The action of San Mateo Bay or action of Atacames Bay was a naval engagement which took place from 29 June to 1 July 1594 between the galleon Dainty under the command of English privateer Richard Hawkins and a Spanish squadron of three galleons commanded by Beltrán de Castro at the mouth of the Esmeraldas river, nowadays Ecuador.
In 1593 Hawkins, a nephew of Sir Francis Drake, purchased the Dainty, a ship originally built for his father as Repentance and used by him in his expeditions, and sailed for the West Indies, the Spanish Main, and the South Seas.[3] It seems clear that his project was to prey on the overseas possessions of the Spanish crown. Hawkins, however, in an account of the voyage written 30 years afterwards, maintained that his expedition was undertaken purely for the purpose of geographical discovery. After visiting the coast of Brazil, the Dainty passed through the Straits of Magellan, and in due course reached Valparaíso, where he plundered the town and captured four vessels.[4]
Engagementedit
After refreshing provisions for four days in Atacames Bay, Richard Hawkins spotted a vessel in open sea and ordered his pinnace to investigate.[1] At 9:00 A.M the next day he weighed with his ship and took up station farther west off Cape San Francisco for two days before returning and discovering his dismasted consort in nearby San Mateo Bay.[1]
The English duo was preparing to sail out into the Pacific by the morning of 29 June when two other ships came around Cape San Francisco. Believing to be Spanish treasure ships from Peru, Hawkins sent his repaired pinnace to reconnoiter, only to see it chased back by Felipón's 14-gun galley-zabra. De Castro's San Francisco y Nuestra Señora del Rosario followed close astern and attempted to run aboard Dainty but was checked by a heavy broadside.[1] In the meanwhile, the pinnace's crew strove to regain their flagship and concentrate forces but was intercepted by the galley-zabra; a few survivors managed to clamber aboard over the bowsprit. Both sides then exchanged long-range salvos for the next couple of days, the English toppling Felipón's mainmast on 30 June before finally surrendering to the Spaniards by the afternoon of 1 July.[1] On the Dainty, 27 of the crew were killed, 17 (including Hawkins) were wounded, and 93 others captured. The Spanish lost 28 dead and 22 wounded out of 300.[1]
De Castro installed Felipón as prize master and towed the badly-damaged English flagship to the Pearl Islands, reaching Perico island for a tumultuous reception on 19 July. Despite being promised honorable terms by De Castro, Peruvian colonial authorities were of a different opinion and most of the English captives were tried by the Inquisition and condemned as galley slaves, while Hawkins was freed and eventually returned to England.[1]Dainty was renamed to Nuestra Señora de la Visitación, also known as La Inglesa, and incorporated into the Peruvian Squadron of the Spanish navy. The Dainty was exhibited at Panama as a trophy of war: the first prize taken by the Spaniards in the Southern Seas.[5]
See alsoedit
John Oxenham - Francis Drake's second-in-command, the first non-Spanish European to cross the Isthmus of Panama in 1578. Sailing the Pacific and the Tuira River in a makeshift draft, he and his men were eventually chased and captured by a Spanish squadron. Executed by Lima's Inquisition in 1580.
Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1898). Armada Española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y Aragón (in Spanish). Vol. III. Madrid, Spain: Est. tipográfico "Sucesores de Rivadeneyra".
David F. Marley (1998). Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the New World, 1492 to the Present ABC-CLIO. ISBN0-87436-837-5
Spate, O. (1979). The Spanish lake Australian National University Press. ISBN0-7081-0727-3
action, mateo, action, mateo, action, atacames, naval, engagement, which, took, place, from, june, july, 1594, between, galleon, dainty, under, command, english, privateer, richard, hawkins, spanish, squadron, three, galleons, commanded, beltrán, castro, mouth. The action of San Mateo Bay or action of Atacames Bay was a naval engagement which took place from 29 June to 1 July 1594 between the galleon Dainty under the command of English privateer Richard Hawkins and a Spanish squadron of three galleons commanded by Beltran de Castro at the mouth of the Esmeraldas river nowadays Ecuador Action of San Mateo BayPart of the Anglo Spanish War 1585 Date29 June 1 July 1594LocationEsmeraldas River mouth nowadays EcuadorResultSpanish victory 1 BelligerentsKingdom of England SpainCommanders and leadersRichard Hawkins POW Beltran de CastroStrength1 galleon1 pinnace prize1 galleon1 galley zabraCasualties and losses1 galleon captured1 pinnace recaptured27 killed17 wounded93 captured 2 28 dead22 wounded 1 Contents 1 Background 2 Engagement 3 See also 4 Notes 5 ReferencesBackground editIn 1593 Hawkins a nephew of Sir Francis Drake purchased the Dainty a ship originally built for his father as Repentance and used by him in his expeditions and sailed for the West Indies the Spanish Main and the South Seas 3 It seems clear that his project was to prey on the overseas possessions of the Spanish crown Hawkins however in an account of the voyage written 30 years afterwards maintained that his expedition was undertaken purely for the purpose of geographical discovery After visiting the coast of Brazil the Dainty passed through the Straits of Magellan and in due course reached Valparaiso where he plundered the town and captured four vessels 4 Engagement editAfter refreshing provisions for four days in Atacames Bay Richard Hawkins spotted a vessel in open sea and ordered his pinnace to investigate 1 At 9 00 A M the next day he weighed with his ship and took up station farther west off Cape San Francisco for two days before returning and discovering his dismasted consort in nearby San Mateo Bay 1 The English duo was preparing to sail out into the Pacific by the morning of 29 June when two other ships came around Cape San Francisco Believing to be Spanish treasure ships from Peru Hawkins sent his repaired pinnace to reconnoiter only to see it chased back by Felipon s 14 gun galley zabra De Castro s San Francisco y Nuestra Senora del Rosario followed close astern and attempted to run aboard Dainty but was checked by a heavy broadside 1 In the meanwhile the pinnace s crew strove to regain their flagship and concentrate forces but was intercepted by the galley zabra a few survivors managed to clamber aboard over the bowsprit Both sides then exchanged long range salvos for the next couple of days the English toppling Felipon s mainmast on 30 June before finally surrendering to the Spaniards by the afternoon of 1 July 1 On the Dainty 27 of the crew were killed 17 including Hawkins were wounded and 93 others captured The Spanish lost 28 dead and 22 wounded out of 300 1 De Castro installed Felipon as prize master and towed the badly damaged English flagship to the Pearl Islands reaching Perico island for a tumultuous reception on 19 July Despite being promised honorable terms by De Castro Peruvian colonial authorities were of a different opinion and most of the English captives were tried by the Inquisition and condemned as galley slaves while Hawkins was freed and eventually returned to England 1 Dainty was renamed to Nuestra Senora de la Visitacion also known as La Inglesa and incorporated into the Peruvian Squadron of the Spanish navy The Dainty was exhibited at Panama as a trophy of war the first prize taken by the Spaniards in the Southern Seas 5 See also editJohn Oxenham Francis Drake s second in command the first non Spanish European to cross the Isthmus of Panama in 1578 Sailing the Pacific and the Tuira River in a makeshift draft he and his men were eventually chased and captured by a Spanish squadron Executed by Lima s Inquisition in 1580 Notes edit a b c d e f g h Marley p 84 Fernandez Duro p 99 Southey Robert 1834 The British admirals With an introductory view of the naval history of England Volume 3 Green amp Longman p 286 Marley pp 82 83 Spate p 289References editFernandez Duro Cesareo 1898 Armada Espanola desde la union de los reinos de Castilla y Aragon in Spanish Vol III Madrid Spain Est tipografico Sucesores de Rivadeneyra David F Marley 1998 Wars of the Americas A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the New World 1492 to the Present ABC CLIO ISBN 0 87436 837 5 Spate O 1979 The Spanish lake Australian National University Press ISBN 0 7081 0727 31 1 2 6 N 79 36 30 5 W 1 017389 N 79 608472 W 1 017389 79 608472 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Action of San Mateo Bay amp oldid 1161076214, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
