The timing failure is decisive: the English find ships in Santa Cruz, but the valuable cargo is already secure ashore. The attack begins at 09:00 on 20 April 1657 in the Julian calendar, equivalent to 30 April in the Gregorian calendar. Stayner's ships maneuver alongside the Spanish vessels, anchor, and only then open fire. Their targets initially mask the English squadron from guns in the castle and forts. Blake's heavier ships enter behind them to bombard the shore defenses. The no-prizes, no-quarter order is presented as an especially severe form of warfare shaped by the English Civil War and the wider Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The attack can destroy the fleet, yet it cannot recover the prize that motivated the operation.
Notable Point · 6:48-8:31
Tactical victory without the treasure
The Spanish have already landed the bullion, so Stayner's successful destruction of the harbor squadron cannot achieve the raid's economic purpose.