Santa Cruz 1797 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Game Components
  • Game Setup Diagram
• 3. Counters
• 4. The Mapboard
• 5. Units
• 6. Initial Setup
• 7. Sequence of Play
• 8. Command Cards
• 9. Playing Cards
  • Order cards
  • Assault cards
  • Response cards
  • Mixed cards
  • Combat cards
• 10. Combat
  • Combat Example
• 11. Officers
• 12. HMS Fox
• 13. Victory
• 14. Optional Rules
• 15. Designer Notes
• 16. British Player Notes
• 17. Spanish Player Notes
• 18. Biographies
• 19. Bibliography

1. Introduction

Following the signing of the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1796, Spain and Revolutionary France combined their forces in a war against Great Britain (1796-1808). Victory over the Spanish fleet at the battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 opened the way for the Royal Navy to send a fleet, led by Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson, to seize Tenerife in the Canary Islands and thus interfere with Spanish trade with South America.

The first attempts to land troops at various points on the island ended in humiliating failure, with the British being driven off in confusion. During the night of July 25th, Nelson decided to disembark directly in the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This attack also ended in disaster, stiff Spanish resistance inflicted several hundred casualties on the attackers and Nelson lost his lower right arm, shot off by a cannon ball, a wound which would remind him of his failure for the rest of his life.

Santa Cruz 1797 is a game for two players that simulates the confused street fighting of that night. This is a card driven game in which both players maneuver their forces, made up of wooden blocks, over the mapboard, which depicts part of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Key to victory is the control of Victory Point areas, which represent the most important buildings in the city and the critical points of the defense.

2. Game Components

• 1 mounted mapboard depicting the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
• 56 Command Cards divided into two decks: a 27 card deck for the Spanish player and 29 for the British player
• 6 combat dice
• 22 wooden blocks: red for the British units, including the cutter HMS Fox, and white for the Spanish units (each unit represents between 100-150 men)
• 1 sheet with 23 stickers for the wooden blocks – HMS Fox has one for each of its sides
• 1 die-cut counter sheet with markers and Officers (19 counters)
• 2 player aid charts
• 1 Battle Board
• 1 Auxiliary Board
• 1 rulebook

Game Setup Diagram

The illustrated setup spread shows both players' starting areas, numbered as follows:

1. Spanish draw pile
2. Spanish hand (5)
3. Spanish officers
4. Battle counter
5. Battle board
6. British Officers
7. Spike the cannons counters
8. British draw pile
9. British hand (6)
10. Spanish setup zone
11. Morale record track
12. Combat round track
13. British setup zone
14. Turn record track
15. Player aid chart
16. Eliminated cards
17. HMS Fox blocks and cards
18. British confusion cards

3. Counters

The die-cut counter sheet includes, for each side, an Officer counter (with a blank reverse side used to keep the Officer hidden until revealed), plus shared markers: the Turn marker, the Combat round marker, the Morale marker, and the Spike the cannons marker.

• British Officer / Reverse / Turn marker / Combat round
• Spanish Officer / Reverse / Morale marker / Spike the cannons

4. The Mapboard

4.0. The mapboard depicts the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797 and the surrounding shallow waters. It is divided into areas separated by lines of different colors: blue, black and red. Only count areas that are totally surrounded by those lines and map edges.

Example: There is no area between San Cristóbal Castle (marked with 6 Victory Points) and the sea area marked with three dice (2, 3, 2). The small portion of land there is only present for aesthetic purposes.

4.1 Sea areas are those bordered by BLUE lines. Sea areas adjacent to the shore have some of their borders printed in blue and others in black or red.

a) Printed colored dice in a sea area indicate that the area can come under fire from the coastal batteries of the corresponding color.

b) Dashed lines between sea areas are used to regulate the force of the sea current and its impact on British sea movement.

c) White arrows marked with an anchor symbol are used to indicate which land areas you can disembark into from a given sea area. Disembarkment is not allowed into other land areas, you must always follow a 'disembarkment arrow'.

4.2 Sea areas are those bordered by BLUE lines. Sea areas adjacent to the shore have some of their borders printed in blue and others in black or red.

a) Printed colored dice in a sea area indicate that the area can come under fire from the coastal batteries of the corresponding color: the yellow, red and green colored ones.

b) Dashed lines between sea areas are used to regulate the force of the sea current and its impact on British sea movement.

c) White arrows marked with an anchor symbol are used to indicate which land areas you can disembark into from a given sea area. Disembarkment is not allowed into other land areas, you must always follow a 'disembarkment arrow'.

4.3 Any two areas (sea or land) are considered to be adjacent if they share a common border. If they only share a vertex they are not adjacent for any game purpose.

Example: The (violet colored) dock land area is adjacent to just three other areas: San Cristóbal Castle (6 VP), the 2 VP land area and to the land area with a red die printed on it.

Map legend: Ravine/defensive wall, Battery/Fortress, Victory points, Possible landing, Sea zone.

4.4 A sea area is only adjacent to a land area if there is a white arrow pointing to the land area from that sea area.

4.5 There are three tracks printed on the mapboard:

a) Turn Track. A game lasts a maximum of 12 turns.

b) Morale Track. Used to track the VPs each side receives for winning combats.

c) Combat Rounds Track. Used to indicate when units in combat take an additional loss due to attrition.

4.6 The British initial set-up area is in the southwest corner of the mapboard, marked with British naval ensigns. This is also the only area where the British player can bring eliminated blocks back on as reinforcements. There are also two land areas marked with the Spanish flag—a red Cross of Burgundy on a white background—where the Spanish player can bring previously eliminated blocks back into play as reinforcements.

5. Units

Spanish blocks: Regulares, Milicias Provinciales, Voluntarios y Milicianos.

British blocks: Royal Marines, Sailors.

Block diagram labels: Strenggth Points (SP), Combat extra dice, Special retreat.

Historical and design note: Blocks help to create the "fog of war" typical of street fighting at night. The forces involved were very small, and uncertainty and surprise were important factors during the real battle. The British finally surrendered to a smaller force than themselves. The forces involved in the battle were really small. Each block represents between 100 and 150 officers, non-commissioned officers and men.

5.0 Blocks, hereafter called 'units', represent the infantry of both sides, and the cutter HMS Fox (See 11.0). The British player has 12 units (red blocks) and the Spanish has 9 (white blocks).

5.1 Before playing for the first time, the stickers should be stuck onto the blocks (HMS Fox needs two, one for each side). The British player has 3 stickers for 'Royal Marines' and 9 for 'sailors/boarding parties'. The Spanish player has 3 stickers each for 'regulars', 'militia' and 'volunteers'.

5.2 Each sticker shows a uniform—depicting the kind of troops the block represents—and small dots along its four sides. Those dots are 'Strength Points' (SP) and are printed in groups, from 1 to 4. These allow players to record the current strength of each unit. The actual strength of a unit is the number of SP printed on the topmost edge of the sticker.

5.3 All units begin the game at full strength (4). During play units can lose strength points, shown by rotating the block 90 degrees anti-clockwise for each hit taken. If a 1 SP unit suffers a hit it is removed from the mapboard, but it can re-enter the game as reinforcements later. A unit that was removed from the mapboard during play is never permanently removed from the game, it can always return by playing a Reinforcements card. Exception: HMS Fox is permanently removed from the game if it is sunk or once its cargo has been unloaded.

5.4 Both sides have different types of units. The British player has three Royal Marines and nine sailors/boarding parties. The Spanish player has regulars—one battalion of the Canarias infantry regiment, militia from several battalions of the Milicias Provinciales and volunteers—armed citizens with little military experience or training. They have different characteristics in combat (See 9.2).

5.5 Blocks are normally stood on edge, with the sticker facing the owning player so the unit type and current strength are hidden from their opponent.

5.6 There is a limit of three units per side per land area. Units from both sides can occupy the same land area only during combat. Combat ends when only one side has units remaining in a land area.

5.7 There is no limit to the number of British blocks that can be present in a given sea area. Spanish blocks are never allowed to be in sea areas.

5.8 The number of blocks supplied with the game is the maximum number each side can have on the mapboard at any time. If you play a Reinforcements card you can take eliminated units and bring them back into play, if you don't have any eliminated units, you can only use that card to reinforce units already on the mapboard.

6. Initial Setup

To start the game, follow the following steps:

• The British player places two units of his/her choice in the cutter HMS Fox box on the Auxiliary Board, along with the 3 cards with the anchor printed in their lower left corner.
• The British player then sets up the remaining blocks (including HMS Fox) in the southwestern most sea area (the one with the British naval ensigns).
• The Spanish player deploys his/her units as he/she sees fit within the following limits: exactly 2 units must be deployed in San Cristóbal Castle and 1 unit in each of the other two Fortresses. The other 5 blocks can be deployed in any other land area, up to a maximum of three per area (See 4.6).
• Place the Morale marker in the half-red/half-white middle position on the Morale Track.
• Place the Turn marker in the 2:00 a.m. box.
• Place the British "Confusion" cards on the Auxiliary Board.
• Both players shuffle their decks and draw their initial hand: 6 cards for the British player; 5 cards for the Spanish player.

7. Sequence of Play

Historical and design note: A direct amphibious assault was not the first option for Nelson at Santa Cruz de Tenerife. For several days he had tried an 'indirect approach' by landing at other beaches with the intention of marching overland on Santa Cruz. As Spanish forces defeated those attempts Nelson played his last card: a direct night assault. Some days earlier he had been able to seize several Spanish and French ships at anchor so he thought a direct assault could succeed. The Spanish defenders were weak in numbers but not in firepower, especially along the seafront. Nelson would also have to face the strong sea currents heading south that could disperse the British in their boats and the Spanish coastal batteries that could take a heavy toll on men and equipment.

7.0 The game is played in 12 turns, each divided into different Phases:

1. British Naval Movement Phase.
2. Spanish Coastal Batteries Bombardment Phase.
3. British Action Phase (Spanish player can play Response and Combat cards during this Phase).
4. Spanish Action Phase (British player can play Response and Combat cards during this Phase).
5. End of turn and turn advancement.

7.1 British Naval Movement Phase

a) Each turn any British block (units or HMS Fox) in a sea area not adjacent to a land area must move towards the coast.

b) The British player determines into which sea area each block intends to move. The sea area to be entered must be a sea area NEARER to the coast than the sea area the block currently occupies.

c) This is a compulsory movement; the British player doesn't have to play any cards to move at sea. The British player must designate the intended destination of all blocks before rolling for the effects of the current.

d) If the British player intends to move blocks into any area other than the areas directly on the southern map edge, the player has to roll a die for each block to see if the current drags the block further to the south or not. This is depicted on the mapboard by dashed lines that lead from a sea area into adjacent sea areas nearer the coast. There is a fifty-fifty chance that the unit will enter the intended sea area. The British player rolls a die for each block in turn, on a result of 4-6 the unit goes into the intended area, on a roll of 1-3 the unit goes to the sea area immediately to the south following the dashed line leading to a circle with 1/3 printed inside.

e) Once a block is in a sea area adjacent to a land area it stops using naval movement and is eligible to move during the upcoming British Action Phase.

Example: The British player decides that he wants to move his two Royal Marines blocks into the upper adjacent sea area and his sailors block into the lower adjacent sea area. He has to roll for the Royal Marines blocks. With a result of 6 one of them goes to the intended area and the other rolls a 2 and heads to the lower sea area. The block of sailors doesn't have to roll because it is heading to a sea area on the southern map edge. That move is automatic.

7.2 Spanish Coastal Batteries Bombardment Phase.

a) During this phase, the Spanish player MAY play several cards from his/her hand to open fire with the coastal batteries. Only active (non-spiked) non enemy-occupied coastal batteries can open fire in this phase.

b) The Spanish player may play up to 3 cards from his/her hand for coastal battery fire. Each card allows the Spanish player to choose a sea area and attack every British block in that area with all the batteries that can fire into that sea area, as shown on the mapboard by the colored dice. The Spanish player can only play cards that have a small cannon symbol printed on them in the lower left-hand corner. Ignore the effects of the cards and play them only for coastal batteries fire resolution. The Spanish player has to play ALL the cards and designate all the areas he/she wants to bombard before rolling any dice.

c) The Spanish player rolls the number of dice shown against each British block in the chosen sea area. A hit is scored if the result of the roll is equal or less than the number depicted on the printed die. The color of the dice corresponds to the battery that is firing. Remember: spiked or enemy-occupied batteries can't fire at all. The Spanish player must state which battery is firing before rolling the dice, so it is clear what the 'to hit' number is. Hits are applied to British blocks normally. (See 11.0 for the effects of artillery fire on HMS Fox).

d) One card from the Spanish deck has a '+1' next to the printed cannon symbol that allows it to be played for coastal battery fire. The sea area bombarded by the use of that card has all the 'to hit' values increased by one (it is easier to hit British blocks with that card).

Example: During the Spanish Coastal Batteries Bombardment Phase one British block is on the pier and two other are on the sea area in front of San Cristobal Fortress. The Spanish player plays a "Move" card to activate the batteries that fire into that sea area. He will roll two dice against each British block. The green battery will be fired and the die rolled it will inflict a hit on a roll of 1-2; the red battery will be fired and the die rolled will inflict a hit on a roll of 1-3. The Spanish violet battery will be unable to fire as it is occupied by a British block.

Historical and design note: The twin Action Phases are the core of the game and I designed them to let both players react and play Combat cards to reflect the desperate and confused street fighting that took place that night.

7.3 British Action Phase

e) The British player can take ONE of the following options:

• Pass: the British player can discard any cards from his/her hand and does nothing with his/her blocks. Passing allows the British player to get rid of Confusion cards which would otherwise clog up his/her hand.
• Play Command Cards as explained below.

f) The British player can play up to three cards either ORDERS and/or ASSAULT cards. However, the three cards cannot all be of the same type. You can play 2 Orders and 1 Assault or 1 Order and 2 Assault.

g) Cards are played one at a time; the effect of one card is resolved, including any resulting combat, before playing the next.

h) During the British Action Phase, the Spanish player can interrupt by playing RESPONSE cards whenever the conditions of the cards are met (see rule 8 below).

i) If a British Assault initiates a combat both players may play Combat Support cards—these are in addition to the three cards that may be played by the British player.

j) At the end of the British Action Phase, the British player only refills his/her hand up to the hand limit (initially 6 cards) drawing cards from his/her own deck.

7.4 Spanish Action Phase

This is resolved exactly like the previous British Action Phase, but with the roles reversed (the British player can play Counterattack cards if the conditions are met, see rule 7 below). At the end of this phase, the Spanish player, not the British player, refills his hand up to the limit (initially 5 cards).

7.5 End of turn

The turn ends, move the Turn marker one space forward along the Turn Track. Repeat the four Phases above in the new turn. The game ends after 12 turns have been played. Then check for victory (see rule 12.0).

8. Command Cards

Card layout legend: Action or event, Eliminate after use, Type of card, Battery fire. There are Spanish cards and British cards, each in their own deck.

8.0 This is a card driven game. Players play cards to enable their units to take actions. Each side has its own separate deck of Command Cards. There are six types of Command Cards:

Order: Including Move cards and various other events.

Assault: Allowing an Officer counter to be deployed on the mapboard. Officers must be placed into a land area containing friendly units and that doesn't already contain another Officer. Then move a group of units to an adjacent land area. If that land area is enemy occupied, resolve the resulting combat immediately. You can place the Officer with some of your units and move some other units; you are not obliged to move the units in the area you placed the newly arriving Officer into.

Response: Response cards can be played if certain conditions are met. Usually they are played as a response to an enemy-played card. Only the Spanish player has Response cards in his deck.

Mixed Response (Counterattack)/Assault: These cards can be used in two different ways. Players have to choose how to use them at the moment of playing them. They can be used as an Assault in the normal way in the player's own turn. Or they can be used as a Response, immediately after an enemy-initiated combat is resolved, i.e. in the middle of an enemy turn, to give an Assault order to a group of friendly units and friendly Officer (revealed or not) that are together in an area. Those units and the Officer leading them can move and attack immediately. A Counterattack cannot be used to move units without an Officer. The move and possible resulting combat are resolved before the opponent resumes his/her turn. Both players have this kind of card in their decks.

Combat Support: Combat Support cards confer advantages in combat and can be played by both the attacker and defender to add or subtract dice to the combat. The attacker always plays all his Combat Support cards before the defender plays his.

Confusion: You cannot play a Confusion card. If you have any in your hand you can only discard them by passing during your own Action Phase in a turn. The Spanish player can also discard one Confusion card from his/her hand for each Harassment Order card played during his own Action Phase. The Spanish player begins the game with some Confusion cards in his/her deck. The British player starts with none in his deck, they enter the deck when the Spanish player plays Harassment cards.

8.1 Initially, the British maximum hand size is 6 and the Spanish maximum hand size is 5. The size of the card hand can be reduced if friendly Officers get killed/seriously injured during the battle. Your hand size decreases by 1 card for each friendly Officer that gets killed/seriously injured.

8.2 As you play an ORDER or ASSAULT card place it face-up in front of you and declare the effect. Give your opponent enough time to react to play any suitable RESPONSE card -in the case of the Spanish player- before resolving your Order or Assault. When you initiate combat, play all your own Combat Support cards before the defender plays any and allow enough time for the Spanish player to play any suitable Response cards—several of them can be played during combat—before rolling any dice.

8.3 Every card played is either placed in the discard pile or permanently eliminated from play. Most cards are discarded once played and they go, face-up, to the discard pile. Some cards are marked in their lower left corner with a symbol that indicates they are eliminated once played, so they can only be used ONCE per game. Put aside those eliminated cards in the appropriated space of the Auxiliary Board and don't use them during the rest of the game.

8.4 If there are not enough cards for a player to refill his/her hand, draw the remaining and then reshuffle the discard pile into a new draw deck.

9. Playing Cards

Every card has its own effect; depending on the type you can use them at different moments during play. Below you will find a complete description of the different cards. Remember that each card has its own effects that must be completely applied before another card is played. You must take into account that you can play several orders with the same or different units so there is no limit to the number of orders/assault orders you can use with the same units in a given turn –within the limits of 2 orders/1 assault or 1 order/2 assaults cards played per Action Phase.

Order cards

BOMB VESSEL "RAYO"

The British player chooses one area and attacks every Spanish unit in it. Roll 1d6 for each unit and inflict a hit on a result of 5-6. If the targeted land area is a Fortress, only a 6 counts as a hit. If the area chosen is a beach automatically eliminate every Spanish unit in it.

Historical and design note: The Rayo bomb vessel was captured by the British days before the attack and was used to harass the Spanish defenses throughout the battle with her 9-inch mortar.

THE FRENCH ARE EAGER TO FIGHT

The Spanish player chooses a land area and moves any units there any distance to any other land area on the mapboard, provided it is not occupied by the enemy. However, the units moved cannot enter sea areas or enemy-occupied land areas at any point during their move. Permanently discard after use.

The French crew of the corvette La Mutine got stranded in Santa Cruz when their ship was seized by the British several days before the battle. They played a very active role in defeating the British attack.

MOVE

This card allows you to move any units from a given area into a vacant or friendly occupied adjacent area. Move cards do not allow you to initiate combat. The British player can use a Move card to move units from a sea area to an adjacent land area free of enemy units. If you choose units in the same area as HMS Fox you can also unload the cutter simultaneously, even moving some of the units that were aboard the cutter.

HARRASSMENT

The Spanish player can discard one Confusion card from his hand so the British player must add one Confusion card to his draw deck and then reshuffle his deck.

The Spanish player can only play this card if there is at least one British unit on a land area.

The civilian population of Santa Cruz played a crucial role deceiving the British about Spanish troop strength and dispositions, thereby severely undermining British confidence and determination.

SPIKE THE CANNONS

The British player can play one of these cards if any British unit occupies a non-spiked Spanish coastal battery. Place a Spiked marker on the battery which is immediately and definitively put out of play. It can never bombard again, even if reoccupied by Spanish troops. Each spiked cannon scores the British player 1 VP at the end of play.

Cannons could be put out of action by driving long nails into their touch holes. Assault troops were equipped with hammers and spikes for this purpose.

PANIC!

The British player must choose a land area with Spanish units in it and roll 1d6 per unit in the area. On a die roll result of:

1-3: The unit doesn't suffer any adverse effect.

4: The unit must retreat one area towards the Spanish reinforcement areas.

5: The unit loses 1 SP and must retreat one area towards the Spanish reinforcement areas.

6: The unit loses 1 SP and must retreat two areas towards the Spanish reinforcement areas.

If the chosen area is one of the three Fortress areas, subtract 1 (-1) from the die roll.

If the units cannot retreat the full amount, they are eliminated instead.

Si la zona elegida es una fortaleza debes restar 1 (-1) a cada tirada de dado. Si la retirada no es posible se elimina la unidad del juego.

Inexperienced Spanish militiamen and soldiers tended to suffer sudden and unjustified outbursts of panic.

REINFORCEMENTS

A player receives 3 SP as reinforcements to distribute among his/her on-map units or to bring back previously eliminated units. You can add SP to your own units just rotating them 90 degrees clockwise for each SP received. Also you can use some or all of the reinforcing SP to bring units back on the mapboard. Each side has areas marked to place those reinforcing units.

A maximum of 1 SP may be used to reinforce Royal Marines or Regulars. The remaining 2 SP must be given to other types of unit.

The mayor of Santa Cruz, Domingo Vicente Marrero, did a great job rounding up stragglers and leading them back into combat.

Troubridge barricaded himself and his troops inside the San Agustín convent and raised a flag to warn the fleet. Boats with more troops were sent to reinforce those ashore.

Assault cards

ASSAULT

These cards allow you to move any units from a given area into an adjacent area, regardless of the presence of enemy units. THESE CARDS ALLOW YOU TO INITIATE COMBAT. Before moving any units, an Officer can be placed (face-down) into any land area that contains any of your own units, but doesn't already contain another Officer. The Officer need not be placed with the units that are going to be moved.

The British player may place an Officer with units in a sea area that are immediately going to move to an adjacent land area. You MUST move the Officer with those disembarking units.

The British player may use an Assault to move units from a sea area to an adjacent land area. If you choose units in the same area as HMS Fox you can also unload the cutter simultaneously, even moving some of the units that were aboard the cutter.

Any unit that enters an enemy-occupied area initiates combat, which must be resolved immediately.

Response cards

LOST!

The Spanish player can play this card when the British player plays a Move or Assault card and after he/she designates which units are going to move. The Spanish player then moves those units instead of the British player, but cannot initiate combat.

The British Officer Freemantle is immune to this effect. If the group of British units is stacked with Freemantle the Spanish player cannot play this card against them. If Freemantle is face-down (See 10.0) when the Spanish player plays the card, the British player can immediately reveal him to avoid the effects - the Spanish card is considered to be played anyway and is discarded.

HEAVY SWELL!

The Spanish player can use these cards when the British player plays any of his/her Combat Support cards during a combat. Both the British card and Heavy Swell! card are permanently eliminated from play.

The strong surf caused several boats to founder and men and material were lost before reaching the shore.

Mixed cards

COUNTERATTACK

These cards have a double usage; owners have to decide how they want to use them.

If they are used as Reaction cards (Counterattack) they can be used immediately after resolving a combat during your opponent's turn. You can move a group of your own units stacked with an Officer (revealed or not) even initiating combat as if you had played an Assault card. You cannot use this card to move units without an Officer and the Officer must move with the units. If you initiate combat, resolve it before the original phasing player plays another Order or Assault card.

These cards can also be used as regular Assault cards during your own Action Phase.

Combat cards

FIRING FROM COVER

These cards are only in the Spanish player's deck and can only be played in a combat by the defender. The effect is to subtract a die (-1 die) from the dice total for the British player in every round of that combat.

During the battle the Spanish troops made barricades or occupied stone buildings to better resist the British assault.

CANNON

This card is present in both decks and can be played by the attacker as well as by the defender. Its effect is to add one extra die (+1 die) to the total dice of that player in every round of that combat.

Light 3-pounder cannons greatly increased the firepower of the infantry.

ASSAULT LADDERS

This card allows the British player to cancel the advantages of the Spanish player when defending in a Fortress. The combat is resolved as if it was taking place in a regular land area.

Scaling ladders were used to storm the ramparts under enemy fire.

BATTLE DRUMS

The British player can play this card in a combat in which he/she is the attacker to add units from an adjacent area to the Assault. If the British player wins the combat and has more than 3 units in the combat area, excess units (either original assaulting units or those called in by the card) must return to their initial areas to respect the units per area limit. However, this card does not allow the British player to have more than 1 Officer in the combat area (See 10.0).

Drum signals were used to regroup troops in the night and give orders for attacks and retreats.

LUCKY SHOT FROM "TIGRE"

El jugador español puede usar esta The Spanish player can play this card in any combat in which a British Officer is present as either attacker or defender. This Officer is permanently removed from the game and the British hand size is reduced by one (-1 card). Next combat is resolved normally.

Legend has it that a cannon named Tigre (Tiger), sited in an embrasure pointing out to the dockyard, was responsible for the shot that shattered Nelson's lower right arm during the fight.

CONFUSION

These cards have no use or utility. You can only discard them by playing a Harassment card (Spanish player only) or by passing during your own Action Phase (both players).

Street fighting at night is very confusing; officers can find it difficult to give orders or be obeyed, soldiers get lost and frightened. To reflect this, players can find their hand clogged by Confusion cards.

10. Combat

10.0 As soon as a player moves his own units into an area occupied by enemy units, a combat ensues. Combat must be resolved immediately, before playing more cards. Remember that after resolving combat the non-phasing player could play a Counterattack card as a response before the phasing player can resume his turn. The procedure for resolving combat is:

1. Take all the units from the mapboard and indicate the area where the combat is taking place with the Current Combat marker. Put the units onto the Battle Board.
2. Players reveal their units with the current SP strength facing the line of enemy units. Once revealed, units remain revealed during the rest of the combat.
3. Players play Combat Support cards, first the attacker then the defender.
4. Each player totals his/her dice for the battle.
5. Players roll the dice and apply hits for the first round of combat. Combat is simultaneous except when attacking Fortresses (See 9.10).
6. After the third, sixth, ninth, etc. combat round both sides suffer attrition.
7. Any player can voluntarily retreat from the combat, attacker first. Take the units from the Battle Board and place them in any area eligible for retreat.
8. If there are still units from both sides in the combat area, fight a new round of combat. Repeat Steps 4-7 above. Move the Combat Round Marker on the Combat Rounds Track to the immediately higher number, if already in the "3" box move it back to the "1".
9. If only one player has units in the area, he/she is the winner of the combat and moves the Morale marker one space in the direction of his/her flag on the Morale Track. Return his/her unit/s to the area where the combat took place. If both sides are completely eliminated, nobody wins.
10. Play resumes. First the non-phasing player has the option to play a Counterattack card as a response and then, after resolving any combat, the phasing player resumes play using new Orders or Assaults.

10.1 Remember that the attacker plays his/her Combat Support cards first, then the defender. The Spanish player can also play a "Heavy Swell!" card after the British player has played his Combat Support cards –as attacker or defender.

10.2 Each player rolls a number of dice in each combat round depending on different factors. You have to calculate the number of dice to be rolled in each round because conditions can vary:

• 1 base die for each player.
• +1 die for the player with the most SP present in the combat.
• +1 die for each unit of Royal Marines or Regulars present in the combat.
• -1 die for the attacker if his units crossed a red line border to initiate the combat (See 3.2).
• +/- X die/dice depending on the Combat Support cards played
• +1 die for each side depending on any Officers present in the combat.

10.3 It is possible that a side will not get to roll any dice during a combat round.

10.4 Each side rolls the appropriate number of dice. Each modified die roll result of 5-6 scores a hit. Hits must by applied one at a time to the strongest enemy unit present in the combat. If several units are of equal strength, the owning player chooses which one receives the hit. Hits are applied simultaneously on the attacking and defending units (Exception: Assault on Fortresses, see 9.10). If the British player obtains a modified die roll result of 4, ALL Spanish volunteer units in the combat flee and must retreat to any adjacent eligible area.

10.5 During combat Officers can become casualties. If a side rolled at least two natural 6s (before modifiers), the enemy Officer present becomes a casualty. Roll a die, and on a result of 1-3 the Officer dies or is severely injured in front of his men and is eliminated from the game. The hand size of that side is reduced by 1 (-1 card) for the rest of the game. On a result of 4-6 the Officer is only wounded and is retired from the game but without affecting the hand size of the owning player.

10.6 Use the Combat Rounds Track to indicate which round is being fought. After the third, sixth, ninth, etc. combat round both sides suffer one hit due to attrition. Apply that hit after applying regular hits inflicted during the round.

10.7 After a combat round both sides can choose to retreat and break off combat. First the attacker decides, then the defender. Defending units and Officers must retreat together to an adjacent land area free of enemy units. You cannot split the units into several groups in order to retreat them to different land areas. If your units are exceeding the maximum unit limit in an area after retreating, you must eliminate units in such a way as to respect this limit. If there was already another Officer in the area retreated into, the retreating Officer is removed from the game without any further adverse effects for the owning player (as if he had been wounded). The attacker must retreat back into the area from where his units moved to initiate combat. That area must be on land; you cannot retreat back out to sea. Units which cannot retreat are eliminated instead. Hence, attacking directly from the sea is a perilous enterprise!

10.8 If both sides decline to retreat or cannot retreat, a new combat round begins. Move the marker one space forward along the Combat Rounds Track and repeat all the above steps. If the marker was already in the 3 space, move it back to the 1 space to begin a new count for attrition.

10.9 If only units from one side remain on the combat area, then that side is declared the winner. Move the marker on the Morale Track one space towards the flag of the winning side—probably adding a VP to his count. If the marker is already in the last box of the track, leave it there. At the end of the game a side will score additional VP depending on the final position of the Morale marker.

10.10 Combat in Fortresses is somewhat different to reflect the advantages that defenders enjoy from being inside the fortifications. The defender performs Steps 4 and 5, before the attacker totals and rolls his dice. The defenders fire first and only the attacker's surviving units get to fire back, there may even be Officer losses, which may affect the number of dice the attacker rolls. Additionally, the attacker will only hit defender units on—modified—results of 6.

Combat Example

The British player plays an Assault card to move two units (3 SP sailor and 2 SP Royal Marines) with Troubridge into the land area occupied by Román and two units (a 4 SP volunteer and 3 SP militia). It is a non-fortress area and the attacker didn't cross a red border to enter combat.

The British player plays a Cannon. The Spanish player plays Heavy Swell! to eliminate the British Cannon card. Both are retired from play immediately. The Spanish player declines to play any Combat Support card himself.

Now they have to total their combat dice:

The British player will roll 3 dice (1 base die, +1 for the Officer, +1 for the Royal Marines).

The Spanish player will also roll 3 dice (1 base die, +1 for the Officer, +1 for having more SP than the British player).

Both sides now roll their dice and apply any hits simultaneously. Both hit on results of 5 and 6. No one has any modifiers for the combat dice results.

The British player rolls 4, 3, 5 so he obtains one hit. The strongest Spanish unit is the volunteers, so it is reduced to 3 SP. Also the British player obtained a modified 4, so the volunteer units must also retreat to an adjacent land area free of enemy units.

The Spanish player rolls 2, 6, 6 so he obtains two hits. The first one goes to the sailors unit as it is the strongest British unit and the second hit also goes to them as the British player prefers to conserve the Royal Marines. As the Spanish player obtained a natural double 6, the British player must roll a die to see what happens to Troubridge. He obtains a result of 2, Troubridge is killed and is permanently removed from play; the British hand size is reduced by one.

If both players decline to retreat, there will be a second round of combat. Each side will roll 2 dice (the Spanish player no longer has more SP than the British and the British player has lost the additional dice for having an Officer present). Hoping for better luck in the next combat, British player decides to retreat and moves the units back to the area they came from.

11. Officers

11.0 Officer counters represent the historical leaders present in the battle. Initially none of them is on the mapboard. You can place one Officer counter, face-down, in a land area with your own units when you play an Assault or Counterattack card. The British player can also place one Officer with units at sea that are going to move into a land area from an adjacent sea area, whether they initiate combat or not.

11.1 Officer are initially placed face-down. Officers are turned face-up the first time they enter combat and then remain face-up for the rest of the game. Additionally, a British Officer (Freemantle) is turned face-up when he first use his special ability (See 10.7).

11.2 No more than one friendly Officer can ever be present in a land area. You cannot violate this rule voluntarily or involuntarily. If an Officer is forced to retreat into an area already containing another friendly Officer, the retreating Officer is removed from the game as if he had been wounded, with no further adverse effects.

11.3 Officers can move along with the units that are with them in the same area. An Officer can move with a Move or Assault card, for example, to one area accompanying some units and them move to another area with other units in that area when you play another Move or Assault card. The owning player decides, at the moment of moving, which units move from one area and if the Officer accompanies them or stays with other units in the area.

11.4 Officers must remain accompanied by any friendly unit/s at all times. An Officer may accompany units retreating due to play of a "Panic!" card.

11.5 If all the units with an Officer are eliminated, the Officer is also removed from the game immediately as if he had been wounded.

11.6 Officers can become casualties during combat (See 9.5). A player's hand size is reduced by one for each of his/her Officers that is killed/seriously injured. Wounded Officers (including Officers removed for other reasons) are permanently removed from the game but do not affect the player's hand size.

11.7 All the Officers have special abilities that can be used to help the troops that they accompany.

Bowen: Add one die (+1 die) to the British side attacking a Fortress. Bowen becomes a casualty if the Spanish player rolls either double (or more) natural 6s and double natural 5s, but not a mix of 5s and 6s.

Freemantle: The Spanish player cannot play a Lost! card against a group of British units that are accompanied by Freemantle. If Freemantle is face-down when a Lost! card is played against him, he can be revealed immediately, voiding the Spanish card.

Hood: Add one die (+1 die), if he is present, to the British side in any combat initiated by playing a Counterattack card.

Nelson: Add 1 (+1) to all British dice rolled during each combat round if he is present in the combat, either attacking or defending.

Oldfield: Add 1 (+1) to the result of one British die roll if he is present and at least one Royal Marines unit is also present; do this after rolling all the British dice and seeing the results in a combat round. This ability can be used once in each round of combat. It can be used when either attacking or defending.

Troubridge: Add 1 die (+1 die) to the British side in every combat he is present, either attacking or defending.

Benítez: If he is present, volunteer units don't flee on a British result of 4 (See 9.4).

Grandy: Add 1 die (+1 die) to the Spanish side in every combat he is present, either attacking or defending.

Güinter: Add 1 die (+1 die) to the Spanish side in every combat he is present, either attacking or defending, if there is at least one Spanish regular unit present in the combat.

General Gutiérrez: Add 1 (+1) to all Spanish dice rolled during each combat round if he is present in the combat and the combat takes place in San Cristóbal Castle. It can be used when either attacking or defending.

Román: Add 1 die (+1 die) to the Spanish side in every combat he is present, but only in defense.

12. HMS Fox

12.0 The block for HMS Fox is just like any other British block except:

12.1 She is a troop transport loaded with war material. During the initial setup the British player has to place 3 cards—those marked with an anchor symbol—and two units of his/her choice onto the Auxiliary Board. They are loaded on the ship.

12.2 She can never move into a land area. When in a sea area adjacent to a land area the British player can play a Move or Assault card to unload the ship. So he/she can place the troops on board the ship into that adjacent land area (with other units in the sea area up to the limit of three units per land area) and take the three cards with the anchor symbol and shuffle them back into his/her deck. The British player then permanently removes HMS Fox from play.

11.3 If HMS Fox receives a hit from Spanish Coastal Bombardment, the British player must eliminate either a whole unit or one card of the three that were put on board the ship—his own choice. Retired cards are permanently out of play. If HMS Fox suffers 3 hits, she sinks with all her cargo.

13. Victory

After the last turn of the game, total the Victory Points gained by each side. Count the VP from each land area occupied by your units, plus the VP indicated by the Morale Track. Additionally the British may score up to 4 VP for spiking the Spanish batteries. The winner will be the player with the most VP; if scores are equal, the game is a draw.

14. Optional Rules

Sometimes different players feel very differently about the same game… Here are some optional rules you can use to add variety. Of course, the standard game has been fully play-tested, so we can guarantee it is balanced and even. Use the optional rules if you feel you must. But don't say I didn't warn you about the consequences on play balance.

14.0 Combat: Some may feel it is absurd to roll 0 dice in a given combat (See 9.3). If you use this optional rule, no side can roll less than 1 die in any combat round, regardless of the number of penalties that could be applied (due to crossing red borders and enemy Combat Support cards).

14.1 Reinforcements cards: To reduce bias caused by sheer luck, permanently eliminate Reinforcement cards when played. Thus both sides will get a total of two such cards per game.

14.2 Nelson - certain death: Some British players can feel uneasy knowing they are going to lose an Officer due to Spanish play of the Lucky Shot... card. Spanish players may use the card early to reduce the British hand size or wait until Nelson turns up. To reduce this effect, roll a die when Lucky Shot... is played. On a 1-3 nothing happens, on a 4-6, apply the effect as usual.

14.4 Simplified version: To make things easier you can play your first games without using Officers. Also remove the Spanish Lucky Shot... card as it would be useless. The game is somewhat less interesting, but easier enough for beginners.

15. Designer Notes

A la hora de proponerme crear un juego When I thought of designing a game I imposed three conditions on myself: first of all I decided to do the design on my own, without needing any help, because I wanted a manageable project and second I wanted it to be about some local event. The Canary Islands have always been pretty peaceful; there are not many events covering the islands that can be made into wargames. The most famous military action that took place in my native city is Nelson's failed attack of 1797. The battle was small and very even, so it seemed to me a good topic for my wargame design.

The game owes a lot to Martin Wallace's 'A Few Acres of Snow' - a masterpiece, one of those games that make your imagination fly and inspire your own creativity. So I decided the game would be a card driven game. From that decision, the rest of the design followed.

There's a wide bibliography about the battle readily available here in Santa Cruz, so it was easy to obtain the necessary information to create a picture of the confused street fighting. I decided to make it a block game, so the 'fog of war' would come out naturally, with hidden unit identities and strengths for both sides.

I took the idea for the Confusion card from Chad Jensen's 'Combat Commander' as I saw it fitted into this battle.

After further reading, I identified the most important events in that night battle, so I could design the basic cards for movement and combat and also the special cards that give each deck its own identity and functionality.

I also felt it was important to highlight the role of the Tigre cannon, although perhaps apocryphal, any game about this battle could not exist without depicting the popular belief that the cannon on display at the local army museum in Tenerife was actually the very one from which the ball that tore Nelson's arm off was fired.

Also, I wanted to give relevance to the officers that led the combat. We know eighteenth century society was class-based so noble and highborn people were the principal actors of events. Information about their lives was not hard to find. In the first versions, officers were represented as cards inside each deck, but at Francisco Ronco's suggestion they were included into the game as 'assets', counters that you commit to battle to lead the blocks that they accompany. I really think that was a great design idea.

To summarize: I had no excuse for not designing a wargame about my home city's most famous battle, giving free reign to my own professional abilities, as an illustrator and to my passion for wargames.

I wish to thank my family and the friends and wargamers who helped me so much in this project, especially Francisco Ronco.

16. British Player Notes

You have better and more numerous forces. You have the necessary equipment for the assault on the fortresses and to spike the guns that you will find there, but plans just never go as planned. So you must reckon with the strong sea current that usually disperses your assault boats and lead many of your units to get crammed on the south side of the city and its only suitable beach. Usually you ought to send more units in a northerly direction as several of them will inevitably drift to the south.

The best attack strategy is to use your numerical superiority to attack along a broad front. The Spanish guns can inflict severe casualties on your forces or you may find the guns are virtually silent as you approach, each game will be different, but avoid letting 3-4 blocks getting out of touch with the main forces or becoming too weakened to be of much help.

Form powerful groups of three blocks led by a competent officer as a good assault force to defeat any Spanish defender and occupy the important VP areas. The groups should head for: Batería de la Concepción (the south most fortress), the town hall, San Cristóbal Castle and dockyard and Batería de San Pedro and the city center. Freemantle is best used for wide sweeps into the city and other officers for direct assaults.

The Royal Marines are you best troops so use them judiciously; you have to choose: concentrate them into a powerful strike force or disperse them to bolster all the attacking groups. Casualties can be very high so be careful engaging your troops in combat, not too many will come back as reinforcements.

San Cristóbal Castle is the key to the city, most of the time the side that controls it at the end of play will win, so try to be the owner. Disembarking and moving quickly by playing of several Move or Assault cards on the same units is better than slow movements on different parts of the mapboard. Remember the Spanish player has fewer troops and doesn't know where you are going to strike, so if you land and let him/her concentrate against your beachhead you can have a hard time breaking the defenses and capturing the VP areas.

17. Spanish Player Notes

Deployment is the key to your success. You have fewer forces and don't have a clue about the British intentions until they land. Deploying too many troops in one place can leave too many troops out of range of the invading British.

Many British troops will disembark on the south side of the city, so try to block the approach to the VP areas from there; you have several red bordered areas to defend along the way. Try to inflict maximum damage on the approaching boats loaded with troops, but don't spend all your Move and Assault cards so you cannot react once they disembark. This will begin on Turn 2, so you have to concentrate your forces against the main British thrust as soon as you can. Your best strategy is to bottle up the enemy into his/her own beachhead and let them spend precious Assault cards to advance slowly towards the VP areas. In very few games the Spanish forces are able to defeat the powerful British forces, so, your victory is usually achieved by survival rather than success in combat. Be careful with your commitment to combat: if a combat turns out to be too one-sided, don't hesitate to retreat after the first round of combat, all the combat cards played for that combat will be of little use. It is better to conserve your forces and be able to counterattack weak British or vital VP areas than being bled white by casualties you cannot afford. Remember the powerful effect of the card 'The French are eager to fight' that allows you to position a strike force adjacent to a weakly defended British VP area for a final counterattack…

Proper use of your cards and officers will give you an edge over the British player. You can set traps with your hidden forces for British groups and you can even move them 'the other way' so they waste a whole turn getting to you. Try to use 'Lucky Shot...' as soon as you can to decrease the British hand size, that card less is very valuable.

18. Biographies

BOWEN, Richard (1760-1796)

Born in Infracombe, England in 1760, Bowen joined the Royal Navy in 1778 and reached the rank of captain after the seizure of Port Royal in 1794. He commanded the frigate Terpsichore and fought the Spanish navy during the whole war: he captured the Spanish frigate La Mahonesa on November 13th 1795 and later the brig San León. In the night of April 18th, he took the Spanish frigate Príncipe Fernando anchored in the port of Santa Cruz. During the assault on Santa Cruz, he disembarked with the boarding parties on the dockyard and spiked the cannons forming the Spanish battery there only to be instantly killed by grapeshot fired from San Cristóbal Castle.

FREEMANTLE, Sir Thomas Francis (1765-1819)

He was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, on November 20th 1765. He joined the Royal Navy as a twelve-year-old boy aboard the frigate Hussar. He was in command of different ships since 1793—Tartar, Inconstant and Seahorse—and took part of the siege of Toulon, in France.

During the attack at Santa Cruz he was captain of the Seahorse, landing near the dockyard with only a handful of boats and men. He was seriously wounded in an arm.

After his convalescence he was present at the battles of Copenhagen and Trafalgar. He was promoted to vice-admiral and was in command of the Adriatic Squadron, reaching the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean fleet just before he died in 1819.

HOOD, Sir Samuel (1762-1814)

He was born in 1762 at Kingsland, Dorset. He joined the Royal Navy in 1776 during the American Revolution. His baptism of fire was during the battle of Ushant (1778). In 1797 he was in charge of a ship-of-the-line (74)—Zealous—that he led into the attack on Santa Cruz. He disembarked with Troubridge on the beach north of San Cristóbal Castle. The tide and the current wrecked a lot of his boats and soaked the powder, so he was only able to rally a small portion of his assault troops. After scaling the wall and taking fire from the castle he was able to regroup 80 Royal Marines and 260 sailors in the town hall square, they barricaded themselves in the Santo Domingo convent.

Thinking he was outnumbered, he surrendered to the Spanish.

His career took him to the battles of the Nile, Algeciras and off Gibraltar. He lost an arm while blockading the French port of Rochefort. As an admiral he took part in the Russo-Swedish War of 1809. He died off Madras on December 24th, 1814.

NELSON, Horatio (1758-1805)

Horatio Nelson was born at Burnham Thorpe, England. He joined the Royal Navy at the age of 12. His naval career began on January 1st 1771, aboard the Raisonnable, under the command of his uncle. In 1777 was promoted to lieutenant on the West Indies station, where he fought against the Americans, the French and the Spanish. At just 20 years old, in June 1779, was promoted to captain commanding his own frigate—Hinchinbrook—which he led into the failed expedition to Central America against the Spaniards. After taking part in the commerce blockade during the American Revolution, he spent some time on half pay and got married.

He rejoined the navy as captain of the Agamemnon (64), and reached rank and fame beyond expectations, obtaining an immortal place in history.

OLDFIELD, Thomas (1755-1799)

Born in Staffordshire, he travelled with his father to America in 1774 and served as a volunteer with the Royal Marines battalion that assaulted Bunker Hill, being wounded twice. He was taken prisoner at Yorktown and joined the Royal Marines after the American Revolution.

Promoted to captain, he bravely led the marines that attacked Santo Domingo in 1794. In 1796 he was embarked aboard Theseus (74)—Nelson's flagship—and was wounded aboard the ship during a bombardment of Cádiz.

At Santa Cruz, he commanded the Royal Marines that disembarked at Barranco de Santos, south of the city. His boat was hit by Spanish cannon fire and he had to swim to the shore where he was wounded in the knee.

He has the highest-ranking Royal Marines officer at the battle of the Nile and was promoted to major. After repairs at Gibraltar, Theseus sailed to Syria and Oldfield took part in the defense of Saint John of Acre. There he fell at the head of a sortie against a French mine and was buried by the French who praised his gallantry in battle.

TROUBRIDGE, Sir Thomas (1758-1807)

He joined the Royal Navy in 1773 and served alongside Nelson on the frigate Seahorse in the West Indies. In May 1794 he was captured by the French aboard his ship Castor. After being freed, he fought at Cabo San Vicente and Santa Cruz commanding the Culloden, a third rate (74).

He disembarked south of San Cristóbal Castle but got carried along by the current. After rallying his men, he tried to take the castle but had to withdraw. He finally joined Hood at the Santo Domingo convent and called the Spanish to surrender three times, threatening to set the whole city on fire. At dawn, he signed the surrender terms as the higher-ranking British officer.

His career took him to Aboukir, where his ship ran aground and he was First Lord of the Admiralty, from 1801 to 1804. He was promoted to admiral shortly before his death in a shipwreck off Madagascar.

BENÍTEZ DE LUGO, Esteban (1769-1834)

He was born in Garachico and was captain of the grenadiers when the British assaulted Santa Cruz in 1797.

As the British entered Pila Square, Captain Benítez sallied from San Cristóbal Castle with 60 men of the Garachico Militia Regiment and forced the British troops to retire with his well-aimed volleys, leaving behind several dead and wounded. The invaders withdrew to the other side of the Square through Sol and Norias Streets.

Captain Benítez ended his days in March 1834 with the rank of lieutenant colonel and as a member of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegildo.

GRANDY GIRAUD, Francisco

Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Grandy joined the artillery corps at an early age. He was a lieutenant and deputy-major in command of the Santo Domingo battery inside San Cristóbal Castle when the British assault came.

He played a prominent role in the battle as he opened a new embrasure to enfilade the nearby beach. It is a common belief that it was through this embrasure that the "El Tigre" cannon was fired, which tore off Nelson's arm. Apart from Nelson, the artillery fire from the fortress enfiladed the British landings, inflicting heavy loss on the attackers.

On Grandy's initiative the Spanish sallied from the castle and recovered the battery on the dock and were thus able to fire on and repel the second wave of landings.

Grandy passed away in 1802 in his house at Candelaria Street.

GÜINTER FERSLEIN, Juan

He was born in Switzerland. In 1752 he joined the Swiss Guards and in 1767 he transferred to the Canarias Infantry Regiment, as a lieutenant-colonel. He took part in the War against the Convention in 1793, returning to the Canarias after the war.

He fought brilliantly during the battle for Tenerife leading the part of the Regular battalion that fought in the streets on his own initiative.

In his private life he was famous for having married his own maid, Isabel de la Madrid, a few months before dying. He passed away in his house in Castillo Street in February 1807.

GUTIÉRREZ DE OTERO Y SANTAYANA, Antonio (1729-1799)

He was born in Aranda de Duero, Burgos. In 1770 he took part in the Spanish expedition against the Falkland Islands. The expedition sailed on March 11th, 1770 from Montevideo, under the command of Rear Admiral Juan Ignacio de Madariaga. During that expedition the British garrison under Captain William Malby was defeated; Fort George and Puerto Egmont were taken, thus reestablishing Spanish sovereignty over the archipelago.

D. Antonio Gutiérrez also took part in the Algerian expedition in 1775 and also in the Great Siege of Gibraltar. He was Commanding Officer of Minorca and Governor of Mahon, later becoming General in Chief of Majorca. After the Great Siege he was promoted to field marshal and sent to the Canary Islands as military governor, in 1790.

ROMÁN JOVEL, Luis

He was born in La Laguna, Tenerife the eldest son of a well-to-do local noble family. He entered the local Güímar Militia Regiment at an early age and was captain of the light troops at the time of the British assault. He distinguished himself in the defense of the docks and the nearby walls that held up part of the British assault.

His later career included becoming colonel of the Güímar Militia Regiment and later colonel in the regular army. He married María Consolación de La Hanty y Bignoni and passed away in La Laguna in June 1841.

19. Bibliography

CARDELL CRISTELLYS, J. C. (2004). Héroes y testigos de la derrota de Nelson en Tenerife. Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Idea.

VV. AA. (2005), Tenerife 1797. Madrid: Almena.

VV. AA. (1997), La Gesta del 25 de Julio de 1797. Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

VV. AA. (1982), El puerto de Santa Cruz de Tenerife a través de su historia. Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Junta del puerto de Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

MORA GUTIERREZ, J. C. (1997), La Gesta del 25 de Julio de 1797. Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

VV. AA. (1997). Fuentes documentales del 25 de julio de 1797. Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

WHITE, COLIN (1998). 1797 Nelson's year of destiny. United Kingdom: Sutton Publishing.