| Raid on Mount's Bay | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theAnglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) | |||||||
 The Spanish attack Penzance from the bookBritish Battles on Land and Sea, byJames Grant | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spain |  England | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Carlos de Amésquita Pedro de Zubiaur | Francis Godolphin | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 4galleys 400 soldiers | 500 militia | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 4 settlements razed 3 ships sunk 4 killed | ||||||
 | |||||||
TheRaid on Mounts Bay also known as theSpanish attack on Mounts Bay was a Spanishraid onCornwall,England, that took place between 2 and 4 August 1595 in the context of theBrittany Campaign during theAnglo-Spanish war of 1585-1604. It was conducted by a Spanish naval squadron led byCarlos de Amésquita on patrol fromBrittany,France. The Spanish made landfall inMount's Bay, then sacked and burnedNewlyn,Mousehole,Penzance, andPaul, beating amilitia force underFrancis Godolphin in the process.
In the wake of the defeat of theSpanish Armada in 1588,Philip II of Spain reorganised his navy. He was intent on establishing advanced bases in western France from which his navy could constantly threaten England and Ireland.[1] In 1593Blavet had been established by the Spanish inBrittany and news of this caused concern in England.[2]
Carlos de Amesquita commanded three companies ofarquebusiers and fourgalleys (Nuestra Señora de Begoña,Salvador,Peregrina andBazana)[3] from the fleet underPedro de Zubiaur. He sailed from Blavet, on 26 July with the aim of raiding a part of the English coastline. There were a number of reasons - one was to regain the treasure and cargo shipscaptured by the English offPernambuco four months earlier. There were also rumours thatFrancis Drake was preparing a major expedition againstPanama and the Spanish action in England could delay or even defeat it.Another was to hold an English port or coastline which would then be used as a base for raids and act as a powerful bargaining tool for future peace negotiations. Cornwall, since thePrayer Book Rebellion in 1549, offered hope to the Spanish that many of the Cornish might happily convert back to the Catholic faith.[4]
After calling atPenmarch, they sank a Frenchbarque manned by an English crew and with a cargo bound for England.[3]
Amesquita's 400 men strong force eventually sailed into Mount's Bay on 2 August.[5] They were guided by English Catholic Richard Burley ofWeymouth on to a rocky beach a few hundred yards west ofMousehole's harbour.[6] A group of Spaniards led by Don Leon de Ezpeleta and Sergeant Major Juan De Arnica climbed a hill to gain a view of the country beyond. The Spanish galleys meanwhile came in close to shore and then bombarded the defenceless town — many houses were burned and three men were killed.[7] Local resident Jenkyn Keigwin died from a cannonball while defending his house which was the only one to survive any damage.[8]
A second group of Spaniards; the vanguard of the raid had struck inland and reached the Parish of Paul, half a mile inland. The village was defenceless and was promptly sacked and burned; the churchSt Pol de Léon in which Amesquita described in a taunting way as being a 'mosque' was burned down. Four residents were killed here and a number were taken prisoner before the Spanish marched back to their galleys and re-embarked.[8]
The next day the galleys having moved from Mousehole sailed around the headland into Mounts Bay itself, with Penzance and Newlyn in their view. Having kept quite a distance fromSt Michaels Mount (the garrisons powder was so low that they were unable to fire any shots), Newlyn was set upon; again no resistance was met and the village was torched.[5]
The Spaniards then advanced on Penzance with the galleys close to shore. By this time however the local militia which formed the cornerstone of the English anti-invasion measures and numbered five hundred men had been alerted and decided to make a stand. They were led byFrancis Godolphin,Deputy Lord Lieutenant. As the Spanish came ashore on the broad beach the militia attacked across the sands. The Spanish kept their formation and a detachment marched around the militia outflanking them. The ships sensing the trouble the Spaniards were in fired off shots into the militia as the Spanish musketeers attacked their flank.[8] The militia then panicked, threw down their arms, and fled; only Godolphin along with twelve of his soldiers stood to offer some kind of resistance.[9] Some 100 lightly armed men, scattered by the Spanish artillery, sought shelter atMarazion.[10]
Penzance was also bombarded by the Spanish galleys; 400 houses were destroyed and three ships "laden with wine and other goods" were sunk.[6] Godolphin attempted to rally his men but they fled once again.[8] The Spanish then entered Penzance with no further resistance and the village was sacked except forSt Mary's church which was saved as Burley having guided the Spanish pleaded for it to be spared having told Amesquita that the church once heldMass.[11]
At the end of the raid a traditionalCatholic mass led by Brother Domingo Martinez was held in an open air field altar on the Western Hill outside of Penzance.[8] The Spanish commander promised to build a Catholic church on this site within two years, once England had been conquered. Amesquita observed the growing number of Cornish militia having assembled before Marazion and St Michael's Mount. Bullets and arrows were fired which forced them away from the shore which discouraged a further attack there.[10] In two days however the Spanish had taken what they needed, having burned Penzance and the villages of Mousehole, Paul, and Newlyn.[12] On re-embarking soon afterwards on 4 August, Amesquita then released all his prisoners ashore and the Spanish sailed off unmolested.[13]
Sir Nicholas Clifford arrived with a relieving force in the area but was too late to engage the Spaniards. Clifford was furious with the common folk blaming them for abandoning Godolphin. Mousehole, unlike Penzance and Newlyn, never fully recovered from the raid.[14]
On 5 August Amesquita met aDutch squadron of 46 ships, sinking two of the Dutch ships and causing much damage to the others but at the cost of 20 men killed. The rest of the Dutch ships limped away. He then stopped at Penmarch for repairs and finally arrived back at Port Louis on 10 August.[12]
The raid greatly concernedQueen Elizabeth I andLord Burghley who acted to make sure defences were improved.[10] The raid was the only time in the whole course of the war that the Spanish effected a successful major landing in any part of England.[14]
Another smaller scale raid the following year madelandfall at Cawsand where the Spanish (after setting on fire civilian property) were scared off by a single man firing a shot. The Spanish would attempt anarmada against Cornwall in the autumn of 1597, in the hope that the core of the English Catholics would rise up in rebellion, but the operation was a failure due to a storm in the English channel.[15]
The raid is described in detail in the historical novelThe Grove of Eagles, byWinston Graham. The book's protagonist arrives on the spot when hearing of the Spanish raid, concerned for the safety of Sue - a woman with whom he is deeply in love though she married another man, the Vicar of Paul, this marriage putting her directly in the Spaniards' path. Graham closely follows the historical facts of the raid, except where minor changes were needed to let his fictional characters take part.