Manila ransomed

by Nicholas Tracy

Manila Ransomed is the tenth volume to be published in the now well-established series Exeter Maritime Studies. The series aims to investigate and interpret not only the British maritime past but also European and international topics from the earliest times to the contemporary world. In the Seven Years War British forces developed a proficiency in combined operations which made possible the expansion of the British commercial empire around the world. In 1762 a small but technically proficient force of British Army regulars and East India Company soldiers supported by the ships and men of the East Indies Squadron of the Royal Navy, sailed from Madras to capture Manila. Commanded by General William Draper and Vice-Admiral Samuel Cornish, they captured the greatest Spanish fortress in the western Pacific and attempted to establish a trade with China. The story of the Manila episode in all its facets highlights the state of British military technique in the mid-eighteenth century. It also