Battle of Santo Domingo (1586)

Battle of Santo Domingo (1586)
Part of the Anglo–Spanish War

Sir Francis Drake in Santo Domingo 1585, hand-colored engraving, by Baptista Boazio, 1589
Date1 January 1586
Location18°28′24″N 69°52′54″W / 18.47320°N 69.88171°W / 18.47320; -69.88171
Result English victory[1][2]
Belligerents
 Spain England England
Commanders and leaders
Cristóbal de Ovalle Francis Drake
Christopher Carleill
Strength
1,400 soldiers and militia
100 cavalry
30 diverse warships, 1 galley[3]
23 ships
2,300 soldiers & sailors[4]
Casualties and losses
200 killed, wounded or captured,
1 galley sunk,
20 ships burned,
3 ships captured[5][6]
20 casualties
3 ships scuttled[3][7]

The Battle of Santo Domingo (1586) or the Capture of Santo Domingo was a military and naval action fought on 1 January 1586, of the recently declared Anglo-Spanish War that resulted in the assault and capture by English soldiers and sailors of the Spanish city of Santo Domingo governed by Cristóbal de Ovalle on the Spanish island of Hispaniola. The English were led by Francis Drake and was part of his Great Expedition to raid the Spanish New World in a kind of preemptive strike.[3]: BC  The English soldiers then occupied the city for over a month and captured much booty along with a 25,000 ducat ransom before departing on 1 February.[8]

  1. ^ Joy Paige, Sir Francis Drake: Circumnavigator of the Globe and Privateer for Queen Elizabeth. Library of Explorers and Exploration. Rosen Publishing Group. 2002. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-8239-3630-4. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  2. ^ Tucker p. 54
  3. ^ a b c Konstam p. 41–53
  4. ^ Marley p.73
  5. ^ Keeler p. 29–33
  6. ^ Sugden p. 186–190
  7. ^ Corbett pg. 35–41 Drake and the Tudor Navy: With a History of the Rise of England as a Maritime Power, Volume 2
  8. ^ "Kraus, Hans. Sir Francis Drake: A Pictorial Biography, 1970". Loc.gov. 13 October 2005. Retrieved 8 April 2013.