Anglo-Spanish War (1762–1763)

From the British point of view the most pressing issue in the war with Spain was a threatened invasion of Portugal, which although a historic British ally, had, like Spain, remained neutral through most of the conflict. France persuaded a reluctant Spain into attacking Portugal and hoped that this new front would draw away British forces then directed against France. Portugal's long but rugged border with Spain was considered by the French to be vulnerable and easy to overrun (a view not shared by the Spanish), rather than the more complex effort needed to besiege the British fortress of Gibraltar. Spanish forces massed on the Portuguese border, ready to strike. Britain moved swiftly to support their Portuguese allies, shipping in supplies and officers to help co-ordinate the defence.[4]

The original Spanish plan was to take Almeida and then to advance towards the Alentejo and Lisbon, but they switched their target to Porto as it would strike more directly at Anglo-Portuguese commerce. Under the direction of the Marquis of Sarria Spanish troops crossed from Galicia into Northern Portugal capturing several towns. However, the thrust against Porto stalled in difficult terrain and due to the flooding of the River Esla. British troops began arriving that summer with 6,000 coming from Belle Île under Lord Loudoun and a further 2,000 from Ireland. On May 9 Spain invested and captured the border fortress of Almeida. A British-Portuguese counter-attack led by John Burgoyne captured the Spanish town Valencia de Alcántara.[5] French forces began to arrive to support the Spaniards, but like their allies they began to suffer high levels of attrition through disease and desertion. In November with problems with their lines of supply and communication the Bourbon allies withdrew after suffering 25,000 casualties and sued for peace.[6] Despite the large numbers of forces involved, there had been no major battles.

The Seven Years' War spilled over into Portuguese-Spanish conflict in their South American colonies. The South American war involved small colonial forces taking and retaking remote frontier areas and ended in a stalemate. The only significant action was the First Cevallos expedition, in which Spanish forces captured and then defended the strategically important port town on the River Plate Colony of Sacramento.

The Captured Spanish Fleet at Havana

In June 1762, British forces from the West Indies landed on the island of Cuba and laid siege to Havana. Although they arrived at the height of the fever season, and previous expeditions against tropical Spanish fortresses failed due, in no small part, to tropical disease, the British government was optimistic of victory— if the troops could catch the Spanish off-guard before they had time to respond.[7] The British commander Albemarle ordered a tunnel to be dug by his sappers so a mine could be planted under the walls of the city's fortress. British troops began to fall ill from disease, but they were boosted by the arrival of 4,000 reinforcements from North America. On 30 July Albemarle ordered the mine to be detonated, and his troops stormed the fortress.[8]

With Havana now in their hands, the British lay poised to strike at other Spanish colonies in the Spanish main should the war continue for another year. However, they had many casualties in their military hospitals that had yet to recover— and for the moment set about consolidating their hold on the city.[9] During the year of British occupation, commerce in Havana boomed, as the port was opened up to trade with the British Empire rather than the restricted monopoly with Cádiz that had existed before.[9]

In early 1762, William Lyttelton, the British governor of Jamaica, sent an expedition to Spanish Nicaragua up the San Juan river with the primary objective of capturing the town of Granada. The primary force and a large group of Miskito Sambu settlers numbering two thousand men and more than fifty boats captured cocoa plantations in the Matina Valley. This was followed by the villages of Jinotega, Acoyapa, Lovigüisca, San Pedro de Lóvago.[10] Soon after on July 26 this force laid siege to the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception. However, the siege was eventually abandoned, ending military operations in Central America.[11]

Map of the British conquest of Manila 1762

Almost as soon as war had been declared with Spain, orders had been despatched for a British force at Madras to proceed to the Philippines and capture Manila. A combined force of 10,700 men under William Draper set off from India in late July, arriving in Manila Bay in September 1762. They had to move swiftly before the monsoon season hit.[12] On 6 October the British stormed the city, capturing it thanks to weak Spanish resistance, along with the Archbishop surrendering to avoid further bloodshed. Spanish forces regrouped under Simon Anda, who had escaped from Manila during the siege. Diego Silang, a local Filipino leader, led a revolt against Spanish rule. However, it was sabotaged by Spanish agents and eventually crushed by the Spanish. The British were unable to extend their authority beyond Manila and the nearby port of Cavite. Eventually, the British forces in the region started to suffer from disease and dissensions within the command, further impairing their ability to aid Silang.

News of the city's capture didn't reach Europe until after the Treaty of Paris; as such no provision was made regarding its status. During the siege, the Spanish lieutenant governor had agreed to a four million payment in silver dollars known as the Manila Ransom in exchange for sparing the city from any damage. The full amount however was never paid as neither side considered it necessary.[13] The British expedition, however, were rewarded financially after the capture of the treasure ship Filipina which was carrying American silver from Acapulco, and in a battle off Cavite the Santísima Trinidad being captured by a British squadron, carrying onboard goods from China. The cargo was valued at $1.5 million and the ship at $3 million.[14] The twenty month occupation of Manila ended in 1764.