediterranean was blocked by British Gibraltar .
The enemy ships
| British ships | Cannons | Ship type | Spanish ships | Cannons | Ship type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Naiad 
|
38 | frigate |
Thétis .svg){kind=small}
|
34 | frigate |
| HMS Ethalion
|
38 | frigate |
Santa Brigida
|
34 | frigate |
| HMS Alcème
|
32 | frigate | |||
| HMS Triton
|
32 | frigate |
The British frigates
Among the British frigates were the two 38-gun frigates HMS Naiad under Capt. William Pierrepont and the HMS Ethalion under Capt. James Young.
On board HMS Naiad - a British 38-gun frigate under Capt. William Pierrepont - according to the archives there were 28 18-pounder guns on the gun deck, six 9-pounder guns and six 32-pounder carronades on the quarterdeck, as well as four 9-pounder guns and four 32-pounder carronades on the forecastle. Accordingly, there were a total of 46 heavy guns on board.
Aboard HMS Ethalion from Capt. James Young had 28 18 pounder guns on the gun deck. The number and position of the cannons corresponded to that of the HMS Naiad -
On board the 32-gun frigate HMS Alcème under Capt. Henry Digby and HMS Triton under Capt. John Gore, there were 40 heavy artillery pieces each: 26 cannons on the cannon deck, six 6-pounder cannons and eight 24-pounder carronades on the upper deck.
The Spanish frigates
The Spanish frigates were the 34-gun frigates Thétis under Capt. Don Juan de Mendoza and the Santa Brigida under Capt. Don Antonio Pillar. The armament of such frigates usually consisted of 26 cannons in the main battery in the gun deck and 10 cannons on the upper deck.
The naval battle
On October 15, 1799, both Spanish frigates were in the Atlantic only two days' voyage from a safe Spanish port. However, the two frigates were sighted by the British frigate HMS Naiad that day . The HMS Naiad began a pursuit of the two unknown ships and set all sails. In the morning hours of October 16, 1799, the HMS Naiad sighted sails in a south-westerly direction, which later turned out to be those of the HMS Ethalion . In the course of October 16, 1799, the British frigates HMS Alcème and HMS Triton also joined the pursuers.
The conquest of the Thétis
Both Spanish frigates parted in the face of the four pursuers around 7 o'clock in the morning of October 16, 1799. The HMS Ethalion was to pursue the Thètis . At around 9 o'clock the HMS Ethalion passed the Santa Brigida and exchanged a few shots with the Spanish frigate. Around 11:30 a.m., the HMS Ethalion finally caught up with the Thètis . The Thètis of HMS Ethalion surrendered within an hour . This secured the captured Spanish frigate and brought it to Plymouth on October 21, 1799 .
The conquest of Santa Brigida
The Santa Brigida, on the other hand, was hunted by her three pursuers for the whole of October 16. On the morning of October 17th, the Spanish frigate circled Cape Finisterre under full sail . However, the HMS Triton had come so close that fire on the Santa Brigida could be opened around 7 a.m. A little later, the HMS Alcème also opened fire on the Spanish frigate. At around 8 a.m. on October 17, 1799, the Santa Brigida was placed in front of the port of Muros. After a brief struggle against the overwhelming odds, the Spanish frigate surrendered. The result of this battle: HMS Triton complained of one wounded, HMS Alcème complained of one dead and nine wounded. Two men had died and eight were wounded on the conquered Santa Brigida .
The three British frigates and the pinch of Santa Brigida set course for Plymouth, where they arrived in port on October 22nd.
Distribution of the treasure
On the Thétis there were 431 cash boxes with 1,385,292 Spanish dollars, which at the time was equivalent to 311,690 pounds sterling (in today's purchasing power 29.39 million pounds). On board the Santa Brigida there were 446 cash cassettes and other cash assets with a total value of 1,500,000 Spanish dollars on board. Accordingly, the Santa Brigida was worth around 345,000 pounds sterling (in today's purchasing power 32.60 million pounds) according to the currency at the time. In contrast to the events after the naval battle of October 5, 1804 , the treasure was divided among the crews of the British frigates.
Furthermore, the Spanish frigates were bought by the Royal Navy . However, they never seemed to have served in the Royal Navy again. Presumably they were used in port service until they were demolished.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b William James. Naval History of Great Britain . Volume II. London 1837. p. 357 ff.
literature
- William James. Naval History of Great Britain . Volume II. London 1837. p. 357 ff. (Google Books, PDF)