Francisco Díaz Pimienta facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Francisco Díaz Pimienta
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| Born | 1594 Tazacorte, Canary Islands
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| Died | 1652 |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Admiral |
| Known for | Capture of Isla de Providencia (Santa Catalina) |
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Francisco Díaz Pimienta (1594–1652) was an important Spanish naval officer. He became a top leader, known as the Captain General of the Ocean Fleet. He is famous for capturing an island called Providencia from the English.
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Francisco Díaz Pimienta was born in 1594 in Tazacorte, located in the Canary Islands. His father, also named Francisco Díaz Pimienta, was a respected nobleman. His father was known for his bravery in the Battle of Lepanto and was liked by King Philip II of Spain.
Young Francisco was raised by his aunt and uncle in Garachico, Tenerife. His father wanted him to study and join the church. Francisco was a very smart student. By age 14, he could easily translate old Roman texts. However, he was inspired by his father's adventures and dreamed of a life at sea.
In 1610, after his father passed away, Francisco left school. He joined the Spanish navy and began serving on ships that sailed to the Indies. His sister married a merchant who worked in shipbuilding. This connection later helped Francisco a lot.
In 1625, he made a deal with the Spanish Crown to build two ships. He finished them quickly after a Dutch admiral won a battle in Cuba. Because of his skill, Díaz Pimienta was put in charge of shipbuilding in Havana, Cuba.
From this point, his career grew steadily. By 1635, he was an Admiral. He signed a new contract that allowed him to openly trade between Havana and Seville. In 1637, he became the governor of the island of Menorca.
In 1638, Pimienta was a vice-admiral in a large Spanish-Portuguese fleet. This fleet was led by the Count of Torre and aimed to attack a Dutch base in Brazil. However, an illness spread through the fleet near Cape Verde.
The weakened fleet arrived in Brazil. On January 12, 1640, a Dutch fleet of 36 ships attacked them. The battle lasted five days. Neither side won clearly, but the Spanish-Portuguese fleet could not land their soldiers. This stopped their plan to take the town.
Capture of Providencia Island
In 1640, Portugal became independent from Spain. Many Portuguese sailors in the Spanish fleet wanted to return home. Díaz Pimienta stopped their plans. He then decided to attack the Providence Island colony, which the Spanish called Santa Catalina. This island was controlled by the English.
Díaz Pimienta sailed from Cartagena with seven large ships, four smaller boats, 1,400 soldiers, and 600 sailors. They arrived at Providence Island on May 19, 1641. It was hard for his ships to get through the reefs around the island. One large ship hit a reef and had to go back to Cartagena, losing many soldiers and supplies.
At first, Díaz Pimienta planned to attack the east side of the island. The English quickly moved their defenses there. But with the winds against him, Díaz Pimienta changed his plan. He attacked the main harbor, New Westminster, at dawn on May 24. He kept his large ships back to avoid damage and used smaller boats to attack the forts.
The Spanish soldiers quickly took control. When the English saw the Spanish flag flying over the governor's house, they agreed to surrender. The English settlers were allowed to return to England.
On May 25, 1641, Díaz Pimienta officially took control of the Providence Island colony. The Spanish captured sixty cannons and 350 settlers who were still on the island. They also found 381 enslaved Africans. In total, 731 people were taken prisoner.
The Spanish found gold, indigo, and cochineal, along with the enslaved people. This was worth a lot of money. Instead of destroying the forts, Díaz Pimienta left 150 soldiers to guard the island. This was to stop the Dutch from taking it.
When the fleet left Santa Catalina, one Portuguese ship tried to escape but crashed on the reefs. The Spanish leader in Cartagena did not keep the promise to send all prisoners home. About 500 of them were forced to work. About sixty women and some children were sent back to England. Díaz Pimienta's decision to keep the island was approved in 1643. He was also made a knight of the Order of Santiago.
Later Career and Challenges
After the capture of Providencia, there were more challenges with Portuguese sailors. In one case, some Portuguese sailors killed their captain and took over a ship to sail to Lisbon. Díaz Pimienta ordered that these sailors be put on trial.
Pimienta then sailed to Portobelo, while the rest of the fleet went back to Cartagena. In Cartagena, a Portuguese leader planned a large uprising. The goal was to take control of the city's supplies, forts, and ships.
This plan was reported to the Governor of Cartagena, who quickly secured the forts. The Portuguese leader and others involved were arrested. When Pimienta returned to Cartagena, he ordered a trial for the leader, who was sentenced to death. However, before the sentence could be carried out, the leader and two others escaped from prison. They managed to board a Portuguese ship that had been sent from Lisbon.
Díaz Pimienta left Cadiz on June 2, 1643, and arrived in Cartagena on July 19, 1643, after a good journey. On December 31, 1643, his fleet arrived back in Cadiz. In 1646, he was in Majorca, where he had to transport new cannons and supplies to Mahón.
Battle of Orbetello
The Battle of Orbetello took place on June 14, 1646. It was fought off the coast of Tuscany, where the French were attacking a Spanish town. Díaz Pimienta was the second-in-command of the Spanish fleet. He led 22 large ships, while his commander led 30 galleys. They faced a French fleet of 24 sailing ships and 20 galleys. There was little wind, so the galleys pulled the sailing ships into battle. The fight was intense, and both fleets were damaged before they separated at dusk.
On June 25, Pimienta landed with 3,300 soldiers. They attacked the French lines but were forced to retreat and get back on their ships.
On April 14, 1648, Spain was at war with France over the area of Roussillon. The king appointed Díaz Pimienta as Governor of Menorca. He also became a Royal Councillor and the Captain General of the Ocean Sea Fleet.
Spanish sailors often did not receive their pay or enough food. In 1652, Díaz Pimienta reported that many of his crew were leaving. He worried that the entire fleet would be abandoned. The ships were running out of food and water because no one could be trusted to go ashore to get supplies.
Francisco Díaz Pimienta was killed in battle in 1652.
See also
In Spanish: Francisco Díaz Pimienta para niños
