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Battle of Manila (1762)

The Battle of Manila was fought during the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War in the United States), from September 24, 1762 to October 6, 1762, between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Spain in and around Manila, the capital of the Philippines, a Spanish colony at that time.

Prelude

British troops stationed in India were idle since the fall of Pondicherry. When war broke out with Spain, they were available to be employed against the Spanish possessions in Asia.

In June 1762, Admiral Samuel Cornish received secret orders for an expedition, which he communicated to the authorities at Calcutta. The inspiration for the attack was as much dreams of loot as plans for geopolitical advantage, and the expedition received limited support from the East India Company.

On August 1, 1762, a British fleet of eight ships of the line, three frigates, and four store ships, sailed away from Madras with a force of 6,839 regulars, sailors and marines. The commander of the expedition was Brigadier General William Draper. He was assisted by Colonel Monson as Second in Command, Major Scott as Adjutant-General and Captain Fletcher as Brigade-Major of the East India Company. The expeditionary force consisted of:

79th Draper's Regiment of Foot (450 men)

composite battalions of sepoys (drawn from all the Madras Sepoy regiments) under Captain DesPlans (2,000 men)

French deserters under Lieutenant Martin (200 men)

other assorted troops (freed African slaves, native Christian Indians who claimed to have Portuguese descent, Nawab European infantry, ...)

The Battle

On September 24, after much delay owing to stormy weather and the defective condition of Admiral Cornish's ships, the expedition entered the Manila Bay and anchored off Fort Cavite.

On September 25, Draper landed his troops unopposed through heavy surf, about 2.5 km south of the walls of the city. A substantial number of Royal Marines and sailors were then detached from the fleet. The garrison of Manila consisted of the Royal Regiment (20 companies of 100 men each). These companies were far from being at full strength. Mortality, desertion and various detachments had reduced this regiment to some 565 soldiers. There were only 80 artillerymen, including some Filipinos.

On September 26, Draper seized a detached fort which had been abandoned by the Spaniards within 200 meters of the glacis, and began to construct a battery, while the ships sailed up to draw the fire of the town upon themselves.

On September 30, a British storeship arrived with entrenching tools, but was driven ashore by a gale. Fortunately, she had run aground so that she screened the rear of Draper's camp from the Spanish cannon. Her stores were landed with greater speed and safety than would have been possible had she remained afloat for the gale continued for several days and forbade the passage of boats through the surf.

On October 4, the battery and the ships opened fire and in 4 hours silenced the guns of Manila.

By October 5, the British cannonade had made a practicable breach in the fortifications of Manila.

During the night of October 5 to 6, the Spaniards made a sally upon the British position with 1,000 Filipinos and were driven back with heavy loss.

At dawn of October 6, Draper's regiment and a party of sailors attacked the breach and took the fortifications with little difficulty.
To prevent further slaughter, acting governor Archbishop Antonio Rojo surrendered the citadel and the port of Cavite as soon as the city fell, promising four million dollars for ransom of the town and of the property contained therein.

Thus fell Manila within 10 days of the arrival of the British.

On the 10th of October, Manila was placed under the authority of Lt. Gen. Dawson Drake.

Aftermath

The British held Manila until it was returned to Spain. They were unable to establish control over other areas of the Philippines. Through the efforts of Spanish Lieutenant-Governor, Don Simón de Anda y Salazar, the remainder of the archipelago remained loyal to Spain. The British promised support for an uprising led first by Diego Silang and later by his wife Gabriela, but the British force never materialized.

The four million dollars has never been fully paid, but the expedition was rewarding nevertheless, especially after the capture of the treasure ship Santísima Trinidad with a value of two million dollars on board.

The city remained in British hands for 18 months and was given back to Spain in April 1764 after the Treaty of Paris (1763).

References

Manila Ransomed: The British Assault on Manila in the Seven Years War, Nicholas Tracy, University of Exeter Press 1995 (ISBN 0-85989-426-6)

Fortescue, J. W., A History of the British Army Vol. II, MacMillan, London, 1899, pp. 544-545.

Rojo, Journal

The Philippine Islands

NY Times

British expedition against Manila

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Battle of Manila (1762)

Prelude

The Battle

Aftermath

References

See also