Capture of Santiago | |||||||
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Part of the Anglo–Spanish War | |||||||
Drake at Santiago, Cape Verde, 1589 hand-colored engraving, by Baptista Boazio, 1589 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Spain | England | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Gaspar de Andrade |
Francis Drake Christopher Carleill | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
500 soldiers & militia 3 batteries[3] |
23 ships 1,000 soldiers & sailors[4] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Light 8 ships captured | 2 killed[2] |
The Capture of Santiago was a military engagement that took place between 11 and 28 November 1585 during the newly declared Anglo-Spanish War. (Santiago is the largest island of the Cape Verde archipelago.) An English expedition led by Francis Drake captured the port town of Cidade Velha in the Cape Verde islands that had recently belonged to the Crown of Portugal. He sacked it and then marched inland before doing the same at São Domingos and Praia. Afterwards Drake left and continued his expedition to successfully raid the Spanish possessions in the Americas.[5][6][7]