1808 first major battle of the Spanish reconquest of Santo Domingo of the Spanish colonial Captaincy General of Santo Domingo
The Battle of Palo Hincado was the decisive first major engagement in the Spanish reconquest of Santo Domingo from French Napoleonic occupation in 1808.
Key Facts
- Date
- November 7, 1808
- Location
- Palo Hincado savanna, near El Seibo, Santo Domingo
- Pro-Spanish Dominican force
- 1,800 troops
- French Napoleonic force
- 500 troops
- Spanish commander
- General Juan Sánchez Ramírez
- French commander
- Governor General Jean-Louis Ferrand
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
France had occupied the Spanish colonial Captaincy General of Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola. Spanish loyalists in the colony, emboldened by resistance to Napoleonic rule, organized a military force under General Juan Sánchez Ramírez to reclaim the territory from French Governor General Jean-Louis Ferrand.
On November 7, 1808, at the Palo Hincado savanna near El Seibo, a force of 1,800 pro-Spanish Dominican troops under General Juan Sánchez Ramírez engaged and defeated a French Napoleonic force of 500 soldiers led by Governor General Jean-Louis Ferrand, marking the first major battle of the Spanish reconquest of Santo Domingo.
The Spanish victory at Palo Hincado was a pivotal step in the campaign to expel French forces from Santo Domingo, advancing the broader Spanish reconquest of the colony and reshaping the balance of colonial power on the island of Hispaniola during the Napoleonic Wars period.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
General Juan Sánchez Ramírez.
Side B
1 belligerent
Governor General Jean-Louis Ferrand.