Siege of Havana

Siege of Havana
Part of the Anglo-Spanish War
The Capture of Havana, 1762, Taking the Town, 14 August Dominic Serres, 1775
Date 6 June – 13 August 1762 Location Havana, Captaincy General of Cuba 23°05′47″N 82°22′29″W / 23.0964°N 82.3747°W / 23.0964; -82.3747 Result British victory[1][2][3] Havana occupied by the British until the Treaty of Paris
Belligerents
Great Britain British America	Spain
Commanders and leaders
George Keppel George Pocock George Eliott Ralph Burton	Juan de Prado Gutierre de Hevia Luis Vicente de Velasco † José Manso de Velasco
Strength
31,000 23 ships of the line 11 frigates 4 sloops-of-war 3 bomb vessels 1 cutter 160 troopships[4][5]	11,670[6][7] 10 ships of the line[7] 2 frigates 2 sloops 100 merchantmen[8]
Casualties and losses
2,764 killed, wounded, captured, missing or died of disease[9][10][11][12]	11,670 killed, wounded, captured, missing or died of disease[13][14] 10 ships of the line captured 2 corvettes captured 2 sloops captured 100 merchantmen captured[15]

The siege of Havana was the successful capture of the Spanish-held city of Havana, Cuba in 1762 as part of the war between the two nations which formed part of the larger Seven Years' War. After the Spanish abandoned their former policy of neutrality by signing the family compact with France, Britain declared war on Spain in January 1762. The British government decided to mount an attack on the important Spanish naval base of Havana, with the intention of weakening the Spanish West Indies and improving the security of its own American colonies. A Royal Navy force consisting of squadrons from Britain and the West Indies, escorting 160 troopships, were able to approach Havana from a direction that neither Governor Juan de Prado nor Admiral Gutierre de Hevia expected and were able to trap de Hevia's fleet in the Havana harbour and land their troops with relatively little resistance.

The Spanish decided on a strategy of delaying the British attack until the strength of the city's defences and the onset of seasonal rains inflicting tropical diseases would significantly reduce the size of the attacking force via disease, along with the start of hurricane season would force the British fleet to seek a safe anchorage. However, the city's main fortress, the Morro Castle was overlooked by a hill that de Prado had neglected to fortify; the British installed batteries there and bombarded the fortress daily with heavy shelling. The fortress eventually fell after its commander Luis Vicente de Velasco was mortally wounded by a stray bullet. The capture of Morro Castle led to the eventual fall of the rest of the fortifications and the surrender of the city and its garrison before the hurricane season began.

The surrender of Havana led to substantial rewards for the British commanders and smaller amounts of prize money for other officers and men. De Prado, de Hevia and other senior Spanish officers were court-martialled upon their return to Spain and punished for their failures to conduct a better defence and allowing de Hevia's fleet to fall intact into the British hands. Havana remained under British occupation until February 1763, when it was returned to Spain under the 1763 Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years' War.