When Britain Ruled the Philippines 1762-1764: The Story of the 18th Century British Invasion of the Philippines During the Seven Years War

Rating:
Summary: New Book Out : On British Invasion of the Philippines
Review: Philippine British Society Newsletter, Manila, Philippines, September 2003 "Shirley Fish, American resident in the Philippines since 1995 (and married to a British executive), has written a book titled: When Britain Ruled the Philippines 1762-1764. The subtitle is: The Story of the 18th Century British Invasion of the Philippines During the Seven Year's War. The book is now available at amazon.com ... in the USA.The British Invasion of the Philippines was the first challenge to Spain's control of the archipelago after 191 years of rule. The Royal Navy and the British Army joined with the East India Company in Madras to capture Spain's Asian colony. In conjunction with the attack against Spain's key possession in the Americas, Havana, both settlements were successfully seized. However, in the Philippines, whilst the expedition was launched as part of a plan to harass the Spaniards in their possessions, as well as for commercial gain and new territories, the military campaign led by General William Draper and Admiral Samuel Cornish may have been launched under the guise of an invasion in order to gain prize money. The author describes the events as they unfolded in the Admiralty in London and at the East India Company in Madras, leading to the invasion and occupation of the capital, Manila, and the port city of Cavite. The capital was looted, a galleon was seized, and the British commanders imposed a ransom of four million dollars upon the Spaniards. The enormous sum in prize money and valuable seized mainly benefited the commanders. Author's Note: When I arrived in Manila in 1995, I became interested in the fascinating history of the Philippines. After looking through many history books written in the Philippines by various historians, I was amazed to see that almost all of these devoted only a minimal amount of space to the British invasion and occupation of the archipelago in 1762-1764. The invasion was part of a broader campaign launched by the Admiralty in England against Spain and was a direct result of the ongoing Seven Year's War - the world's first world war. I thought that this was an important part of Filipino history, which had basically been ignored by historians in the Philippines. Intrigued by the lack of information available concerning this momentous event, I began researching the activities of the British Royal Navy and Army during the 18th century, in London and in Manila, to find out the true story behind the invasion. Thus, what appears in the book is a result of my four years of researching the story.