Battle of Havana (1748)

The Battle of Havana was an engagement between the British Caribbean squadron and a Spanish squadron based near Havana. The action unfolded with each side at once anxious to cover its own trade and to intercept that of the other. After a number of aborted attacks, the British succeeded in driving the Spanish back to their harbour after capturing the Conquistador and running the vice-admiral's ship Africa on shore, where she was blown up by her own crew after being totally dismasted and made helpless. Both commanders, Charles Knowles and Don Andres Reggio, were reprimanded by their respective commands for their conduct during the engagement, in Knowles' case for not bringing his full fleet to bear and achieving a total rout. Although the advantage had clearly been with Knowles, he failed to use this to deliver a decisive blow. It was the last major action in the War of Jenkin's Ear (1739–48), which had merged with the larger War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48).

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle of Havana (1748)