Invasion by Penn and Venables: Naval battle against the pirates of the Caribbean

In 1654, the UK Protector, Oliver Cromwell, orchestrated a plan to conquer the rich territories of America possessed by Spain, especially the colony of Cartagena, the Viceroyalty of Peru and the Mexican Empire. Cromwell also wanted to have complete control of the Caribbean's seaways; these were used to transport precious metals, goods and African slaves. For the first stage of his ambitious project, the dictator ordered the navy to invade La Espanola. The navy, sent to the shores of Santo Domingo, comprised 56 warships, armed with 1,100 and 10,800 infantrymen. Never before had Great Britain ordered a military invasion of such magnitude.

After two weeks of bombing, sieges and battles, the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo- who at that time had only 500 soldiers, aided by 200 brave Creoles- withstood the on-slaughts of the most powerful naval armada in the world. On May 5, 1655, the generals who commanded the invasion, Generals Penn and Venables, weighed anchor- this was the most dishonorable defeat suffered by the British Empire and its ruler, Oliver Cromwell.

These historical accounts inspired this story. We discovered the occurrences of supernatural phenomena; encounters with pirates; the existence of super-warriors, Indians and Creoles all in search of an explanation for this unprecedented military defeat in the seventeenth century. I hope that reading this story is to your liking.

Virgilio Garcia