The Raid on Charles Town, or Spanish raid on New Providence, was 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, Can ...

naval expedition on 19 January 1684 (O.S.) led by

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n corsair Juan de Alarcón against the English

privateering A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

stronghold of Charles Town (later renamed Nassau), capital of the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

. The

harboured

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 ...

s and privateers who preyed on Spanish ships.Mancke/ Shammas p. 255. Governor Clarke, described as "one of Cromwell's officers"Marley 2010, pp. 76–77. justified privateering as necessary for the colony's defence, but in one letter of marque he authorized offensive attacks on Spanish holdings far from the Bahamas. Clarke's encouragement of privateering contravened and jeopardized the 1667 and 1670 treaties of Madrid, which established peace between the English and Spanish. On 19 January 1684 (O.S.), a Spanish expedition reduced the Bahamian settlements and defenses to ruins, carrying off the governor in chains, together with the inhabitants. Clarke was tortured to death and his body was roasted after an approved judgement set by the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

.Seitz p. 104.

John Oldmixon John Oldmixon (1673 – 9 July 1742) was an English historian. He was a son of John Oldmixon of Oldmixon, Weston-super-Mare in Somerset. He was brought up by the family of Admiral Robert Blake in Bridgwater and later became involved in trad ...

claimed that Clarke died being roasted on a spit after the Spaniards had killed him.McCusker p. 179. The Bahamas subsequently remained devoid of any recognizable English presence until December 1686.

Background

Spain's corsair Juan de Alarcón stealthily approached to New Providence with a commission issued by Governor José Fernández de Córdoba and a pair of ''barcos luengos'' carrying 200 men. Having seized a woodcutting sloop off the island of Andros, Alarcón compelled its master William Bell to pilot in via the eastern channel. At daybreak Alarcón disembarked 150 men within a half-mile outside Charles Town (later Nassau), while his corsair ships bore down upon the six vessels anchored in its harbour.Marley 2010, p. 7.

Raid

Charles Town's population consisted of approximately 400 men capable of bearing arms plus perhaps 200 women, a like number of children, and 200 slaves. Taken utterly by surprise, they were incapable of mounting an effective defense. Former governor Robert Clarke was wounded and captured as he attempted to mount a feeble countercharge, while his recently arrived successor Robert Lilburne fled from his bedroom in the ''Wheel of Fortune'', along with most other residents. The 10-gun New England frigate ''Good Intent'' of Capt. William Warren and another anchored vessel managed to escape across the bar, leaving the Spaniards to pillage the remaining four ships and quickly ransack the town, loading their plunder aboard their largest prize before torching the rest and sailing away that same evening. Alarcón thereupon hastened across to northern Eleuthera and visited a like treatment upon its English settlement, before returning to Charles Town on 15 November 1684 (O.S.) to set fire on its buildings and carry off numerous residents 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.

. The Bahamas subsequently remained devoid of any recognizable English presence until December 1686, when a small contingent from

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 ...

under the preacher Thomas Bridges reoccupied New Providence Island, where more colonists gradually joined them.

Aftermath

Most of its buildings were burned, and the Bahamas were left depopulated. Some 200 colonists sought refuge on Jamaica while another 50 from northern Eleuthera temporarily resettled in Casco (Maine), leaving the Bahamas devoid of Englishmen until 1686. Upon the departure of the Spaniards, the settlers pulled themselves together again and a new governor, Robert Lilburne, came back from England.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{Coord, 25.06, -77.345, display=title 17th century in the Bahamas 1684 in the Caribbean Battles involving England Conflicts in 1684 Military raids Naval battles involving Spain Wars involving the Bahamas