Action of San Mateo Bay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Action of San Mateo Bay |
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| Part of the Anglo–Spanish War (1585) | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of England |
 Spain |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Richard Hawkins (POW) |
 Beltrán de Castro |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 1 galleon 1 pinnace prize |
1 galleon 1 galley-zabra |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 galleon captured 1 pinnace recaptured 27 killed 17 wounded 93 captured |
28 dead 22 wounded |
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The Battle of San Mateo Bay was a sea fight that happened from June 29 to July 1, 1594. It was between an English ship called the Dainty, led by Richard Hawkins, and three Spanish ships led by Beltrán de Castro. The battle took place near the mouth of the Esmeraldas River in what is now Ecuador.
Why the Battle Happened
In 1593, Richard Hawkins bought the Dainty. This ship was first built for his father, and was named Repentance. Hawkins then sailed towards the West Indies, the Spanish Main, and the South Seas. It seems he planned to attack the overseas lands belonging to the Spanish crown. However, Hawkins later wrote that his trip was only for exploring new places. After visiting the coast of Brazil, the Dainty sailed through the Straits of Magellan. It then reached Valparaíso, where Hawkins took over the town and captured four ships.
The Sea Battle
After getting fresh supplies for four days in Atacames Bay, Richard Hawkins saw another ship far out at sea. He told his small boat, called a pinnace, to go and check it out. The next morning at 9:00 A.M., he moved his ship farther west. He stayed off Cape San Francisco for two days. When he returned, he found his small boat, the pinnace, in nearby San Mateo Bay. Its mast was broken.
The English ships were getting ready to sail into the Pacific Ocean on the morning of June 29. Then, two other ships appeared around Cape San Francisco. Hawkins thought they were Spanish treasure ships from Peru. He sent his repaired pinnace to check them out. But the pinnace was chased back by a Spanish ship, a 14-gun galley-zabra, led by Felipón. De Castro's main ship, the San Francisco y Nuestra Señora del Rosario, followed closely. It tried to crash into the Dainty. But the Dainty fired a strong broadside, which stopped it.
Meanwhile, the crew of the pinnace tried hard to get back to their main ship. They wanted to join forces. But the galley-zabra stopped them. A few sailors managed to climb aboard the Dainty over its bowsprit. Both sides then fired cannons at each other from a distance for the next two days. On June 30, the English managed to knock down Felipón's mainmast. Finally, by the afternoon of July 1, the English surrendered to the Spanish.
On the Dainty, 27 crew members were killed. 17 were wounded, including Hawkins himself. 93 others were captured. The Spanish lost 28 men and had 22 wounded out of 300.
De Castro put Felipón in charge of the captured English ship. They towed the badly damaged Dainty to the Pearl Islands. They reached Perico island on July 19, where they received a big welcome. De Castro had promised Hawkins good terms. However, the authorities in Peru had a different idea. Most of the English prisoners were put on trial. Hawkins was later set free and eventually went back to England. The Dainty was renamed Nuestra Señora de la Visitación, also known as La Inglesa. It became part of the Spanish navy's Peruvian Squadron. The Dainty was shown off in Panama as a war trophy. It was the first prize taken by the Spanish in the Southern Seas.
See also
- 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.
