At first, it must have seemed like a hopeless mission to many people. Only seventy volunteers went with Major Deveaux from Saint Augustine towards the Bahamas at first. Considering that the Spanish had taken Nassau with some 1400 troops, making Havana vulnerable by drawing most of that city’s garrison, in order to take over the Bahamas in the first place, it might be thought that the Briths would try something similar. But they did not have the amount of troops, and they sought to protect East Florida, to make it unpalatable to attack for the Spaniards, and preserve its value as a bargaining chip in Paris, where negotiations were ongoing between all of the various nations involved in the war.

It must be admitted, although this is not a work of diplomatic history, that the diplomacy going on in Paris was very complicated indeed. Great Britain fought this war nearly entirely alone, as its arrogance had alienated most of the potential nations that could have allied with it. This requires a bit of context, the kind that originally brought John Woods and his family from North Yorkshire to East Florida and British service in the first place. When George Washington (yes, that George Washington) provoked the French & Indian War, European diplomacy strongly favored France in the war. This was by no means inevitable, but after the previous round of wars relating to the seizure of Silesia from Austria, Austria was implacably hostile to Prussia and wanted its territory returned to it. Prussia, as a rising military power, would have been content to ally with many nations but found it had a lot of people who were concerned about the threat that a strong European power provided, which forced Prussia to fight nearly alone on the continent while Great Britain and its colonies fought France and Spain alone in the rest of the world.

The thing was, after a slow start, Great Britain and its colonies managed to absolutely crush the French and Spanish, especially from 1759 to peace in Paris in 1763. Yet this peace left the United Kingdom incredibly isolated, since Great Britain’s relationship with Prussia had been poisoned by the way peace came about. Furthermore, British attitudes towards the colonists had isolated American colonists who had been vital in serving the interests of the British Empire in North America. By the time that the American colonists sought independence, there were many nations that were either strongly desirous of bringing the British down or not lifting up a finger to help it. Britain’s only source of cannon fodder, apart from North American Loyalists and their own lower classes, were the people that they could hire from small Hessian states in Germany. This put the United Kingdom at a severe disadvantage when it came to armies, especially when the American Revolution broadened to a much larger war in areas outside the thirteen rebellious colonies (fourteen if you include Vermont, which was itself seeking to free itself from domination by New York).

As a result of the diplomatic problems that the United Kingdom had at this time–problems that the British would go a long way to resolve in the aftermath of the American Revolution once the French moved from being the consummate ancien regime dynasty to a bloody republican nation that sought conquest over the entirety of Europe and the destruction of rival democratic or monarchical regimes. That is, however, a story for another time. For the present time, the trouble that Great Britain had in its diplomacy meant that there were simply few troops to go around. Fortunately, the fact that Great Britain had largely conceded the freedom of the thirteen American colonies by this point, only holding on to areas where it could do so safely without being in fear of losing more armies, meant that there were at least some armies free for preserving the all-important colonies that brought money and not political headaches to the capital.

In a nutshell, this meant that when Major Deveaux found himself sailing in the area of Eleuthera and Harbour islands, there were at least some other troops waiting for them and a few other ships, with other subsidiary characters. They were able to recruit, in total, a bit more than 200 people in seven ships to make an effort to retake Nassau, and this seemed to be fair to them, so it was with some degree of confidence that they set sail for New Providence Island, to seek to recover the British honor that had been lost when Vice Admiral Maxwell had surrendered without a fight.

Meanwhile, in Nassau, the Spanish were having an interesting time of it all. Don Antonio Claraco Sauz had in his hand a letter that had been written by Luiz de Unzaga, the governor of Cuba. The letter went something like this:

“Havana, Cuba

Don Antonio,

News has just arrived of an interesting nature from Paris that I believe is important to share with you. As you are aware, we are currently involved in complex negotiations with Great Britain over the territorial arrangements that are to be made as a result of the recent hostilities between our nations. Given that some of the information relates to you personally and to the colony you currently rule over, I thought it would be good to inform you that Great Britain has agreed to exchange the Bahamas for St. Augustine so that we can once again rule over both of the Floridas. In addition, they have agreed to give us back Minorca as well. Although we would have liked to have gained more territory than this, considering the disaster that was the place of Spanish arms only twenty years ago when Havana and Manilla had both been taken from us, I hope you can see as well as I can the advantages of such a peace that secures important protection for Cuba as well as New Spain.

I am aware that this places you in a difficult position at present. It is possible that the British may seek to reconquer areas like the Bahamas before they are aware that the territories have been traded, and so you may be faced with some difficulties. I do not presume to order you to surrender to the first Englishmen that you see, but it would be wise to preserve, as well as possible, your forces for the defense of Cuba and not suffer any useless effusion of blood that would make your own troops less capable of serving in defense of the Spanish crown in other areas. I trust you will keep me informed about such information as you discover yourself, and I hope that we may enjoy the security of our empire in peace once more before too long.

Governor of Cuba by the grace of God,

Luiz de Unzaga”

Don Antonio was not sure of what to do. As he looked at the letter, he saw that it contained interesting information but not a lot that he would be able to immediately act upon. Yet he knew there was one person in this fortress that would have an idea of what this meant, and who would be able to provide him some sense of how the English might act. He ordered that Robert Woods be sent to him, and then he sat in his chair and waited for the Englishman to arrive.

It did not take too long for Mr. Woods to show up. “You wanted to see me?” he asked, somewhat puzzled.

“A letter has just arrived for me that gives me curious news. I am aware that you are not a Spanish official, but since it involves diplomacy that has been ongoing between our two countries, and because you are perhaps the only person who I can talk to easily who has some idea of the news I have been given, I would like to ask your honest opinion about what I should do,” Don Antonio responded.

“I am always willing to give my honest opinion,” Robert replied graciously.

“I have just been informed that our governments have made a trade of territories, and that we are to regain East Florida, and your government is to regain rule over this colony of the Bahamas. Moreover, I also been told that it would be preferable if I was able to bring this garrison intact, presumably with its honor intact,” Don Antonio stated. “How can I best do this?”

“That does sound like a tricky situation,” Robert admitted. “Do you have any backchannel communications that you could make with the British in either Jamaica or East Florida that would allow you to convey this information without negative consequences to yourself?”

“I wish I did, but alas, I do not,” Don Antonio admitted.

“I suppose that someone like myself could be sent as an envoy,” Robert said candidly, “But I also think that you might view me as too much of a bargaining chip to give away in such a fashion.”

“You are right there,” Don Antonio admitted again. “Now that the British know you are here, they are more likely not to act in a way that would threaten your own safety and well-being, which helps bring our own garrison here safety.”

“If you are unwilling to send an envoy to East Florida to engage in the transfer process peacefully, the most obvious thing would be to wait for the British to come here, and to deal with them here,” Robert replied.

“Do you think the British will come?” Don Antonio asked.

“If they receive the same sort of word that you do, I believe that they will come eventually. The only question is whether they will come beforehand,” Robert said.

“There is a certain gap of timing between when things are agreed upon in treaties and when that information reaches an active front, to be sure,” Don Antonio said.

“And you are also aware that a peace can feel a lot different if there are successful military operations that take place even if they have no impact on the territory involved in the peace deal,” Robert said.

“Yes, I can agree with that easily enough,” Don Antonio replied. “Do you think the British might be on their way?”

“It is certainly possible, as I gather your own government efforts have been focused on this island and not on controlling the Bahamas as a whole,” Robert said.

“I know that you have not been allowed outside of this castle, and so you have not seen our forces, but basically you are correct,” Don Antonio admitted. “This does, I admit, put me at a bit of a disadvantage in some areas.”

“But it is also an advantage, in that if you ensure the safety of this garrison, you know that your troops as a whole are safe, as you have no isolated garrisons to worry about,” Robert said.

“It certainly makes that part of the situation easier,” Don Antonio conceded. “Is there a way that I can preserve the well-being of this garrison while also preserving Spanish honor?”

“It is likely that if you make at least a show of defense and do not surrender to the first Englishman that you see, that you will be able to preserve honor. You would also want to make sure that all Spanish included as part of the garrison that you are responsible are repatriated to Havana, if that is what your government thinks to be wise,” Robert said.

“You think that even a few days effort at making a defense would preserve our honor, even if the result is that my garrison is paroled?” Don Antonio said.

“I would think so, I would have been content had Vice Admiral Maxwell done that when the Spanish first came here,” Robert admitted. “And had he taken my advice, it would have gone a lot better for me, at least.”

“I think that is wise advice. I will make at least a brief effort to hold this fortress should the British come in force, but I will also seek to make a deal that preserves all of our lives, and that returns you whole to the British as well. I think that sort of deal would work out well for all of us, don’t you think?” Don Antonio asked.

“I think that would be a very pleasant alternative to pointless bloodshed or dishonorable dealings,” Robert agreed.

“That is all I needed, you may return to your room, at least for now,” Don Antonio said, signifying that the interview was over. Robert understood, and bowed slightly and returned to his own room, being filled with hope that if he would not be able to see home again in East Florida, for that was about to be removed, at least he would be able to see family and make a fresh start of life.