Anglo-Spanish War (1655–1660)

Timeline

1. 1654–1655London · EnglandCromwell's government believed British and Protestant European interests required striking the Catholic Spanish Empire, and secretly devised the 'Western Design' in late 1654, dispatching a large expedition against the Spanish Caribbean. In 1655 English forces attacked Hispaniola and seized Jamaica, effectively triggering open war between England and Spain; Spain subsequently froze British merchants' assets and expelled English diplomatic representatives.
2. 1655–1657Atlantic and Iberian coasts · AtlanticAdmiral Blake led the British navy in blockading the Spanish coast, repeatedly intercepting Spanish treasure fleets, and in 1657 raided Tenerife in Santa Cruz, destroying Spanish treasure ships anchored there. In March 1657 England and France signed the Treaty of Paris, formally forming an anti-Spanish alliance and agreeing to joint Anglo-French operations.
3. 1658–1660Dunkirk · Spanish NetherlandsOn June 14, 1658, the Anglo-French forces decisively defeated the Spanish army at the Battle of the Dunes, after which England obtained the port of Dunkirk. The 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees ended the Franco-Spanish War, but formal Anglo-Spanish reconciliation was delayed until negotiations after the 1660 English Restoration. Through the war England secured control of Jamaica and obtained formal Spanish recognition in the 1670 Treaty of Madrid.