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The Battle off the Coast of Mexico was a naval engagement that occurred towards the end of the War of the Spanish Succession. British privateers encountered a Spanish galleon of the coast of Mexico and met her in battle. 

History[]

Background[]

Woodes Rogers led a privateer expedition to hunt for a Manila galleon during the War of the Spanish Succession alongside his brother Thomas. With their two ships, the Duke and Dutchess, they sailed to the Pacific Ocean from Bristol and encountered Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación y Desengaño off the coast of Mexico

The Battle[]

The privateers found the galleon and hounded her for days. The Spanish crew held out, refusing to surrender. Just before striking their colors, the Spaniards fired a shot from one of their stern chasers that hit the Duke at the helm. Woodes was scarred, and Thomas killed. 

Rogers, enraged by the death of his brother, slowly and methodically slaughtered the Spanish captain. He began with the first mate, then the gun captains and the gun crews. Among the dead was Simón Raja, a midshipman and brother of  Raja, who would go on to become the Governor of Cuba. Rogers left one man of the 74 man crew alive to tell the tale. 

Aftermath[]

The death of his brother devestated Woodes Rogers, and the expedition ended up ruining him financially. However, Rogers wrote a book about the expedition, titled Voyage Round the World. The book was a tremendous success, and made Rogers a celebrity in England. 

Trivia[]

  • In real life, Woodes Rogers and his brother John (named Thomas in the series) attacked this galleon during the War of the Spanish Succession. During the battle, Rogers' ship pulled up alongside the galleon, and it was at this moment that Rogers was shot in the face with a musket ball. However, he was able to scribble a command on a piece of paper, ordering his crew to cut across the galleon's bow to fire another volley from their cannons. They followed the order, and Captain Presberty promptly surrendered after the volley had devastating effect.
  • In real life, Woodes' brother was actually killed in battle with a French vessel prior to the battle with the Spanish galleon.
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