Jamaica served as the assembly point and forward base for the expedition. Before it sailed against Cartagena, 600 newly raised Marines were transferred from the intended land force to provide Marine detachments aboard the warships. The government had avoided recruiting additional Marines for those ships. The expedition also added 300 enslaved people as a labor battalion, provoking objections in Jamaica and arguments over military discipline. These measures exposed manpower shortages and coercive improvisation beneath the nominal total of 12,000 troops.
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Manpower shortages and enslaved labor before sailing
The diversion of 600 newly raised Marines to warships and the addition of 300 enslaved laborers weakened and complicated the expedition before combat.