Attack on Saint Martin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Attack on Saint Martin |
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| Part of the Eighty Years' War | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Provinces |
 Spain |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Peter Stuyvesant |
 Gov. Diego Guajardo Fajardo |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 8 ships 400~600 men |
120 men | ||||||
The Attack on Saint Martin was a battle where the Dutch Republic tried to take back the island of Saint Martin from Spain. This island was once an important base for the Dutch West India Company (WIC), a big Dutch trading company.
In 1633, Spain had taken over Saint Martin (Sint Maarten) and Anguilla. They forced out the French and Dutch people living there. The French and Dutch then teamed up to fight the Spanish. In 1644, the Dutch commander Peter Stuyvesant led an attack. He later became the governor of New Amsterdam (which is now New York City).
Stuyvesant tried to capture Fort Amsterdam but failed. He had to retreat, and many of his men were lost. During the battle, a Spanish cannonball hit his leg, and it had to be removed.
However, luck changed for the Dutch. The Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands ended in 1648. Spain no longer needed a base in the Caribbean, so they simply left Saint Martin.
Why the Attack Happened: Background
The Spanish had many rich lands in the Greater Antilles, like Cuba and Hispaniola. But they started to notice that French, English, and Dutch settlers were building successful towns in the smaller islands, called the Lesser Antilles.
Spain believed they had the right to control these lands. So, in 1638, thousands of Spanish soldiers attacked Saint Martin. They took control of the island and built a fort called the Old Spanish Fort at Point Blanche.
Six years later, Peter Stuyvesant decided to lead his Dutch troops. He wanted to try and take the island back from the Spanish.
The Attack on the Fort
Governor Pieter Stuyvesant, who was in charge of Curaçao, gathered a fleet. He had five large Dutch ships, a smaller ship called a pink, and two small boats. His goal was to get back the old Dutch trading base of Sint Maarten.
First, he stopped at Saint Kitts to get some English and French volunteers to join his forces. Then, on March 20, he arrived off the eastern coast of Sint Maarten. Some trading ships continued north, but Stuyvesant's group turned towards the shore.
They began to surround the only Spanish fort. The Dutch ships anchored nearby, and hundreds of soldiers landed on the island. For the next two days, the Dutch set up three cannons on a high hill.
On March 22, the Dutch asked the Spanish Governor, Diego Guajardo Fajardo, to give up. Even though the 120 Spanish soldiers had low spirits, poor equipment, and not enough food, they refused to surrender.
Stuyvesant started firing his cannons the next morning. A Spanish cannonball hit Stuyvesant's right leg while he was near his own cannons. He had to be taken back to his ship, and his leg was amputated below the knee. This injury left the Dutch army without a clear leader, which made them less determined.
On the night of March 31, the Dutch tried to sneak up on the Spanish fort. They almost weren't seen because their soldiers were musketeers, who didn't carry lit ropes that would give them away. But the Spanish guards spotted them, and a fight broke out until morning. At least five Dutch attackers were killed, but only one Spaniard died.
Another, less serious, attack happened on April 3, but it was easily stopped. After that, the Dutch didn't try to attack the fort directly anymore.
On the night of April 15, a small trading ship from Puerto Rico arrived. It brought supplies for the Spanish soldiers in the fort. This made the Dutch attackers lose hope.
The Dutch soldiers went back to their ships. A small group stayed behind to blow up their cannons and burn their camps. By April 17, the Dutch fleet had left. They sailed to Sint Eustatius and then to Curaçao. Stuyvesant eventually went back to Holland in August to recover from his injury.
After the Battle
The Spanish left Saint Martin in 1648, the same year the Eighty Years' War ended. After they left, the French and Dutch returned to the island. They decided to divide it between themselves. The Dutch got about 16 square miles (41 square kilometers), and the French got about 21 square miles (54 square kilometers).
For the next two hundred years, there were sometimes small fights between the two nations. Both wanted to control the whole island. But in 1869, they made a final agreement. This agreement respected the original borders set in 1648. Since then, the island has been peacefully shared by two nations.
See also
In Spanish: Ataque a San Martín para niños
