Juan de Amezquita

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Juan de Amezquita
1595-?
Captain Juan de Amezquita 'A sketch based on Jose Andino y Amezquita, descendant of Juan de Amezquita'
Place of birth	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Allegiance	Puerto Rican Militia
Rank	Captain
Commands held	San Felipe del Morro Castle
Battles/wars	Defense of San Juan (1625)

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.

1 Early years
2 Defense of San Juan
3 Honors
4 See also
5 References

[edit] 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.^[1]

[edit] Defense of San Juan

Entrance view of San Felipe del Morro Castle

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.^[1]

Area where the "Battle of San Juan of 1625" took place

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^[2]. 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.^[3]^[4]

Enrico, upon his retreat, would leave behind him one of his largest ships stranded and over 400 of his men dead.^[3] 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.^[1]^[4]

[edit] Honors

Captain Amezquita received 1,000 ducats (gold coins), and was later appointed Governor of Cuba.^[3] 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.^[5]