Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808)

New settlements are established in the region of present Uruguay throughout the eighteenth century to consolidate the occupation of the territory, which constitutes a natural buffer region separating Spanish from Portuguese possessions.

The Spanish, to combat smuggling, protect ranchers, and contain the natives, form a rural patrol force called the Blandengues Corps.

The last Spanish attack on the British settlement occurs two years after the outbreak of war in 1796.

The governor general of the Yucatan commands a Spanish flotilla of some thirty vessels with some five hundred sailors and two thousand troops and attacks the British colonists in 1798.

The British drive off the Spanish during several brief engagements culminating in a two-and-a-half-hour battle on September 10.

The attack marks Spain's last attempt to control the territory or dislodge the British.

Despite treaties banning local government and plantation agriculture, both activities flourish.

Cutting logwood is a simple, small-scale operation, but the settlers import slaves to help with the work.

Slavery in the settlement is associated with the extraction of timber, first logwood, then mahogany, as treaties forbid the production of plantation crops.

This difference in economic function gives rise to variations in the organization, conditions, and treatment of enslaved people.

The earliest reference to enslaved Africans in the British settlement appears in a 1724 Spanish missionary's account, which states that the British recently had been importing them from Jamaica and Bermuda.

The total slave population numbers about twenty-three hundred a century later.

Most slaves, even if brought through West Indian markets, were born in Africa, probably from around the Bight of Benin, the Congo, and Angola—the principal sources of British slaves in the late eighteenth century.

The Eboe, or Ibo, seem to have been particularly numerous; one section of Belize Town is known as Eboe Town in the first half of the nineteenth century.

At first, many slaves maintain African ethnic identifications and cultural practices.

The process of assimilation, however, gradually creates a new, synthetic Creole culture.

The whites, although a minority in the settlement, monopolize power and wealth by dominating the chief economic activities of trade and cutting timber.

They also control the first legislature and the judicial and administrative institutions.

As a result, the British settlers have a disproportionate influence on the development of the Creole culture.

Anglican, Baptist, and Methodist missionaries help devalue and suppress African cultural heritage.

George Arthur, Superintendent of the British Honduras, in attacking what he calls the "monopoly on the part of the monied cutters" in 1816, is only partially successful in breaking their monopoly on landholding.

He proclaims that all unclaimed land is henceforth crown land that can be granted only by the crown's representative but continues to allow the existing monopoly of landownership.

An oligarchy of relatively wealthy settlers controls the political economy of the British settlement at Belize in the late eighteenth century.

These settlers claim about four-fifths of the land available under the Convention of London, through resolutions, called location laws, which they pass in the Public Meeting, the name given to the first legislature.

These same men also own about half of all the slaves in the settlement; control imports, exports, and the wholesale and retail trades; and determine taxation.

A group of magistrates, whom they elect from among themselves, has executive as well as judicial functions, despite a prohibition on executive action.

The landowners resist any challenge to their growing political power.

Colonel Edward Marcus Despard, the first superintendent appointed by the governor of Jamaica in 1784, is suspended in 1789 when the wealthy cutters challenge his authority.

Charles IV (r. 1788-1807) retains the trappings of his father's enlightened despotism, but he is dominated by his wife's favorite, a guards officer, Manuel de Godoy, who at the age of twenty-five is chief minister and virtual dictator of Spain.

When the French National Assembly declares war in 1793, Godoy rides the popular wave of reaction building in Spain against the French Revolution and joins the coalition against France.

Spanish arms suffer repeated setbacks, and in 1796 Godoy shifts allies and joins the French against Britain.

Godoy, having been promised half of Portugal as his personal reward, becomes Napoleon Bonaparte's willing puppet.

Louisiana, Spanish since 1763, is restored to France.

A regular subsidy is paid to France from the Spanish treasury, and fifteen thousand Spanish troops are assigned to garrisons in northern Europe.

Spain had declared war on the newly formed French Republic in the War of the First Coalition, joined the Coalition in attempting to restore the Bourbon Monarchy.

The main Spanish general, Antonio Ricardos, had failed to secure a decisive victory, despite initial successes.

French forces elsewhere had quickly overrun the Austrian Netherlands after the Battle of Fleurus, and the Dutch Republic had collapsed under huge pressure.

The Spanish were having similarly bad times.

The Spanish navy had done little, with the exception of combining with the British and participating in the Siege of Toulon.

The French Republic had gained a huge advantage following the Battle of the Black Mountain, and by 1795, the Peace of Basel had been signed, forcing the Kingdom of Spain and Kingdom of Prussia to exit the Coalition.

In 1796, Manuel Godoy, encouraged by massive French gains in the Rhine Campaign and Italian Campaign, signs the Second Treaty of San Ildefonso, establishing a Franco-Spanish alliance and common war against Great Britain.

The hope is that victorious France will also win over land and money for Spain.

The Anglo-Spanish war has been damaging for Spain and for the Spanish Crown's revenues, with the British blockade greatly reducing the amount of wealth arriving from the colonies.

A main Spanish fleet, under Jose de Cordoba y Ramos, has twenty-seven ships of the line, however, and plans to link with the French and protect coveys of valuable goods.

The British Mediterranean fleet has fifteen ships of the line, heavily outnumbered by Franco-Spanish threats, forcing a retreat from Corsica and Elba by 1797.

The last Spanish attack on the British settlement, the Battle of St. George's Caye, occurs two years after the outbreak of war in 1796.

A group of British nationals and African slaves drive off the Spanish force sent from Mexicoi, thwarting Spain's last attempt to control the territory or dislodge other settlers.

Despite treaties banning local government and plantation agriculture, both activities flourish.

The political economy of the British settlement is controlled in the late eighteenth century by an oligarchy of relatively wealthy settlers, who claim about four-fifths of the available land, own about half of all slaves, determine taxation, and control imports, exports, and the wholesale and retail trades.

A group of magistrates, whom they elect from among themselves, has executive as well as judicial functions.

The landowners resists any challenge to their growing political power.

The Action of 16 October 1799 – The Capture of a Spanish Treasure Convoy

On October 16, 1799, the British Royal Navy captured a Spanish treasure convoy off Vigo, dealing a severe financial blow to Spain during the War of the Second Coalition. The convoy was carrying vast amounts of silver specie and luxury goods from New Spain (modern Mexico) back to Spain, making it a high-value target for the British blockade.

The British Interception – The Blockade at Vigo

• On the evening of October 15, the Spanish convoy was spotted by HMS Naiad, one of the frigates enforcing the British blockade of Vigo.
• Realizing they had been discovered, the Spanish captains attempted to flee.
• However, British reinforcements quickly closed in, trapping the convoy in the final stage of its journey.

The Battle – A Desperate Spanish Escape Attempt

The Spanish ships attempted to split up in an effort to divide their British pursuers, but they were unable to escape:

• October 16:
  • The Spanish frigate Thetis was engaged and captured by HMS Ethalion after a short fight.
• October 17:
  • The Spanish frigate Santa Brigida came within sight of safety at Muros, but was caught among the coastal rocks.
  • An overwhelming British force attacked, forcing Santa Brigida to surrender after a brief engagement.

The Prize Money – One of the Largest Ever Awarded

• Both captured ships were taken to Britain, where their treasure cargo was transported to the Bank of England with great fanfare.
• The total value of the captured cargo was assessed at £618,040, making it one of the largest hauls of prize money ever distributed in British naval history.

Strategic Impact

• The loss of such a vast treasure further weakened Spain’s financial ability to sustain the war.
• The capture of Spanish colonial wealth reinforced Britain’s dominance at sea, ensuring that British naval blockades remained highly effective.
• This action was a symbol of British naval supremacy, showcasing the Royal Navy’s ability to intercept and capture vital enemy resources.

The Action of 16 October 1799 remains one of the most profitable naval engagements in British history, demonstrating how naval power could directly impact the financial and strategic balance of war.