The siege of Santo Domingo (1808) was the second and final major battle of the Spanish reconquest of Santo Domingo and was fought between November 7, 1808 and July 11, 1809 at

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

Captaincy General of Santo Domingo The Captaincy General of Santo Domingo ( es, Capitanía General de Santo Domingo ) was the first colony in the New World, established by Spain in 1492 on the island of Hispaniola. The colony, under the jurisdiction of the Real Audiencia of Sant ...

. A force of Dominican and Puerto Rican of 1,850 troops led by Gen.

Juan Sánchez Ramírez Juan Sánchez Ramírez (1762–1811) was a Dominican soldier who served as the Captain general of the modern Dominican Republic between 1808 and 1811. He also commanded the troops that fought against the French rule of Santo Domingo´s colony be ...

, with a naval blockaded by

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, ...

Commander

Hugh Lyle Carmichael Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Lyle Carmichael (1764–1813), was a British officer of the 2nd West India Regiment. He was Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces at the Siege of Santo Domingo. He was Lieutenant Governor of Demerara Essequibo fr ...

, besieged and captured the city of Santo Domingo after an 8 months garrisoning of 2,000 troops of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

led by General Dubarquier.

Background

Upon hearing the news of Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808,

launched a war against the French troops who were nominally controlling the island. After some initial defeats, the loyalists managed a key victory in November, in the Battle of Palo Hincado, where Sánchez Ramírez's 2,000 soldiers overwhelmed Gen. Louis Ferrand's 600. There, with his numbers diminished owing to the desertion of Dominicans, the French commander faced certain defeat. Ferrand's pride was so wounded that he killed himself after the defeat. This would not stop the French, however, and General Dubarquier took over the fight. He resorted to enlisting Dominican slaves to fight against Sánchez Ramírez. Only with the help of the British Jamaicans could the loyalists expel the French, an event that would finally come to pass in 1809, the year in which British gunships fired into Santo Domingo, prompting Barquier to surrender the island.

References

*Delafosse, Lemonier; "Second Campaign of Santo Domingo — Dominican-French War of 1808" (translation of C. Armando Rodriguez); Editorial El Diario, Santiago (DR); 1946. *Guillermin, Gilbert; "Journal History of the Spanish revolution of Santo Domingo" (translation C. Armando Rodriguez); Dominican Academy of History; Imp editing PV Lafourcade, Philadelphia, U.S.; 1810. *Sánchez Ramírez, Juan; "Journal of the Reconquista"; Editor Montalvo, Santo Domingo (R.D.); 1957. {{British colonial campaigns Military history of the Dominican Republic History of Santo Domingo History of the Dominican Republic

Background

See also

References