The Sack of Havana, 1555



A.) Prehistory

Cuba had been conquered by the Spanish in 1511. Havana had been founded in 1515, moved to her present location in 1519. The capital was at Santiago de Cuba; however, Havana gained importance as a stopover for the Spanish Treasure Fleet. In 1538, a fleet of Buccaneers burnt down the city. In 1552 the capital was moved from Santiago to Havana.


B.) The Sack

A fleet under French (Huguenot) privateer Jacques de Sores, consisting of 4 ships, surprised the city at night, plundered and burned Havana in 1555.


C.) The Legacy

Havana again was sacked in 1558. The Castillo del Morro, a fortress guarding the harbour against future attacks, was constructed 1589-1597. It protected the city by deterring further attacks, until the English took Havana in 1762.




EXTERNAL
FILES 		Article Havana, from Wikipedia
Cuban Piracy Museum, from Isle of Tortuga by M. Bruyneel
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on June 10th 2003, last evised on November 17th 2004

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