Battle of St George\' S Caye

Naval engagement delivered the September 10th 1798, with Belize, at the time of the Wars of the French revolution.

Origins of the conflict

In 1638, the Scottish pirate Peter Wallace installs his general headquarter with the mouth of the river Belize on a small island called " Cayo Cacina". The establishment thrives and little by little its population increases and starts to colonize the surrounding country, causing increasingly many litigations with the Spaniards who dominate the area. By the treated of Paris of 1783, which put an end to the Guerre of American independence, the Spain recognizes a right of use on the area to the Great Britain, without however giving up its sovereignty. In 1786, by the Treated of London, it grants to Great Britain a concession of 6684 square kilometers on the territory with prohibition to build the least extremely. In 1796, in violation of this treaty, the British build a fort with the mouth of the Belize river, and furnish its ramparts with guns.

The wars of the French revolution ensanglantent Europe then; the two countries belonged to the coalition which fights France, but in 1796 Spain leaves its allies of yesterday and associates its fate with the latter. Great Britain declares the war to him and the hostilities start. Though far from Europe, the area was not to be saved by the war, when the Spaniards decide to drive out the British of them.

The battle

At the end of the summer 1798, thirty-two ships taking on board 500 sailors and 2000 soldiers move towards Belize, under the command of gift Antonio O' Neill, captain-general of the Yucatan. September 3rd this armada is for St George' S Caye and the 10 it attacks massively. The small colony mobilized the round of applause and the back round of applause of its population to push back the invasion, and its fleet made up of three Sloop S, the HMS Merlin , ordered by the Moss captain, the Towser and the Tickler exchange of the broadsides with the unfavourable ships. In front of the numerical disparity of the two fleets, the population of Caye decides to restore balance and of tens of black men, militiamans, colonists and slaves embark on all the boats of the port: fishing vessels, transport… and are ruent with the battle. This one lasts two hours and ends in the retirement of the attackers who turn over to Veracruz.

The British colony is saved and never more Belize will not undergo an invasion on behalf of Spain. In 1898, on September 10th is issued national feastday in Belize.

The polemic

Certain Guatemalan historians dispute the importance of the combat which they describe as skirmish, underlining in particular that, notwithstanding the manpower engaged in this " large bataille" , there were neither human losses, nor material losses, which is miraculous. It seems actually proven that the britannico-bélizéens did not have victims in their rows, but it does not appear to be the same about it for their adversaries, since several of them would be buried in the cemetery which is next to the vault of Caye.

In any event, force is to admit that the historical importance of a battle is measured less with the number of unhappy which lost there the life than with its consequences. Thus, rare are the battles which were given in Europe to the same time whose strategic repercussions were also decisive, that those of St George' S Caye, and that in spite of their many victims: the Actual position of Belize would undoubtedly be today a province of the Guatemala, if on September 10th, 1798, the fortune of the weapons had smiled to the Iberian ones.

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