Battle of San Juan de Ulúa

The battle of San Juan de Ulúa (1568) meant the disastrous end of the campaign of an English flotilla made up of six ships, which between 1567 and 1568, systematically violating the truce agreed upon by Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth I of England, dedicated himself to the assault of small Spanish ports and merchant ships, the black slave trade and illegal trade in the waters of Spanish America.

Background

The English fleet was made up of six ships: the Jesus of Lubeck, of the Royal Navy, commanded by John Hawkins, the Minion, with John Hampton, the William and John, with Thomas Bolton, and the Judith, captained by Francis Drake; Two other small boats, the Angel and the Swallow, were part of the expedition. After about a year of plundering along the American coasts, they decided to stop in the port and fort of San Juan de Ulúa in Mexico to undertake small repairs on their ships, as well as to acquire provisions for the voyage back to England, in 1568.

Combat

Misfortune befell the English when an escort fleet of the Spanish Navy, under the command of Francisco Luján, accidentally landed in that same port while the English were repairing their ships.

At first, the English did not fear for their safety, since after taking several Spanish hostages who had mistaken the English flotilla for an expected Spanish fleet, they reached a non-aggression agreement in principle with the viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almansa However, once inside the port of modern-day Veracruz, Luján attacked them. This led to the capture or sinking of four ships and the death of 500 sailors. Also, to the capture of Hawkins and Drake's merchandise, who only after many hardships managed to return to England.

Consequences

As a result of this incident, Francis Drake acquired a visceral hatred towards the Spanish, which precipitated him into his legendary career as a privateer linked to Queen Elizabeth I.

On the Spanish side, there is the recovery of the abundant profits resulting from a year of looting, which should have ended in England.

This combat was a clear antecedent of the open war that Philip II and Isabella I would fight starting in 1585, in which Spain would finally obtain a peace treaty favorable to its interests, although both kingdoms would end the war with serious problems. economical.