San Cristobal, and in
the year 1655 a squadron of fifty-six vessels and a great number of
transports sailed from England, determined to wrest from Spain more of
her West Indian possessions. A force of nine thousand men was on these
vessels, many of them filibusters who had joined the British.

The British command had primarily in view the conquest of Santo Domingo;
but, being repelled, it concentrated its efforts upon Jamaica. The
governor and his people stubbornly resisted the inroads of the enemy. In
the desperate struggle with a superior and well-trained force two brave
land-holders distinguished themselves by their heroism: D. Francisco
Proenza and D. Cristobal de Isasi. But their small and poorly equipped
forces were outnumbered by the numerous and well prepared enemy; they
were finally obliged to retire within the fortified camp and to
surrender the place to the British invaders. Panic-stricken and
unwilling to live under the rule of the enemy, thousands of Jamaicans
left for Cuba. The population of this island having been recently
decimated by the great epidemic, the refugees were warmly welcomed. They
numbered about ten thousand and the population of Cuba increased, until
it was estimated at forty thousand. This, however, did not compensate
Cuba for the loss of Jamaica, which in time became as valuable to the
British as it became ruinous to Spanish commerce.

The comparatively easy victory of the British was a heavy blow to
Spanish pride and ranks high among the great disasters that marked the
reign of Philip IV. Realizing that Cuba might at any time suffer the
same fate as Jamaica, one hundred thousand soldiers were sent over from
the Peninsula and some ammunition from Spain. The establishment of the
British in colonies so near to Cuba was a constant menace to its
security, and during his brief administration Governor Montano devoted
himself with commendable perseverance to the improvement of the defenses
of Havana, beginning with the most important and urgent work upon its
walls. But before the realization of his plans Montano was taken ill and
died during Easter week of the year 1656.

The conquest of Jamaica by the British had furnished the world such
incontestable proof of Spain's military decline, that the lawless
elements roving the sea under the black flag of the pirates once more
set out upon their criminal expeditions. They extended their
depredations to the whole coast of Spanish America and menaced