The Capture of Cayo Cocina (also known as Saint George's Caye) was the result of a

Spanish 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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

military operation on the 15 September 1779 against a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

settlement on Saint George's Caye, just off the coast of present-day

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

, during the Anglo-Spanish War. The settlement was at the time the major British population center in the area, until Spanish forces from the

Captaincy General of Guatemala The Captaincy General of Guatemala ( es, Capitanía General de Guatemala), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala ( es, Reino de Guatemala), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central A ...

attacked it. The Spaniards removed the entire population (140 Baymen along with 250 of their slaves), forced them to march overland from

Bacalar Bacalar () is the municipal seat and largest city in Bacalar Municipality (until 2011 a part of Othón P. Blanco Municipality) in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, about north of Chetumal, at 18° 40' 37" N, 88° 23' 43" W. In the 2010 census ...

to Mérida, and then transported them by sea to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. Settlers who had been working on the mainland eventually made their way to other nearby British settlements at

Roatán Roatán () is an island in the Caribbean, about off the northern coast of Honduras. It is located between the islands of Utila and Guanaja, and is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras. The island was formerly known in English as Ruatan ...

or Black River. In 1782 the Spaniards released the prisoners and sent them to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. The entire Belizean territory was abandoned until 1784, after British logging rights were confirmed in the 1783

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

.Restall, p. 23

References

*Bolland, O. Nigel
''Colonialism and Resistance in Belize''
*Restall, Matthew
''The Black Middle: Africans, Mayas, and Spaniards in Colonial Yucatan''
{{coord missing, Belize Conflicts in 1779 Cayo Cocina Cayo Cocina Cayo Cocina 18th century in Belize