Siege of Santo Domingo (1655)
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The Siege of Santo Domingo of 1655, was fought between April 23, 1655 to April 30, 1655 at the Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo
Colony of Santo Domingo
The Captaincy General of Santo Domingo was the first Spanish colony in the New World, and later became the Dominican Republic. Originally known as "La Española", the colony was organized as the Royal Audiencia of Santo Domingo in 1511. After years of struggles with the French, the Spanish remained...

. A force of 2,400 Spanish troops led by Governor Don Bernardino Meneses y Bracamonte, Count of Peñalba
Bernardino Meneses y Bracamonte, Count of Peñalba
Bernardino de Meneses Bracamonte, 1st Count de Peñalva was a Spanish nobleman and military leader during the Anglo-Spanish War . He participated in the Siege of Santo Domingo and was victorious over the English forces.-References:*Rubio Mañé, Jorge Ignacio...

, successfully resisted a force of 13,120 troops and 34 ships of the English Commonwealth Navy led by Admiral Sir William Penn.

The English force landed some thirty miles from their objective, the city of Santo Domingo. After a march of four days through heavy rough country with little water, the column was routed in an ambush by a few hundred vaqueros. The English fleet ineffectually tried to bombard the city into submission and the army re-embarked its survivors.

The British naval historian, N.A.M. Rodger, notes that, "In one afternoon the invincible reputation of the New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...

 had been thrown away."

Due to the valor of Don Bernardino de Meneses y Bracamonte, the site of the victory was named in his honor; La Puerta del Conde.
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