Tag Archives: Spain

History

Fascinating History: The City that Sank-The Infamous Port Royal (7 June 1692)

Leave a comment
Pre-1692 Port Royal Illustration
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

According to the Greek philosopher Plato, Atlantis was sunk as retribution by the gods. Today most historians and archaeologists consider Atlantis a myth (but likely based on the actual demise of the island of Thera and resultant decline of the Minoans), but the sinking of Port Royal into the Caribbean Sea is true.

Port Royal was founded in 1494 in southeast Jamaica on the peninsula of what was later called Kingston Harbor. The Spanish did not think it important at the time, but the island was strategic due its location to a major trade route. Sugar cane was the important crop and the island remained under Spanish control until the British seized the island in 1655. The British would build extensively in Port Royal (originally called Cagway) adding houses, shops, warehouses, and two forts. It became the unofficial capitol of Jamaica (Spanish Town was the capital until Kingston). Port Royal, due to its location on the Spanish Main, would become the home of privateers. Back then since most navies were small, governments would commission ship captains to wage war on their enemies at sea. Privateers, armed with the Letters of Marque that authorized them to act for the crown, allowed them to attack a country’s enemies on the seas. Privateers could seize ships and their cargoes to be sold for profit. The difference between a pirate and a privateer was simple. A pirate operated without a Letter of Marque and was a menace to all subject to death when caught.

Port Royal became a wealthy city due to the privateering and one of the largest cities in the Caribbean with over 6,500 people at its height. Its reputation as both gaudy for its display of wealth, and for its loose morals, made it one of the most notorious cities in the world at the time. Privateers would spend money in taverns (there was one for every ten people), gambling, and prostitution. Merchants of all kinds also dipped into the privateer purse by selling all kinds of products to them. The city ran out of room, so they built a landfill. While there was some advice to use wood, many choose instead to build with brick not realizing they were building on sand and not bedrock. By 1692 the need for privateers had ebbed. When the British signed the Treaty of Madrid in 1670, it ended their need to raid Spanish ships and cities. The famous privateer of the era, Henry Morgan, ended up serving in the Jamaican government and even being governor at times. Privateers could still use Port Royal, but they had to be careful to never attack British ships if they had a Letter of Marque from another power. The French still issued them in their war against Spain, though tensions between Britain and France were often difficult as well.

Pirates also had emerged as a new threat as they attacked everyone. Anti-piracy laws were soon enacted, and Port Royal was no haven for them. They would be shot at if they approached, their ships seized, and its captain and crew faced death or imprisonment. Port Royal, which had grown wealthy off the privateers, now wanted to end its bad reputation as a city for extreme drunkenness, debauchery, and illicit wealth. But on 7 June 1692, a series of three earthquakes hit starting at 11:43 a.m. All of Jamaica was shaken violently but the worst was at Port Royal. Buildings on the landfill or over water collapsed and sank. Then the tsunami arrived, putting half of the city under water. Spanish Town was completely destroyed and landslides inland claimed lives.

An estimated 3,000 people died from the earthquakes, tsunami, and landslides. Many died later from looters, injuries, and diseases. Small parts of the city did survive and attempts to rebuild were unsuccessful. As news spread that the wicked city was gone, many cheered its demise. Kingston became the new center of commerce and trade from that point on. Today it is known as the city that sank and a world heritage site. Tourists now visit the site and scientists of all kinds still study what happened. Liquefaction is one of the culprits of its demise, something that now explains how some cities built were destroyed in ancient times such as Helike in Greece or Thonis-Heracleion in Egypt.

Map showing shoreline changes caused by the 1692 Port Royal earthquake
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

 

Sources

Documentaries & Films

History

England Defeats Spanish Armada (29 July 1588)

Defeat of the Spanish Armada (Philip James de Loutherbourg, 1796)
Public Domain

On 8 Aug 1588 (29 July 1588) * naval forces of England and Spain engaged in an 8-hour furious battle off the coast of France that determined the fate of both countries control of the seas. Spain had created the armada to not only gain control of the English Channel but also to land an invasion force in England. England since the early 1580s had been conducting raids against Spanish commerce and had supported Dutch rebels in Spanish Netherlands. The other reason was to restore Catholicism that had been outlawed since the reign of King Henry VIII.

The invasion fleet was authorized by King Philip II and was completed in 1587 but delayed by a raid by Sir Francis Drake on the Armada’s supplies. It did not depart until 29 May 1588 (May 19, 1588) The fleet consisted of 130 ships under the command of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia. It had 2,500 guns, 8,000 seamen, and 20,000 soldiers. The Spanish ships though were slower than their English counterparts and lighter armed as well despite their guns. Their tactic was to force boarding when their ships were close enough. They believed with the superior numbers of Spanish infantry they could overwhelm the English ships.

The English were commanded by Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham. Like his counterpart, he was an admiral with not much sea experience but proved to be the better leader. His second in command was Sir Francis Drake. The English fleet was at its height 200 ships but in the actual combat was at most 100. Only 40 were warships and the rest smaller, but they were armed with heavy artillery that were able to fire at longer ranges without having to get close to the enemy to be effective. The English strategy was to bombard their enemy from a distance and not give them the opportunity to get close and possibly board their ships (which had smaller number of soldiers aboard than the Spanish had).

As the Spanish Armada made its way, it would be harassed by English ships that bombarded them at a distance negating Spanish attempts to board. The Armada anchored near Calais, France on 27 July (16 July). The Spanish forces on land were in Flanders and would take time to get Calais. However, since there was no safe port and enemy Dutch and English ships patrolled the coastal shallows, it meant those troops had no safe way to get to the Armada.

Around midnight on 7- 8 Aug 1588 ( 28-29 July), the English sent 8 fire ships into the anchored Spanish fleet. The Spanish were forced to quickly scatter to avoid the fire ships. This meant the Armada formation was now broken making them easier targets for the English to attack. They closed to effective range and attacked. Surprising to the English, the return fire was mostly small arms. It turns out most of the heavy cannons had not been mounted. And those that were did not have properly trained crews on how to reload. Three Spanish ships were sunk or driven ashore. Other ships were battered and moved away. The English also were low on ammunition, so they had to drop back and follow the Spanish fleet.

Destrucción de la Armada Invencible by José Gartner (1866–1918)
1892
Original located at Museo de Málaga, Spain
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The Spanish fleet had to flee north and around Scotland and from there head back to Spain. The English fleet turned back for resupply. It was a long road back to Spain for the Armada. Autumn had arrived and gales in the North Atlantic made passage tough. Ships were lost to bad weather, navigational errors, foundered near Ireland, and possibly battle damage as well. Only 60 of the 130 survived with an estimated loss of 15,000 men. The English losses were much smaller with fewer men wounded or killed in battle. It appears most of the deaths that came later were due to disease (possibly scurvy). Damages to the English ships were negligible.

Significance

With the defeat of the Spanish Armada, England was made safe from invasion. The Dutch rebels the English backed in Spanish Netherlands were saved as well. Spain up to that point had been the greatest European power, so it was a major blow to their prestige that would have ramifications down the road for them. Also, it heralded a major change for naval battles. This was the first major naval gun battle where the combatants fought at a distance rather than closing and boarding. Warships that could move quickly and had artillery that fire at long range would become the norm on the seas from that point on. England would now become a major world power. Spain still was in the game for several decades (the English were not successful either in trying their own invasion) and was still a major colonial power. England and Spain formally ended their conflict in 1604. Spain, however, would eventually go into decline as England and other European powers would successfully expand into Asia and establish their own colonies and trade routes.

*England was still under the old Julian calendar in 1588, so the original date is shown in parentheses. England adopted it in 1752 and had to skip ahead 11 days accounting for the difference. Wherever possible, the original and new date are shown.

Sources

Mark Cartwright and Cornelis Claesz Van Wieringen, “Spanish Armada,” World History Encyclopedia (September 21, 2023), https://www.worldhistory.org/Spanish_Armada/.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Spanish Armada | Definition, Defeat, & Facts,” Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified July 20, 1998, accessed July 29, 2025, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Armada-Spanish-naval-fleet#ref284702.

“The Spanish Armada, 1588,” Historic UK, last modified February 6, 2025, https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Spanish-Armada/.

“Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada,” Royal Museums Greenwich, https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/royal-history/elizabeth-i-spanish-armada.

HISTORY.com Editors, “Spanish Armada Defeated | August 8, 1588 | HISTORY,” HISTORY, last modified May 28, 2025, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-8/spanish-armada-defeated.

Suggested Reading

Fernández-Armesto, F. (1989). The Spanish Armada: The Experience of War in 1588. Oxford University Press, USA. This is written from the Spanish point of view. Some have criticized it as glorifying the Spanish Armada, which failed all its strategic and tactical aims. Worth reading though to see it viewed outside of the normal British view on the event.

History, C. (2020). History of Spain: A Captivating Guide to Spanish History, Starting from Roman Hispania Through the Visigoths, the Spanish Empire, the Bourbons, and the War of Spanish Independence to the Present.

Martin, C., & Parker, G. (1999). The Spanish Armada: Revised Edition. Manchester University Press. This is an update to an earlier book by the same authors. The prior book was well researched and considered the standard for this subject. This revised edition has updated information both from Spanish Armada shipwrecks that have been found and more archival data found. If you really want to know the full details as to what led up to the battle, the battle itself, and its aftermath, this would be the book to read.

Sheane, M. (2023). Ireland, 1588: Wreck of the Spanish Armada. A H Stockwell Limited.

Titanic News Channel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

History

Decisive Battles: Battle of Trafalgar (21 Oct 1805)

Battle Of Trafalgar (1805) by William Lionel Wyllie(1851-1931)
Image: Public Domain

The Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) saw many battles on land but the most pivotal naval one was on 21 Oct 1805. It was the naval battle that established British naval supremacy for 100 years. It was fought west of Cape Trafalgar, Spain putting it between Cadiz and the Strait of Gibraltar. 18 French and 15 Spanish ships would fight a British fleet of 27 ships. Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve commanded the combined French/Spanish fleet while Admiral Horatio Nelson commanded the British fleet. Villeneuve had hoped to avoid battle with the British when he slipped the fleet out of Cadiz on 19-20 October heading for the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately, Nelson caught him off of Cape Trafalgar on 21 October. Villeneuve ordered his ships to form a single line heading north. Nelson order his fleet into two squadrons and to attack from the west at right angles.

He signaled his famous message at 11:50 am from his ship Victory: “England expects that every man will do his duty.” Nelson’s squadron attacked the van and center in Villeneuve’s line.*  Nelson’s squadron broke through ignoring six leading French and Spanish ships in the first attack. Those six ships under Admiral Pierre Dumanoir did turn around to help but were driven off. The rear of Villeneuve’s fleet was destroyed, and Villeneuve was himself captured. The battle ended around 5:00 pm with 19 or 20 French & Spanish ships surrendering with crews and prisoners of war around 14,000 men. Admiral Nelson died during the battle but knew before he died of British victory. The British lost no ships but 1,500 crewmen were either killed or injured. The Battle of Trafalgar ended forever any dreams Napoleon had to invade England.

Aftermath

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812
Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825)
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

Napoleon did not learn of the defeat for many weeks due to being involved in military battles on land. He censored news of the defeat in Paris for a month. And then in a brazen propaganda move had the French newspapers portray it as a great victory over the British. Villeneuve would return to France in 1806 but was found dead in an inn room with six stab wounds from a knife. It was ruled a suicide, but some suspect he was killed. The battle made it clear Britain was master of the seas, but it did not slow Napoleon down on his strategy to conquer and defeat the Third Coalition and Austria. Napoleon buttoned up the continent to deprive British trade. French and Spanish armies would occupy Portugal in 1807. In 1808, Napoleon uneasy with his Spanish allies, invaded and took control of Spain. French troops and their supporters were disliked by many Spanish who took up arms. The British, after liberating Portugal, would drive out the French and used the Spanish guerrillas to harass the French. British forces under General Wellington would drive the Spanish out after the Battle of Salamanca in 1812. The French forces in Madrid would surrender ending the Peninsular War but starting the final campaign to drive Napoleon from power. *During the age of sail, fleets were divided into van, center, or rear squadrons and named after each squadrons place in the line of battle. ” You can read about how this was developed here.

Sources

“Battle of Trafalgar.” https://www.britishbattles.com/napoleonic-wars/battle-of-trafalgar/.

———. “Battle of Trafalgar | Summary, Facts, & Significance.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified October 15, 2024. Accessed October 18, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Trafalgar-European-history.

Onion, Amanda. “Battle of Trafalgar – Map, 1805 & Winner | HISTORY.” HISTORY, June 6, 2023. https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/battle-of-trafalgar.

Wiki, Contributors to Military. “Line of Battle.” Military Wiki. https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Line_of_battle.

Suggested Reading

Adkins, Roy A. Nelson’s Trafalgar: The Battle that Changed the World. Viking Adult, 2005.

Keegan, John. The Price of Admiralty: The Evolution of Naval Warfare from Trafalgar to Midway. Penguin, 1990.

Kennedy, Paul M. The Rise and Fall of British Naval Mastery. Palgrave, 2013.

Titanic News Channel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

History

England Defeats Spanish Armada 8 Aug 1588 (29 July 1588)

[Note: This was updated from 2023 for grammar, punctuation, and better source identification. Also revised the dates used to include the old date and new date after implementation of Gregorian calendar.]

Defeat of the Spanish Armada (Philip James de Loutherbourg, 1796)
Public Domain

On 8 Aug 1588 (29 July 1588) * naval forces of England and Spain engaged in an 8-hour furious battle off the coast of France that determined the fate of both countries control of the seas. Spain had created the armada to not only gain control of the English Channel but also to land an invasion force in England. England since the early 1580s had been conducting raids against Spanish commerce and had supported Dutch rebels in Spanish Netherlands. The other reason was to restore Catholicism that had been outlawed since the reign of King Henry VIII.

The invasion fleet was authorized by King Philip II and was completed in 1587 but delayed by a raid by Sir Francis Drake on the Armada’s supplies. It did not depart until 29 May 1588 (May 19, 1588) The fleet consisted of 130 ships under the command of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia. It had 2,500 guns, 8,000 seamen, and 20,000 soldiers. The Spanish ships though were slower than their English counterparts and lighter armed as well despite their guns. Their tactic was to force boarding when their ships were close enough. They believed with the superior numbers of Spanish infantry they could overwhelm the English ships.

The English were commanded by Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham. Like his counterpart, he was an admiral with not much sea experience but proved to be the better leader. His second in command was Sir Francis Drake. The English fleet was at its height 200 ships but in the actual combat was at most 100. Only 40 were warships and the rest smaller, but they were armed with heavy artillery that were able to fire at longer ranges without having to get close to the enemy to be effective. The English strategy was to bombard their enemy from a distance and not give them the opportunity to get close and possibly board their ships (which had smaller number of soldiers aboard than the Spanish had).

As the Spanish Armada made its way, it would be harassed by English ships that bombarded them at a distance negating Spanish attempts to board. The Armada anchored near Calais, France on 27 July (16 July). The Spanish forces on land were in Flanders and would take time to get Calais. However, since there was no safe port and enemy Dutch and English ships patrolled the coastal shallows, it meant those troops had no safe way to get to the Armada.

Around midnight on 7- 8Aug 1588 ( 28-29 July), the English sent 8 fire ships into the anchored Spanish fleet. The Spanish were forced to quickly scatter to avoid the fire ships. This meant the Armada formation was now broken making them easier targets for the English to attack. They closed to effective range and attacked. Surprising to the English, the return fire was mostly small arms. It turns out most of the heavy cannons had not been mounted. And those that were did not have properly trained crews on how to reload. Three Spanish ships were sunk or driven ashore. Other ships were battered and moved away. The English also were low on ammunition, so they had to drop back and follow the Spanish fleet.

Destrucción de la Armada Invencible by José Gartner (1866–1918)
1892
Original located at Museo de Málaga, Spain
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The Spanish fleet had to flee north and around Scotland and from there head back to Spain. The English fleet turned back for resupply. It was a long road back to Spain for the Armada. Autumn had arrived and gales in the North Atlantic made passage tough. Ships were lost to bad weather, navigational errors, foundered near Ireland, and possibly battle damage as well. Only 60 of the 130 survived with an estimated loss of 15,000 men. The English losses were much smaller with fewer men wounded or killed in battle. It appears most of the deaths that came later were due to disease (possibly scurvy). Damages to the English ships were negligible.

Significance

With the defeat of the Spanish Armada, England was made safe from invasion. The Dutch rebels the English backed in Spanish Netherlands were saved as well. Spain up to that point had been the greatest European power, so it was a major blow to their prestige that would have ramifications down the road for them. Also, it heralded a major change for naval battles. This was the first major naval gun battle where the combatants fought at a distance rather than closing and boarding. Warships that could move quickly and had artillery that fire at long range would become the norm on the seas from that point on. England would now become a major world power. Spain still was in the game for several decades (the English were not successful either in trying their own invasion) and was still a major colonial power. England and Spain formally ended their conflict in 1604. Spain, however, would eventually go into decline as England and other European powers would successfully expand into Asia and establish their own colonies and trade routes.

*England was still under the old Julian calendar in 1588, so the original date is shown in parentheses. England adopted it in 1752 and had to skip ahead 11 days accounting for the difference. Wherever possible, the original and new date are shown.

Sources

Cartwright, M., & Van Wieringen, C. C. (2023). Spanish armada. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Spanish_Armada/

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). Spanish Armada | Definition, defeat, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Armada-Spanish-naval-fleet#ref284702

The Spanish Armada, 1588. (2023, November 24). Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Spanish-Armada/

Elizabeth I and the Spanish armada. (n.d.). Royal Museums Greenwich. https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/elizabeth-i-spanish-armada

Sullivan, M. (2024f, July 25). Spanish Armada defeated. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/spanish-armada-defeated

Suggested Reading

Fernández-Armesto, F. (1989). The Spanish Armada: The Experience of War in 1588. Oxford University Press, USA. This is written from the Spanish point of view. Some have criticized it as glorifying the Spanish Armada, which failed all its strategic and tactical aims. Worth reading though to see it viewed outside of the normal British view on the event.

History, C. (2020). History of Spain: A Captivating Guide to Spanish History, Starting from Roman Hispania Through the Visigoths, the Spanish Empire, the Bourbons, and the War of Spanish Independence to the Present.

Martin, C., & Parker, G. (1999). The Spanish Armada: Revised Edition. Manchester University Press. This is an update to an earlier book by the same authors. The prior book was well researched and considered the standard for this subject. This revised edition has updated information both from Spanish Armada shipwrecks that have been found and more archival data found. If you really want to know the full details as to what led up to the battle, the battle itself, and its aftermath, this would be the book to read.

Sheane, M. (2023). Ireland, 1588: Wreck of the Spanish Armada. A H Stockwell Limited.

Titanic News Channel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

History

Forgotten History: Infamous Port Royal Sinks Into Sea Taking 3,000 Lives (7 June 1692

In the tale of Atlantis related by Plato, the island sinks into the sea. While today nearly all historians and archaeologists consider Atlantis a myth, there is one story that true and that is the sinking of Port Royal into the Caribbean Sea on 7 June 1692.

Pre-1692 Port Royal Illustration
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Port Royal was located in southeast Jamaica on the peninsula of Kingston Harbor. It was founded in 1494 by the Spanish though the area where Port Royal was located was of little interest to them. Jamaica was an important island strategically for them since it was located inside the major trade routes. The Spanish primarily used the island for sugar cane and would remain under Spanish control until the British seized it in 1655.

The British added houses, shops, warehouses, and two forts into the area that would be called later Port Royal (it was originally called Cagway). Port Royal would be the unofficial capital of Jamaica (though Spanish town was the official capital under the 19th century when Kingston was made the capital. Privateering found a convenient home in Port Royal. With its easy access to the Spanish Main, privateers carrying Letters of Marque (a document issued by the government authorizing the private person to raid ships of their enemies) could easily attack and bring back their spoils to sold for profit. It also had a large and well protected harbor for the privateers to return to and get ships repaired. Many well-known buccaneers of the period used Port Royal as their base of operations. Between the British Royal Navy and these privateers, the Spanish were on the defense. Additionally, it made it difficult for them to resupply their colonies or ship items home. Thus Spanish, with trade interrupted by ships captured by privateers, were forced to buy their supplies from merchants who got their them from privateers. It was a system called Forced Trade.

Port Royal became a city tied to the fortunes of the privateers as they raided Spanish ships and towns. They privateers received a great deal of money from bringing the items back to Port Royal where merchants would buy them. From all accounts, just about everyone in Port Royal benefited in one way or another from the privateers. Port Royal became a fast-growing city reaching up to 6,500 people at its height making it one of the largest cities in the Caribbean. It also acquired a reputation for its gaudy display of wealth and the large numbers of privateers that lived there. It became widely known as a place of loose morals as well. There were numerous taverns (one for every 10 people), prostitution was widely in use, and money was spent freely causing many of the privateers to go broke. There were also goldsmiths and merchants of all kinds to sold or bought products from the privateers. The city ran out of room due to the increased population, so they had to fill in areas and build on it or build structures above the water (sort of like Venice).  While there were some advice buildings should be built with wood and build them low, many opted to build with bricks not realizing they were not building on bedrock but sand.

By 1692, the need for privateers had diminished for the British with the Treaty of Madrid in 1670 ended their need to raid Spanish ships and cities. Henry Morgan, one of the famous and celebrated privateers of the era, would end up serving in the Jamaican government and even its governor at times. Privateers would still use Port Royal, but they had to be sure never to attack British ships. Morgan could no longer issue Letters of Marque but the French needed them, so they would sail for France against, you guessed it, the Spanish. Morgan received a payment for each Letter of Marque that was signed. It did cause problems for Morgan since some said he was helping the French against the Spanish. France though had become a major threat to the British. Morgan was replaced as governor (he only held the position when the person appointed was away or vacant). During his times as governor he increased defenses of the island from the French. But the accusations (falsely made it seems) would doom him and he would be out of power (except for a brief period) and died in 1684.

Changing attitudes also occurred as well. While many privateers had done service for the realm, pirates were a threat to everyone. And many people in Port Royal had tired of the drunkenness and other things that had given the city quite a sordid reputation. Anti-piracy laws enacted in 1687 turned Port Royal into a place where pirates were executed rather than tolerated. Ships called there and many sailors spent their money in taverns and other places, but pirates were now executed when caught or imprisoned. Then on 7 June 1692 around 11:43 a.m., everything would change. Three massive earthquakes hit Jamaica but was hardest on Port Royal. Buildings built over the water or filled in areas collapsed. Also, the peninsula was mostly sand and soil liquefaction occurred collapsing buildings as they sank. Then to make matters even worse, the tsunami created by the earthquakes struck putting half of Port Royal under water. Nearby Spanish Town was destroyed, and landslides claimed victims as well inland.

Over 3,000 people were killed outright by the earthquakes and tsunami. Many more died later from the looting, from injuries, and from diseases. The wicked pirate city as it was called was gone. While parts of it still remained, it was never rebuilt (subsequent attempts ran into real difficulties) and Kingston became more important as a result. Today there is an effort to restore a small part of it for tourist and also to make it a world heritage site. A large floating pier for cruise ships has been built but much more needs to be done according to news reports. A lot of study by geologists, historians, oceanographers and others of the remains under the sea is being done to understand how it happened. Port Royal, once the haven for pirates, has become known as the city that sank. Many actually were happy to see it suffer its fate from some writings of that time.

Map showing shoreline changes caused by the 1692 Port Royal earthquake
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

Ugc. “Sunken Pirate City at Port Royal.” Atlas Obscura, 3 June 2024, www.atlasobscura.com/places/sunken-pirate-stronghold-at-port-royal.

“Port Royal | Jamaica, Map, History, and Earthquake.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 June 2024, www.britannica.com/place/Port-Royal-Jamaica.

“Letter of Marque | Definition and Examples.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Nov. 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/letter-of-marque.

 “Earthquake Destroys Jamaican Town.” HISTORY, 6 June 2024, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/earthquake-destroys-jamaican-pirate-haven.

Vallar, Cindy. Pirates and Privateers: The History of Maritime Piracy – Pirate Havens Port Royal. www.cindyvallar.com/havens4.html.

“Port Royal.” Wikipedia, 3 June 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Royal.

Documentaries & Films

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered. “Pirates and the Earthquake That Destroyed Port Royal.” YouTube, 7 June 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=EypOHCv2JsY.

NTIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WILD. “Best Documentary History of Port Royal Underwater Cities.” YouTube, 22 Jan. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1VLUevIWIs.

 

 

 

 

 

Titanic News Channel  is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

History

Decisive Battles: Battle of Trafalgar (21 Oct 1805)

Battle Of Trafalgar (1805) by William Lionel Wyllie(1851-1931)
Image: Public Domain

The Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) saw many battles on land but the most pivotal naval one was on 21 Oct 1805. It was the naval battle that established British naval supremacy for 100 years. It was fought west of Cape Trafalgar, Spain putting it between Cadiz and the Strait of Gibraltar. 18 French and 15 Spanish ships would fight a British fleet of 27 ships. Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve commanded the combined French/Spanish fleet while Admiral Horatio Nelson commanded the British fleet. Villeneuve had hoped to avoid battle with the British when he slipped the fleet out of Cadiz on 19-20 October heading for the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately, Nelson caught him off of Cape Trafalgar on 21 October. Villeneuve ordered his ships to form a single line heading north. Nelson order his fleet into two squadrons and to attack from the west at right angles.

He signaled his famous message at 11:50 am from his ship Victory: “England expects that every man will do his duty.” Nelson’s squadron attacked the van and center in Villeneuve’s line.*  Nelson’s squadron broke through ignoring six leading French and Spanish ships in the first attack. Those six ships under Admiral Pierre Dumanoir did turn around to help but were driven off. The rear of Villeneuve’s fleet was destroyed, and Villeneuve was himself captured. The battle ended around 5:00 pm with 19 or 20 French & Spanish ships surrendering with crews and prisoners of war around 14,000 men. Admiral Nelson died during the battle but knew before he died of British victory. The British lost no ships but 1,500 crewmen were either killed or injured. The Battle of Trafalgar ended forever any dreams Napoleon had to invade England.

Aftermath

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812
Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825)
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

Napoleon did not learn of the defeat for many weeks due to being involved in military battles on land. He censored news of the defeat in Paris for a month. And then in a brazen propaganda move had the French newspapers portray it as a great victory over the British. Villeneuve would return to France in 1806 but was found dead in an inn room with six stab wounds from a knife. It was ruled a suicide, but some suspect he was killed. The battle made it clear Britain was master of the seas, but it did not slow Napoleon down on his strategy to conquer and defeat the Third Coalition and Austria. Napoleon buttoned up the continent to deprive British trade. French and Spanish armies would occupy Portugal in 1807. In 1808, Napoleon uneasy with his Spanish allies, invaded and took control of Spain. French troops and their supporters were disliked by many Spanish who took up arms. The British, after liberating Portugal, would drive out the French and used the Spanish guerrillas to harass the French. British forces under General Wellington would drive the Spanish out after the Battle of Salamanca in 1812. The French forces in Madrid would surrender ending the Peninsular War but starting the final campaign to drive Napoleon from power. *During the age of sail, fleets were divided into van, center, or rear squadrons and named after each squadrons place in the line of battle. ” You can read about how this was developed here.

Sources:

“Battle of Trafalgar | Summary, Facts, and Significance.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Oct. 2023, www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Trafalgar-European-history.

“Battle of Trafalgar.” HISTORY, 9 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/topics/european-history/battle-of-trafalgar.

Wiki, Contributors to Military. “Line of Battle.” Military Wiki, military.wikia.org/wiki/Line_of_battle.

“Battle of Trafalgar” www.britishbattles.com/napoleonic-wars/battle-of-trafalgar.

History

Remembering History: England Defeats Spanish Armada (29 July 1588)

Defeat of the Spanish Armada (Philip James de Loutherbourg, 1796)
Public Domain

On July 29, 1588 naval forces of England and Spain engaged in an 8-hour furious battle off the coast of France that determined the fate of both countries control of the seas. Spain had created the armada to not only gain control of the English Channel but also to land an invasion force in England. England since the early 1580s had been conducting raids against Spanish commerce and had supported Dutch rebels in Spanish Netherlands. The other reason was to restore Catholicism that had been outlawed since the reign of King Henry VIII

The invasion fleet was authorized by King Philip II and was completed in 1587 but delayed by a raid by Sir Francis Drake on the Armada’s supplies. It did not depart until May 19, 1588. The fleet consisted of 130 ships under the command of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia. It had 2,500 guns, 8,000 seamen, and 20,000 soldiers. The Spanish ships though were slower than their English counterparts and lighter armed as well despite their guns. Their tactic was to force boarding when their ships were close enough. They believed with the superior numbers of Spanish infantry they could overwhelm the English ships.

The English were commanded by Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham. Like his counterpart, he was an admiral with not much sea experience but proved to be the better leader. His second in command was Sir Francis Drake. The English fleet was at its height 200 ships but in the actual combat was at most 100. Only 40 were warships and the rest smaller, but they were armed with heavy artillery that were able to fire at longer ranges without having to get close to the enemy to be effective. The English strategy was to bombard their enemy from a distance and not give them the opportunity to get close and possibly board their ships (which had smaller number of soldiers aboard than the Spanish had).

As the Spanish Armada made its way, it would be harassed by English ships that bombarded them at a distance negating Spanish attempts to board. The Armada anchored near Calais, France on 27 July. The Spanish forces on land were in Flanders and would take time to get Calais. However, since there was no safe port and enemy Dutch and English ships patrolled the coastal shallows, it meant those troops had no safe way to get to the Armada.

Around midnight on 29 July, the English sent 8 fire ships into the anchored Spanish fleet. The Spanish were forced to quickly scatter to avoid the fire ships. This meant the Armada formation was now broken making them easier targets for the English to attack. They closed to effective range and attacked. Surprising to the English, the return fire was mostly small arms. It turns out most of the heavy cannons had not been mounted. And those that were did not have properly trained crews on how to reload. Three Spanish ships were sunk or driven ashore. Other ships were battered and moved away. The English also were low on ammunition, so they had to drop back and follow the Spanish fleet.

The Spanish fleet had to flee north and around Scotland and from there head back to Spain. The English fleet turned back for resupply. It was a long road back to Spain for the Armada. Autumn had arrived and gales in the North Atlantic made passage tough. Ships were lost to bad weather, navigational errors, foundered near Ireland, and possibly battle damage as well. Only 60 of the 130 survived with an estimated loss of 15,000 men. The English losses were much smaller with fewer men wounded or killed in battle. It appears most of the deaths that came later were due to disease (possibly scurvy). Damages to the English ships were negligible.

Significance

With the defeat of the Spanish Armada, England was made safe from invasion. The Dutch rebels the English backed in Spanish Netherlands were saved as well. Spain up to that point had been considered to be the greatest European power, so it was a major blow to their prestige that would have ramifications down the road for them. Also, it heralded a major change for naval battles. This was the first major naval gun battle where the combatants fought at a distance rather than closing and boarding. Warships that could move quickly and had artillery that fire at long range would become the norm on the seas from that point on. England would now become a major world power. Spain still was in the game for several decades (the English were not successful either in trying their own invasion) and was still a major colonial power. England and Spain formally ended their conflict in 1604. Spain, however, would eventually go into decline as England and other European powers would successfully expand into Asia and establish their own colonies and trade routes.

Sources:

This Day In History: Spanish Armada Defeated
Encyclopedia Britannica: Spanish Armada

History

REMEMBERING HISTORY: Battle of Trafalgar (21 Oct 1805)

Battle Of Trafalgar by William Lionel Wyllie (1851-1931)
Public Domain (US)
Wikimedia
The Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) saw many battles on land but the most pivotal naval one was on 21 Oct 1805. It was the naval battle that established British naval supremacy for 100 years. It was fought west of Cape Trafalgar, Spain putting it between Cadiz and the Strait of Gibraltar. 18 French and 15 Spanish ships would fight a British fleet of 27 ships. Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve commanded the combined French/Spanish fleet while Admiral Horatio Nelson commanded the British fleet. Villeneuve had hoped to avoid battle with the British when he slipped the fleet out of Cadiz on 19-20 October heading for the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately, Nelson caught him off of Cape Trafalgar on 21 October. Villeneuve ordered his ships to form a single line heading north. Nelson order his fleet into two squadrons and to attack from the west at right angles. He signaled his famous message at 11:50 am from his ship Victory: “England expects that every man will do his duty.” Nelson’s squadron attacked the van and center in Villeneuve’s line.*  Nelson’s squadron broke through ignoring six leading French and Spanish ships in the first attack. Those six ships under Admiral Pierre Dumanoir did turn around to help but were driven off. The rear of Villeneuve’s fleet was destroyed, and Villeneuve was himself captured. The battle ended around 5:00 pm with 19 or 20 French & Spanish ships surrendering with crews and prisoners of war around 14,000 men. Admiral Nelson died during the battle but knew before he died of British victory. The British lost no ships but 1,500 crewmen were either killed or injured. The Battle of Trafalgar ended forever any dreams Napoleon had to invade England. Aftermath Napoleon did not learn of the defeat for many weeks due to being involved in military battles on land. He censored news of the defeat in Paris for a month. And then in a brazen propaganda move had the French newspapers portray it as a great victory over the British. Villeneuve would return to France in 1806 but was found dead in an inn room with six stab wounds from a knife. It was ruled a suicide, but some suspect he was killed. The battle made it clear Britain was master of the seas, but it did not slow Napoleon down on his strategy to conquer and defeat the Third Coalition and Austria. Napoleon buttoned up the continent to deprive British trade. French and Spanish armies would occupy Portugal in 1807. In 1808, Napoleon uneasy with his Spanish allies, invaded and took control of Spain. French troops and their supporters were disliked by many Spanish who took up arms. The British, after liberating Portugal, would drive out the French and used the Spanish guerrillas to harass the French. British forces under General Wellington would drive the Spanish out after the Battle of Salamanca in 1812. The French forces in Madrid would surrender ending the Peninsular War but starting the final campaign to drive Napoleon from power. *During the age of sail, fleets were divided into van, center, or rear squadrons and named after each squadrons place in the line of battle. You can read about how this was developed here. Sources: Brittanica Online Military.wikia.org Wikipedia  
,
History

Remembering History: England Defeats Spanish Armada (29 July 1588)

Defeat of the Spanish Armada (Philip James de Loutherbourg, 1796)
Public Domain

On July 29, 1588 naval forces of England and Spain engaged in an 8-hour furious battle off the coast of France that determined the fate of both countries control of the seas. Spain had created the armada to not only gain control of the English Channel but also to land an invasion force in England. England since the early 1580s had been conducting raids against Spanish commerce and had supported Dutch rebels in Spanish Netherlands. The other reason was to restore Catholicism that had been outlawed since the reign of King Henry VIII

The invasion fleet was authorized by King Philip II and was completed in 1587 but delayed by a raid by Sir Francis Drake on the Armada’s supplies. It did not depart until May 19, 1588. The fleet consisted of 130 ships under the command of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia. It had 2,500 guns, 8,000 seamen, and 20,000 soldiers. The Spanish ships though were slower than their English counterparts and lighter armed as well despite their guns. Their tactic was to force boarding when their ships were close enough. They believed with the superior numbers of Spanish infantry they could overwhelm the English ships.

The English were commanded by Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham. Like his counterpart, he was an admiral with not much sea experience but proved to be the better leader. His second in command was Sir Francis Drake. The English fleet was at its height 200 ships but in the actual combat was at most 100. Only 40 were warships and the rest smaller, but they were armed with heavy artillery that were able to fire at longer ranges without having to get close to the enemy to be effective. The English strategy was to bombard their enemy from a distance and not give them the opportunity to get close and possibly board their ships (which had smaller number of soldiers aboard than the Spanish had).

As the Spanish Armada made its way, it would be harassed by English ships that bombarded them at a distance negating Spanish attempts to board. The Armada anchored near Calais, France on 27 July. The Spanish forces on land were in Flanders and would take time to get Calais. However, since there was no safe port and enemy Dutch and English ships patrolled the coastal shallows, it meant those troops had no safe way to get to the Armada.

Around midnight on 29 July, the English sent 8 fire ships into the anchored Spanish fleet. The Spanish were forced to quickly scatter to avoid the fire ships. This meant the Armada formation was now broken making them easier targets for the English to attack. They closed to effective range and attacked. Surprising to the English, the return fire was mostly small arms. It turns out most of the heavy cannons had not been mounted. And those that were did not have properly trained crews on how to reload. Three Spanish ships were sunk or driven ashore. Other ships were battered and moved away. The English also were low on ammunition, so they had to drop back and follow the Spanish fleet.

The Spanish fleet had to flee north and around Scotland and from there head back to Spain. The English fleet turned back for resupply. It was a long road back to Spain for the Armada. Autumn had arrived and gales in the North Atlantic made passage tough. Ships were lost to bad weather, navigational errors, foundered near Ireland, and possibly battle damage as well. Only 60 of the 130 survived with an estimated loss of 15,000 men. The English losses were much smaller with fewer men wounded or killed in battle. It appears most of the deaths that came later were due to disease (possibly scurvy). Damages to the English ships were negligible.

Significance

With the defeat of the Spanish Armada, England was made safe from invasion. The Dutch rebels the English backed in Spanish Netherlands were saved as well. Spain up to that point had been considered to be the greatest European power, so it was a major blow to their prestige that would have ramifications down the road for them. Also, it heralded a major change for naval battles. This was the first major naval gun battle where the combatants fought at a distance rather than closing and boarding. Warships that could move quickly and had artillery that fire at long range would become the norm on the seas from that point on. England would now become a major world power. Spain still was in the game for several decades (the English were not successful either in trying their own invasion) and was still a major colonial power. England and Spain formally ended their conflict in 1604. Spain, however, would eventually go into decline as England and other European powers would successfully expand into Asia and establish their own colonies and trade routes.

Sources:

This Day In History: Spanish Armada Defeated
Encyclopedia Britannica: Spanish Armada

History

Remembering History: England Defeats Spanish Armada (29 July 1688)

 

Defeat of the Spanish Armada (Philip James de Loutherbourg, 1796)
Public Domain

On July 29, 1688 naval forces of England and Spain engaged in an 8-hour furious battle off the coast of France that determined the fate of both countries control of the seas. Spain had created the armada to not only gain control of the English Channel but also to land an invasion force in England. England since the early 1580s had been conducting raids against Spanish commerce and had supported Dutch rebels in Spanish Netherlands. The other reason was to restore Catholicism that had been outlawed since the reign of King Henry VIII

The invasion fleet was authorized by King Philip II and was completed in 1587 but delayed by a raid by Sir Francis Drake on the Armada’s supplies. It did not depart until May 19, 1588. The fleet consisted of 130 ships under the command of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia. It had 2,500 guns, 8,000 seamen, and 20,000 soldiers. The Spanish ships though were slower than their English counterparts and lighter armed as well despite their guns. Their tactic was to force boarding when their ships were close enough. They believed with the superior numbers of Spanish infantry they could overwhelm the English ships.

The English were commanded by Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham. Like his counterpart, he was an admiral with not much sea experience but proved to be the better leader. His second in command was Sir Francis Drake. The English fleet was at its height 200 ships but in the actual combat was at most 100. Only 40 were warships and the rest smaller, but they were armed with heavy artillery that were able to fire at longer ranges without having to get close to the enemy to be effective. The English strategy was to bombard their enemy from a distance and not give them the opportunity to get close and possibly board their ships (which had smaller number of soldiers aboard than the Spanish had).

As the Spanish Armada made its way, it would be harassed by English ships that bombarded them at a distance negating Spanish attempts to board. The Armada anchored near Calais, France on 27 July. The Spanish forces on land were in Flanders and would take time to get Calais. However, since there was no safe port and enemy Dutch and English ships patrolled the coastal shallows, it meant those troops had no safe way to get to the Armada.

Around midnight on 29 July, the English sent 8 fire ships into the anchored Spanish fleet. The Spanish were forced to quickly scatter to avoid the fire ships. This meant the Armada formation was now broken making them easier targets for the English to attack. They closed to effective range and attacked. Surprising to the English, the return fire was mostly small arms. It turns out most of the heavy cannons had not been mounted. And those that were did not have properly trained crews on how to reload. Three Spanish ships were sunk or driven ashore. Other ships were battered and moved away. The English also were low on ammunition, so they had to drop back and follow the Spanish fleet.

The Spanish fleet had to flee north and around Scotland and from there head back to Spain. The English fleet turned back for resupply. It was a long road back to Spain for the Armada. Autumn had arrived and gales in the North Atlantic made passage tough. Ships were lost to bad weather, navigational errors, foundered near Ireland, and possibly battle damage as well. Only 60 of the 130 survived with an estimated loss of 15,000 men. The English losses were much smaller with fewer men wounded or killed in battle. It appears most of the deaths that came later were due to disease (possibly scurvy). Damages to the English ships were negligible.

Significance

With the defeat of the Spanish Armada, England was made safe from invasion. The Dutch rebels the English backed in Spanish Netherlands were saved as well. Spain up to that point had been considered to be the greatest European power, so it was a major blow to their prestige that would have ramifications down the road for them. Also, it heralded a major change for naval battles. This was the first major naval gun battle where the combatants fought at a distance rather than closing and boarding. Warships that could move quickly and had artillery that fire at long range would become the norm on the seas from that point on. England would now become a major world power. Spain still was in the game for several decades (the English were not successful either in trying their own invasion) and was still a major colonial power. England and Spain formally ended their conflict in 1604. Spain, however, would eventually go into decline as England and other European powers would successfully expand into Asia and establish their own colonies and trade routes.

https://youtu.be/34XrdXiOQTY

Sources:

This Day In History: Spanish Armada Defeated
Encyclopedia Britannica: Spanish Armada