Juan de Amezquita

Infobox Military Person
name=Juan de Amezquita
lived=1595-?
placeofbirth=San Juan, Puerto Rico
placeofdeath=


caption=Captain Juan de Amezquita
'A sketch based on Jose Andino y Amezquita, descendant of Juan de Amezquita'
nickname=
allegiance= Puerto Rican Militia
serviceyears=
rank=Captain
commands=San Felipe del Morro Castle
unit=
battles= Defense of San Juan (1625)
awards=
relations=

Captain Juan de Amezquita (born c. 1595), was a Puerto Rican soldier who defended Puerto Rico from an invasion by the Dutch in 1625. He fought and wounded Captain Balduino Enrico (Boudewijn Hendricksz) who was ordered by the Dutch Government to capture Puerto Rico.

Early years

Amezquita was born and raised in Puerto Rico when the island was a Spanish colony. He was a Captain in the Puerto Rican Militia assigned to protect and defend the island's capital, San Juan.Historias de Puerto Rico by Paul G. Miller, (1947) pgs. 221–237.]

Defense of San Juan

The Netherlands was a world military and commercial power by 1625, competing in the Caribbean Sea with the British. The Dutch wanted to establish a military stronghold in the area, and dispatched Captain Balduino Enrico (also known as Boudewijn Hendricksz/Bowdoin Henrick) to capture Puerto Rico. On September 24, 1625, Enrico arrived at the coast of San Juan with 17 ships and 2,000 men and sent a message to the governor of Puerto Rico, Juan de Haros, ordering him to surrender the island. De Haros refused; he was an experienced military man and expected an attack in the section known as Boqueron. He therefore had that area fortified. However, the Dutch took another route and landed in La Puntilla.De Haro realized that an invasion was inevitable and ordered Captain Juan de Amezquita, plus 300 men stationed at "San Felipe del Morro Castle" (also known as "El Morro") and the city of San Juan evacuated. He also had former governor Juan de Vargas organize an armed resistance in the interior of the island. On September 25 Enrico attacked San Juan, besieging El Morro Castle and La Fortaleza (the Governor's Mansion). He invaded the capital city and set up his headquarters in La Fortaleza. The Dutch were counterattacked by Captain Juan de Amezquita and 50 members of the civilian militia on land and by the cannons of the Spanish troops in El Morro Castle. The land battle left 60 Dutch soldiers dead and Enrico with a sword wound to his neck which he received from the hands of Amezquita [ [http://efemerides.zoomblog.com/archivo/2006/09/24/don-Juan-De-Haro-Y-Los-Holandeses-24-d.html "DON JUAN DE HARO Y LOS HOLANDESES" (24 de Septiembre de 1625)] ] . The Dutch ships at sea were boarded by Puerto Ricans who defeated those aboard. After a long battle, the Spanish soldiers and volunteers of the city's militia were able to defend the city from the attack and save the island from an invasion. On October 21, Enrico set La Fortaleza and the city ablaze. Captains Amezquita and Andre Botello decided to put a stop to the destruction and led 200 men in a attack against the enemy's front and rear guard. They drove Enrico and his men from their trenches and into the ocean in their haste to reach their ships. [http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/2/2/7/12272/12272.htm The History of Puerto Rico From the Spanish Discovery to the American Occupation / Middeldyk, R.A. Van Identifier: etext12272 The History of Puerto Rico From the Spanish Discovery to the American Occupation] ] Insight Guides Puerto Rico; By Barbara Balletto; Pg. 32; Published 2003 Langenscheidt Publishing Group; ISBN:9812349499]

Enrico, upon his retreat, would leave behind him one of his largest ships stranded and over 400 of his men dead. He then tried to invade the island by attacking the town of Aguada. He was again defeated by the local militia and abandoned the idea of invading Puerto Rico.

Honors

Captain Amezquita received 1,000 ducats (gold coins), and was later appointed Governor of Cuba and given command of the Spanish forces in Santiago de Cuba. He later renounced his position and returned to Puerto Rico

The Spanish government honored the actions of Amezquita with a monument on the grounds of El Morro. It is the oldest known monument to honor a Puerto Rican military hero. In the 1940s, the United States inaugurated Fort Amezquita, in Isla de Cabras. During World War II, this fort served as a military reservation, or a "concrete gun battery" for the US Army. [ [http://www.northamericanforts.com/East/pr.html Forts] ] Juan de Amezquita's descendent, Jose Andino y Amezquita, would in the future become the first Puerto Rican journalist.

ee also

*List of famous Puerto Ricans - Military

References