The Battle of Santanillas was a major naval battle which was fought between the pirate ship Jackdaw and a Spanish fleet off the Santanillas islands of Honduras in 1722 during the Golden Age of Piracy.
History[]
Captain Edward Kenway decided to enrich himself and his crew by attacking and plundering Spanish shipping off Central America; the Spanish Navy was stronger in the southern Caribbean, which it filled wiith large warships such as men-of-war and frigates. Kenway first sighted the brig Aurora of Santanillas, and he immobilized the Spanish ship, captured it, and looted its 130 metal pieces and 30 barrels of rum. Afterwards, Kenway sighted the frigate Lanfranco, the schooner Paloma Blanca, and the brig San Lorenzo. Kenway's attack on this squadron led to the eruption of a larger battle as the Jackdaw attacked squadron after squadron of Spanish ships as they patrolled off the Honduran coast. His actions accrued notoriety, causing pirate hunters to come after him. In the ensuing days-long battle, Kenway plundered the frigates Lanfranco (180 metal and 54 rum), Lanfranco (90 wood and 162 cloth), Conde de Tolosa (144 wood and 90 metal), San Pedro y San Pablo (180 metal and 54 rum), Conde de Tolosa (144 rum and 45 sugar), San Felipe (144 rum and 45 sugar), Triunfo (144 wood and 90 metal), Hermione (135 wood and 117 cloth), San Carlos (90 wood and 162 cloth), Conde de Tolosa (54 rum and 117 sugar), Guadalupe (180 metal and 54 rum), San Isidro (90 wood and 162 cloth), San Isidro (180 metal and 54 rum), Conquistador (180 metal and 54 rum), San Felipe (54 rum and 117 sugar), the brigs Aurora (130 metal and 30 rum), San Lorenzo (50 wood and 110 cloth), Venganza (50 wood and 110 cloth), Victoria (130 metal and 30 rum), Victoria (50 woood and 70 metal), Venganza (110 metal and 30 sugar), Galera Victoria (50 wood and 70 metal), San Esteban Apedreado (80 wood and 50 cloth), and the schooners Paloma Blanca (50 cloth and 20 rum) and Santa Rosalia (50 wood and 20 sugar); he also sunk the pirate hunting brigs Fortitude and schooner Aeolus. Later in the battle, Kenway decided against boarding every ship he came up against, lest his crew waste time, and he instead began to sink Spanish ships rather than board them; he recovered their cargoes from the water before they sunk. After his beleaguered ship was attacked by the Spanish frigate El Sanson and the schooner Urca Doncella, Kenway was forced to retreat in order to refit the Jackdaw, which had sustained heavy damage after engaging in several back-to-back naval battles. The Battle of Santanillas was a humiliation for the Spanish Navy, which lost 25 ships at the hands of one ship.
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