First Cevallos expedition

First Cevallos expedition
Part of the Fantastic War and the Anglo-Spanish War
A painting of the Anglo-Portuguese bombardment of Colonia del Sacramento
Date 3 September 1762 – 24 April 1763 Location South America Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Spain	Portugal  Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Antonio de Cevallos	Vicente da Silva Robert McNamara †
Strength
1 frigate 1 merchantman 3 dispatch boats 12 gunboats 15 troopships 2,700 soldiers	1 ship of the line 2 frigates 2 troopships 5 store ships 2,886 soldiers
Casualties and losses
12 killed 200 wounded	373 killed 40 wounded 2,660 captured 1 ship of the line destroyed

The First Cevallos expedition was a series of Spanish military operations in South America during the Fantastic War. Under the command of the governor of Buenos Aires, Pedro Antonio de Cevallos, the expedition captured the Portuguese settlement of Colónia do Sacramento and fought off a joint Anglo-Portuguese attempt to recapture it. All military activities in the region concluded with the 1763 Treaty of Paris.

In 1762, Spain entered the Seven Years' War on the side of France as part of the Family Compact, motivated in part by diplomatic efforts on the part of the French government. Having been notified months in advance that Spain was planning to enter the conflict and declare war on Portugal, Cevallos launched an expedition against Colónia do Sacramento on 3 September 1762, sailing at the head of an expeditionary fleet from Buenos Aires which carried 2,700 soldiers. The Portuguese authorities in Colónia do Sacramento, already alerted to Cevallos' plans, received reinforcements on 24 September.

The expedition arrived near Colónia do Sacramento on 7 September and began to besiege it on 1 October. By 3 November, the settlement capitulated to the Spanish. A month later, a joint Anglo-Portuguese expedition attempted to recapture it, attacking the city walls by bombarding it; after a British warship was destroyed, the Anglo-Portuguese force withdrew. From January to April 1763, Cevallos launched several attacks on Portuguese outposts in the region, capturing the forts of Santa Tereza and San Miguel and occupying the village of Rio Grande. There, Cevallos learned of the Treaty of Paris and concluded his campaign.

The expedition's success was received positively in Spain, as the war had gone badly for the Spanish on all other fronts. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, Colónia do Sacramento was returned to Portugal, though other outposts captured by Cevallos remained under Spanish control. The Portuguese refused to accept losing control over these outposts, launching several incursions into Spanish-held territory; these actions eventually resulted in an undeclared war breaking out between Spain and Portugal between 1776 and 1777. During this conflict, Cevallos once again captured Colónia do Sacramento, and it was permanently ceded to Spain in the First Treaty of San Ildefonso.