A year after they had arrived, the British finally sailed away for ever.
The subsequent fate of the main players varied.
Popham’s court-martial resulted in a severe reprimand but it seems not to have affected his career, he at the same time being presented with a sword of honour by the City of London for his efforts to open up the markets of the River Plate. In future Kydd tales you shall see more of this intelligent, manipulative, gifted and controversial figure.
Beresford escaped in a manner much like Kydd did, taking the same line on parole. Later, he led in the capture of Madeira, where he so won the confidence of the Portuguese that he was given the command of their armies following the invasion of Portugal by Napoleon. Like so many military in this book – Pack, the 71st itself, other officers – he went on to distinction in the Peninsular War.
The bluff and energetic Baird, however, was caught up in the recriminations and ended under recall, losing his governorship of the Cape. He was never employed at that level again.
Santiago de Liniers, twice victor, was hailed as viceroy to replace the cowardly Sobremonte, but in the growing divisions between loyalists and patriots, as a royalist and French by birth he was suspected of treason and executed barely a year later.
In a stroke of irony, Spanish and Argentinian sources both freely admit that it was the barely known fringe act of empire portrayed in this book that produced the spark that set South America ablaze to achieve independence, by demonstrating the fragility of the Spanish hold on their old colonies, while Miranda’s descent on Caracas failed. This struggle for independence beginning three years after the British left saw other bonaerense such as Pueyrredon, Guemes and Belgrano take forward roles, and the colonial South America that Kydd knew was quickly swept away.
Buenos Aires, never before and never since under threat from the outside, is now the capital of Argentina. The city bears little resemblance to what it was in those days: vastly bigger and with only the Plaza Mayor itself barely recognisable, the fort long gone and the waterfront an altogether healthier prospect. The River Chuelo, in which seamen swam heroically to build their bridge of boats, is now straddled by a vast dock area, while Ensenada de Barragan is a naval base and the Perdriel ranch has been swallowed by the suburbs.
The northern shore is now Uruguay but Colonia del Sacramento still has a defiant Portuguese colonial feel to it, the little bastion at the water’s edge attracting curious visitors.
Of this whole South American episode there are very few relics remaining but in the down-town church of Santo Domingo a visitor to Buenos Aires may stand before the actual colours of the 71st Regiment of Highlanders, surrendered on that fateful day by General Beresford.
As usual, for space reasons, I am unable to acknowledge everyone I consulted in the process of writing this book, but to all I owe my deep thanks. Special mention, however, must be made of Sarah Callejo in Madrid who gave unstintingly of her time in respect of various queries on Spanish sources. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the staff of the British Library and the University of London Library.
And, as ever, my huge appreciation must go to my wife and literary partner, Kathy, my agent Carole Blake and my editor Oliver Johnson.
Glossary
agent-victualler
Admiralty-appointed port agent for supplying naval victuals
aguardiente
rough Spanish brandy
avast
stop or desist an action
aviso
dispatch vessel
balandra
cutter or sloop-rigged South American privateer or fishing boat
beakhead
the ornamented support and small deck around the bowsprit
becket
piece of rope to secure loose gear
Blaauwberg, battle of
defining battle in 1806 that secured Cape Town for the British
blandengues
South American colonial militia
block
a sea-going pulley
boomkin
spar under the bowsprit to take the block to stretch the foresail to windward
bridle
rope span attached to leech cringles to tauten the sail when close-hauled
caballero
Spanish honorific for gentleman, literally horseman
calesa
two-wheeled carriage for notables
canister
carronade
short-barrelled, large-calibre gun for use at close range
catblash
nonsense
coxswain
in charge of a boat; captain’s coxswain is in charge of the captain’s barge
crow
a bar with claws to lever around the great guns in aiming
cruiser
an independent vessel, normally a frigate, sent to annoy the enemy’s trade
cutting out
a daring raid by boats into an enemy harbour to capture or destroy enemy shipping
davit
a boat hoist in place of the usual midship stay tackle
distinction
bringing to notice by exceptional courage or achievement
duck
a fine strong white cloth made from untwilled linen, much favoured by sailors
falucho
decked craft local to the River Plate, used in coastal defence and trade
Felucca
small lateen-rigged cargo carrier, corsair
fo’c’sleman
the division of men stationed on the fore-deck; the most experienced seamen
gasket
rope to secure furled sail to the yard
grape-shot
intermediate between canister and solid shot, tiers of smaller balls separated by discs fired as one shot
gunroom
wardroom of a frigate
half-pistol-shot
twenty-five yards range
hawse
the point where the anchor cable leaves the ship
Indiaman
ship of the East India Company
jabberknowl
gossip, rantings of a fool
jonkheer
Dutch honorific for a person of note or high birth
littoral
maulstick
a wooden stick with a soft head, used by painters to support the hand that holds the brush
mijnheer
Mr in Dutch
moil
close-in scrimmage
mongseer
sailor slang for a Frenchman
negus
a drink of port mixed with hot water, spiced and sugared
pampero
characteristic storm of wind from the Pampas about the River Plate
Panjandrum
high ruler, from eighteenth-century Samuel Foote play
Partidarios Leales
party of the loyalists
patricio
patrician, high-born person
pinnace
one of the smaller of the ship’s boats
poniard
small dagger
priddy
seventeenth-century term for prettifying
projector
promoter of a scheme
purser
appointed by the Admiralty for the supply of provision and slops; was an independent businessman
quintal
an imperial ‘hundredweight’ or 100 pounds in weight
quoin
a wedge of wood at the breech to cause elevation or depression in a gun
real
eight to the Spanish silver dollar
reis
Portuguese real since 1480
rixdollar rijksdaalder
: main currency of the Cape of Good Hope
sailing master
attends to the navigation a
nd working of a ship under the captain
schildknaap
Dutch honorific – squire
sea fencibles
land-based naval auxiliaries, local to Britain
sea-anchor
device to drag in the sea to orient the ship
sheave
the wheel on which the rope works in a block
supercargo
an agent aboard a merchant ship responsible for cargo and commercial affairs
veduta
highly detailed landscape in the style of Canaletto
Viceroyalty
that province ruled by a viceroy appointed directly by the Spanish king
volunteers of the first class
educated boys intended to be midshipmen but too young
whiffler
slang for glancing blow
wight
a creature, person
yaw
a deviation to right or left of a ship’s proper course
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