Siege of Havana

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The siege of Havana was the capture of the Spanish-held city of Havana, Cuba in 1762 as part of the war between Britain and Spain which formed part of the larger Seven Years' War. After the Spanish abandoned their former policy of neutrality by signing the family compact with France, Britain declared war on Spain in January 1762. The British government decided to mount an attack on the important Spanish naval base of Havana, with the intention of weakening the Spanish West Indies and improving the security of its own American colonies. A Royal Navy force consisting of squadrons from Britain and the West Indies, escorting 160 troopships, were able to approach Havana from a direction that neither Governor Juan de Prado nor Admiral Gutierre de Hevia expected and were able to trap de Hevia's fleet in the Havana harbour and land their troops with relatively little resistance.

The Spanish decided on a strategy of delaying the British attack until the strength of the city's defences and the onset of seasonal rains inflicting tropical diseases would significantly reduce the size of the attacking force via disease, along with the start of hurricane season would force the British fleet to seek a safe anchorage. However, the city's main fortress, the Morro Castle was overlooked by a hill that de Prado had neglected to fortify; the British installed batteries there and bombarded the fortress daily with heavy shelling. The fortress eventually fell after its commander Luis Vicente de Velasco was mortally wounded by a stray bullet. The capture of Morro Castle led to the eventual fall of the rest of the fortifications and the surrender of the city and its garrison before the hurricane season began.