When he came back he
was so well received by the armed peasantry (jibaros) that he was
forced to reembark.
From this time to 1679 several expeditions were fitted out in San Juan
to drive the filibusters from one or another of the islands in the
neighborhood. In 1780 a fleet was equipped with the object of
definitely destroying all the pirates' nests. The greater part of the
garrison, all the Puerto Ricans most distinguished for bravery,
intelligence, and experience, took part in the expedition. The fleet
was accompanied by the Spanish battle-ship Carlos V, which carried 50
cannon and 500 men. Of this expedition not a soul returned. It was
totally destroyed by a hurricane, and the island was once more plunged
in mourning, ruin, and poverty, from which it did not emerge till
nearly a century later.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 40: In fifteen days 110 men and women were assassinated in
the capital alone, some of them persons of distinction. Canovas,
Decadencia de Espana, Libro VI.]
CHAPTER XXI
BRITISH ATTACKS ON PUERTO RICO--SIEGE OF SAN JUAN BY SIR RALPH
ABERCROMBIE
1678-1797
The _entente cordiale_ which had existed between England under Charles
I and Spain under Philip IV ceased with the tragic death of the
first-named monarch.[41]
Immediately after Cromwell's elevation both France and Spain made
overtures for an alliance with England.
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