The invasion of Cuba took place between 4–5 August and 9 December 1741 during the

War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear, or , was a conflict lasting from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and the Spanish Empire. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It is con ...

. A combined army and naval force under the command of Admiral

Edward Vernon Admiral Edward Vernon (12 November 1684 – 30 October 1757) was an English naval officer. He had a long and distinguished career, rising to the rank of admiral after 46 years service. As a vice admiral during the War of Jenkins' Ear, in 173 ...

and Major-General Thomas Wentworth arrived off

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 Caribb ...

and fortified positions around their landing site at

Cumberland Bay Cumberland Bay is a bay, wide at its entrance between Larsen Point and Barff Point, which separates into two extensive arms, Cumberland West Bay and Cumberland East Bay, which recede inland along the northern coast of South Georgia. It wa ...

. Despite facing no serious opposition, neither commander felt prepared to advance on the Spanish settlement at

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains ...

. Harassed by Spanish raids and with a mounting sick list, the British finally evacuated the island after several months of inactivity.

Background

Vernon had made an unsuccessful attempt to capture Cartagena in 1741, and after his repulse he directed the fragments of his sickly and dispirited followers against the island of

. The south and east of Cuba were so little populated, and so far from the capital,

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.

, that they might have made a permanent establishment there.

Vernon's expedition

The land forces consisted of the remnants of the troops from Cartagena, some 3,000 British and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

troops augmented by 1,000 Jamaican soldiers. Vernon left

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and ...

to capture Santiago de Cuba with the following ships: 80 (Flagship)
80
70
70
60
60
60
50
HMS ''Tiger'' 50
20
20
20
(

Bomb vessel A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons (long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but mortars mounted ...

)
(

Fireship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

)
(

Sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

)
(

)
(Hospital ship)
HMS ''Scarborough'' (

Hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. I ...

)
HMS ''Pompey'' ( Tender)
40 Transports carrying 4,000 troops under Major-General Thomas Wentworth

Battle

On the night of 4–5 August, the British force, bolstered by 1,000 reinforcements 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 Hispa ...

landed in three different beaches of the Guantanamo Bay. Without opposition, they marched against the village of

La Catalina LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

. However, the British, 105 kilometres (65 mi) short of their objective, slowed down three days later because of the growing concerns of their commander, Major-General Thomas Wentworth. Santiago's Governor Francisco Caxigal de la Vega, garrison commander

Carlos Riva Agüero Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

, and local militia Captain Pedro Guerrero had only 350 regulars and 600 militia to hand and so retreated from the British. Nevertheless, Wentworth's army became paralyzed by

fatigue Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...

and

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

, spending the next four months encamped, being sporadically raided by Spanish forces. Vernon, disgusted at his colleague's inactivity, but unwilling to risk any part of the fleet against the town, sent warships to cruise independently until Wentworth's sick list grew so long—2,260 soldiers being struck with fever by 5 December—that the expedition was re-embarked, setting sail at dawn on 9 December and returning to Port Royal ten days later.

Aftermath

Admiral Vernon's enterprise accomplished nothing but the loss of many of his soldiers and his own disgrace. Vernon was forced to return to Britain in 1742.Thomas Coke pp 268

References

Bibliography

* Pares, Richard. ''War and Trade in the West Indies'', Oxford university press, 1936 * Richmond, H.W.. ''The Navy In the War of 1739-48, Vo; 1''. Cambridge University Press, 1920. * David E. Marley, Wars of the Americas; ''A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the New World, 1492 to the Present'' ABC-Clio Inc, 1998 * Beatson, Robert. ''Naval and Military memoirs of Great Britain from 1727 to 1783, London, Vol.I and Vol.III, 1801.'' * Coke, Thomas. ''A History of the West Indies: Containing the Natural, Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Each Island'' London, 1810. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuba, Invasion of 1741 Conflicts in 1741 Battles involving Spain Battles involving Great Britain Battles of the War of Jenkins' Ear

Invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing ...

Spanish colonial period of Cuba

Guantanamo Bay Amphibious operations involving the Great Britain Invasions by Great Britain

1741 Events January–March * January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. *February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a speech ...