The raid on Cartagena was the successful counter-attack against vessels sent to defend the city of Cartagena de Indias (modern-day Colombia) and the subsequent blockade of the city by

Laurens de Graaf Laurens Cornelis Boudewijn de Graaf (c. 1653 – 24 May 1704) was a Dutch pirate, mercenary, and naval officer in the service of the French colony of Saint-Domingue during the late 17th and early 18th century. De Graaf was also known as Laurencil ...

and his

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

compatriots.

Precursors

In May 1683, de Graaf had successfully attacked Veracruz with the assistance of Nicholas van Hoorn. The two subsequently had a falling out and de Graaf wounded van Hoorn on the

Isla de Sacrificios Isla de Sacrificios ("Island of Sacrifices") is an island in the Gulf of Mexico, situated off the Gulf coastline near the port of Veracruz, in Mexico. The waters surrounding the island are part of the Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano National Mari ...

.''The Buccaneer's Realm: Pirate Life on the Spanish Main, 1674-1688''
by Benerson Little (

Potomac Books The University of Nebraska Press, also known as UNP, was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the Univers ...

, 2007) Van Hoorn later died when the wound became infected. De Graaf and his fleet sailed south, arriving off the coast of modern-day Colombia in November 1683 where they held for almost a month, preparing to infiltrate Cartagena in the same way as they had Veracruz.''Blood and Silver: A History of Piracy in the Caribbean and Central America''
by Kris E. Lane (Signal Books, 1999)

The raid

To prevent an attack, governor Juan de Pando Estrada

commandeer Commandeering is an act of appropriation by the military or police whereby they take possession of the property of a member of the public. In the United States In United States law, it also refers to federal government actions which would force ...

ed three private

slave ships Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast in ...

- the 40-gun ''San Francisco'', the 34-gun ''Paz'' and a smaller 28-gun

galliot A galiot, galliot or galiote, was a small galley boat propelled by sail or oars. There are three different types of naval galiots that sailed on different seas. A ''galiote'' was a type of French flat-bottom river boat or barge and also a flat- ...

.''Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the New World, 1492 to the Present''
by David F. Marley (ABC-CLIO, 1998) 800 Spanish, led by a 26-year-old commander, set out to meet the pirates on Christmas Eve but immediately struggled against De Graaf's more experienced men. 90 Spaniards were killed compared to only 20 pirates. The ''San Francisco'' was grounded and the other two ships were captured. De Graaf re-floated the ''San Francisco'' as his new flagship and renamed it the ''Fortune'', later the ''Neptune''.

Michiel Andrieszoon Michiel Andrieszoon (fl. 1683–1684) was a Dutch buccaneer who served as lieutenant to Captain Laurens de Graaf. He commanded the ''le Tigre'', with a 300-man crew and between 30 and 36 guns. He is occasionally referred to in English as Michel or ...

took the ''Paz'' and renamed it the ''Mutine'' ("Rascal") and Yankey Willems was given command of the ''Francesca''.''Pirates of the Americas, Volume 1''
by David F. Marley (ABC-CLIO, 2010) The group released a large number of Spanish prisoners on Christmas Day and sent them ashore with a note for Governor Estrada thanking him for the Christmas presents. The pirates then proceeded to blockade the town and ransom their remaining hostages.

Relief

In January 1684 an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

convoy, led by the 48-gun ''HMS Ruby'', arrived carrying a note for de Graaf from his wife offering a Spanish pardon and letter of marque. De Graaf ignored the note, not trusting the Spanish to keep their promises, and instead invited English officers to board his vessels and trade with his men. The English were then allowed to continue to Cartagena's port without incident and soon after, de Graaf and his compatriots left for

Petit-Goâve Petit-Goâve ( ht, Ti Gwav) is a coastal commune in the Léogâne Arrondissement in the Ouest department of Haiti. It is located southwest of Port-au-Prince. The town has a population of approximately 12,000 inhabitants. History The town is ...

References

{{Pirates Conflicts in 1683 Naval battles involving pirates History of Cartagena, Colombia