Attack on Saint Martin
Encyclopedia
The Attack on Saint Martin was a failed attempt by the Dutch Republic
to recapture the island and former base of the Dutch West India Company
(WIC) from the Spanish. In 1633 the Spanish had invaded Saint-Martin (Sint Maarten) and Anguilla
, driving off the French and Dutch inhabitants. The French and Dutch banded together to repel the Spanish and it was during a 1644 sea battle that the Dutch commander Peter Stuyvesant
, later the governor of New Amsterdam, unsuccessfully besieged Fort Amsterdam
and was forced to retreat with the loss of hundreds of men. A stray Spanish cannonball shattered his leg, which had to be amputated. But luck was on the Dutch side, and when the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands ended, the Spanish no longer needed a Caribbean base and just sailed away in 1648.
, began to notice the successful French, English, and Dutch settlements springing up in the Lesser Antilles. Remembering their Pope-given rights, thousands of Spanish troops stormed St.Martin in 1638, took control of the island and built the Old Spanish Fort at Point Blanche.
Six years later, Peter Stuyvesant (later the governor of Nieue Amsterdam) directed his Dutch troops in an unsuccessful effort to retake the island.
sent five large Dutch ships, a pink
, and two tenders on a campaign to reconquer the former WIC base of Sint Maarten. After pausing at Saint Kitts
to recruit English and French volunteers, he arrived off the eastern shores of Sint Maarten at dawn on 20 March, accompanied by a half-dozen merchantmen that continued further north; Stuyvesant's squadron veered inshore and besieged the lone Spanish fortification, then anchored nearby and disembarked several hundred troops. The Dutch spent the next two days installing a three-gun battery atop some heights; on 22 March they called on Spanish Governor Diego Guajardo Fajardo to lay down his arms. Despite low morale, poor equipment, and insufficient rations, the 120-man Spanish garrison refused to surrender, and Stuyvesant initiated a long-range bombardment next dawn. A chance Spanish countershot carried off the Dutch commander’s right leg while he was standing beside his battery, requiring Stuyvesant to be carried back aboard ship for amputation below the knee. The injury left the small army leaderless, undermining its resolve.
On the night of 31 March–1 April an assault column under cover of darkness advanced toward the Spanish positions, almost escaping the sentinels’ detection because all were musketeers (and hence carry no lit cords). Once the Dutch intruders were discovered, however, a firefight erupted until dawn; at least five Dutch attackers were killed, as opposed to a single Spaniard. A second, even more half-hearted attempt was made at 9pm on 3 April, which was easily repelled; no further assaults were made.
On the night of 15–16 April, a Puerto Rican
coaster
under Sargento Mayor Baltasar de Alfaro landed refreshments for Guajardo's garrison, snapping the besiegers’ will. The Dutch retired to their ships; a rearguard blew up the siege guns and fires the encampments by 17 April, and the flotilla departed toward Sint Eustatius and then Curaçao. Stuyvesant eventually returned toward Holland in August to convalesce from his wound.
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
to recapture the island and former base of the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
(WIC) from the Spanish. In 1633 the Spanish had invaded Saint-Martin (Sint Maarten) and Anguilla
Anguilla
Anguilla is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin...
, driving off the French and Dutch inhabitants. The French and Dutch banded together to repel the Spanish and it was during a 1644 sea battle that the Dutch commander Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant , served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York...
, later the governor of New Amsterdam, unsuccessfully besieged Fort Amsterdam
Fort Amsterdam (Sint Maarten)
Fort Amsterdam is a historic fort on the island of Saint Martin, near the Sint Maarten town of Philipsburg. The fort was built by the Dutch in 1631. Located near Great Bay and Little Bay, it was soon captured by the Spanish who occupied it as a military post until 1648. In that year the partition...
and was forced to retreat with the loss of hundreds of men. A stray Spanish cannonball shattered his leg, which had to be amputated. But luck was on the Dutch side, and when the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands ended, the Spanish no longer needed a Caribbean base and just sailed away in 1648.
Background
The Spanish, who had been content with their lucrative holdings in the Greater AntillesGreater Antilles
The Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies.-Greater Antilles in context :The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as...
, began to notice the successful French, English, and Dutch settlements springing up in the Lesser Antilles. Remembering their Pope-given rights, thousands of Spanish troops stormed St.Martin in 1638, took control of the island and built the Old Spanish Fort at Point Blanche.
Six years later, Peter Stuyvesant (later the governor of Nieue Amsterdam) directed his Dutch troops in an unsuccessful effort to retake the island.
Attack
Governor Pieter Stuyvesant of CuraçaoCuraçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
sent five large Dutch ships, a pink
Pink (ship)
A pink is one of two different types of ship.The first was a small, flat-bottomed ship with a narrow stern; the name derived from the Italian word pinco. It was used primarily in the Mediterranean Sea as a cargo ship....
, and two tenders on a campaign to reconquer the former WIC base of Sint Maarten. After pausing at Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean...
to recruit English and French volunteers, he arrived off the eastern shores of Sint Maarten at dawn on 20 March, accompanied by a half-dozen merchantmen that continued further north; Stuyvesant's squadron veered inshore and besieged the lone Spanish fortification, then anchored nearby and disembarked several hundred troops. The Dutch spent the next two days installing a three-gun battery atop some heights; on 22 March they called on Spanish Governor Diego Guajardo Fajardo to lay down his arms. Despite low morale, poor equipment, and insufficient rations, the 120-man Spanish garrison refused to surrender, and Stuyvesant initiated a long-range bombardment next dawn. A chance Spanish countershot carried off the Dutch commander’s right leg while he was standing beside his battery, requiring Stuyvesant to be carried back aboard ship for amputation below the knee. The injury left the small army leaderless, undermining its resolve.
On the night of 31 March–1 April an assault column under cover of darkness advanced toward the Spanish positions, almost escaping the sentinels’ detection because all were musketeers (and hence carry no lit cords). Once the Dutch intruders were discovered, however, a firefight erupted until dawn; at least five Dutch attackers were killed, as opposed to a single Spaniard. A second, even more half-hearted attempt was made at 9pm on 3 April, which was easily repelled; no further assaults were made.
On the night of 15–16 April, a Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
coaster
Coastal trading vessel
Coastal trading vessels, also known as coasters, are shallow-hulled ships used for trade between locations on the same island or continent. Their shallow hulls mean that they can get through reefs where deeper-hulled sea-going ships usually cannot....
under Sargento Mayor Baltasar de Alfaro landed refreshments for Guajardo's garrison, snapping the besiegers’ will. The Dutch retired to their ships; a rearguard blew up the siege guns and fires the encampments by 17 April, and the flotilla departed toward Sint Eustatius and then Curaçao. Stuyvesant eventually returned toward Holland in August to convalesce from his wound.