Francisco Díaz Pimienta Francisco Díaz Pimienta ( 1594 – 1652 ) was a Spanish naval officer who became Captain general of the Ocean Fleet . Early years . Díaz Pimienta ' s father was also Francisco Díaz Pimienta , a member of the nobility who was born on La Palma in the Canary Islands . His father distinguished himself in the battle of Lepanto and was favored by king Philip II of Spain . Díaz Pimienta was born in 1594 in Tazacorte , an illegitimate child , and was raised by his aunt and uncle in Garachico , Tenerife . He went to Seville for academic studies , following his father ' s wish for him to enter the church . He was an excellent pupil , at the age of 14 being able to translate the works of Livy and Quintus Curtius with ease , but he was inspired by his father ' s example and wanted to go to sea . When his father died in 1610 , Díaz Pimienta left school and joined the navy , serving on the galleons of the Indies . One of Díaz Pimienta ' s sisters married a Canary merchant , Alonso Ferrera , who was connected to the shipbuilding industry , and this connection was to provide a great fortune . In 1625 he contracted with the Crown to construct two vessels , which were completed promptly after the victory of Piet Pieterszoon Hein in Cuban waters . Díaz Pimienta was appointed superintendent of the shipbuilding factories in the port of San Cristóbal de la Habana . From that moment his career began a steady ascent . In 1635 , now an Admiral , Díaz Pimienta signed a new contract . Under the pretext of transporting materials to the shipyards , he was able to openly participate in trade between the Havana and Seville . In 1637 he was governor of the island of Minorca . In 1638 Pimienta was vice - admiral in a Spanish - Portuguese fleet commanded by the Count of Torre , Dom Fernando de Mascarenhas , directed against the Dutch base at Pernambuco in Brazil . The fleet was affected by an epidemic at Cape Verde . After arriving with his weakened force at Salvador da Bahia , Mascarenhas delayed for about a year before sailing on Pernambuco with the intent of landing troops to take the town . Before disembarkation could start , on 12 January 1640 a Dutch fleet of 36 ships under Admiral Willem Corneliszoon Loos emerged from Recife and intercepted the Spanish - Portuguese fleet between Itamaracá and Goiana . The resulting five - day action of 12 – 17 January 1640 was indecisive . Both fleets were damaged and suffered casualties , but the effect was to prevent the Spanish - Portuguese landings . Capture of Providencia . Portugal gained independence in 1640 . Shortly after the first revolutionary explosion in Lisbon , the fleet of galleons commanded by General Diaz Pimienta arrived in Cartagena . There were many Portuguese in these vessels , who plotted to get rid of the Spaniards and return to their homeland . Diaz thwarted these plans . He then ordered an attack on the Providence Island colony , on the island known as Santa Catalina to the Spanish , to free it from English rule . Díaz Pimienta sailed from Cartagena to Providence Island with seven large ships , four pinnaces , 1 , 400 soldiers and 600 seamen , arriving on 19 May 1641 . His ships had difficulty finding a way through the reefs that surround the island , and on 19 May the 400 - ton " San Marcos " struck an outcrop and was so damaged the ship had to return to Cartagena , taking with it a third of the siege train and 270 troops . At first Díaz Pimienta planned to attack the poorly defended east side , and the English rushed there to improvise defenses . With the winds against him , Díaz Pimienta changed plans and made for the main New Westminster harbor and launched his attack at dawn on 24 May . He held back his large ships to avoid damage , and used the pinnaces to attack the forts . The Spanish troops quickly gained control , and once the forts saw the Spanish flag flying over the governor ' s house , they began negotiations for surrender . The English surrendered under an agreement that they would be repatriated to England . On 25 May 1641 , Díaz Pimienta formally took possession of the Providence Island colony and celebrated mass in the church . The Spanish took sixty guns , and captured the 350 settlers who remained on the island – others had escaped to the Mosquito coast . There were also 381 African slaves , making 731 prisoners in total . The Spanish found gold , indigo and cochineal as well as the slaves , worth a total of 500 , 000 ducats , some of the accumulated booty from the English raids . Rather than destroy the defenses , as instructed , Díaz Pimienta left a small garrison of 150 men to hold the island and prevent occupation by the Dutch . When the fleet left Santa Catalina , the Portuguese " Ajuda " attempted to break away , and was wrecked on the reefs . Diaz Pimienta ordered two of the officers to be shot and their bodies displayed on the wreckage as an example to the others . The Captain - General of Cartagena did not honor the promise to return the prisoners , and put about 500 of them to work clearing the Magdalena river . About sixty women and a few children were given a passage back to England . Pimienta ' s decision to occupy the island was approved in 1643 and he was made a knight of the Order of Santiago . Later career . After the engagement at Providencia , renewed mutinies occurred in almost all Portuguese vessels , which were overcome with difficulty . In one of the galleons , the Lusitanians killed the captain Juan Lopez de Franca and seized the ship , with which they headed to Lisbon . Diaz ordered the mutineers to be tried in a court chaired by General Rodrigo Lobo , with the Portuguese Juan Rodriguez de Vasconcellos Sousa , Count of Castelo Melhor , as a prosecutor . Several of the culprits were hanged in the admiral ' s ship . Pimienta then sailed for Portobelo , while the rest of the fleet returned to Cartagena . Here , the Count of Castel Melhor prepared a major uprising . The intention was to seize the magazines , fortifications and galleons anchored in the harbor . We do not know if the plan was to take Cartagena for Portugal or just to dominate the city while preparing to evacuate the Portuguese subjects . The plan was denounced to the Governor of Cartagena , who took control of the fortifications saying that pirates were attacking . Castilmillor and the ringleaders of the conspiracy were incarcerated . On his return to Cartegena , Pimienta ordered that Castilmillor be tried by two judges , who sentenced him to death . Before the sentence was carried out , Castilmillor and two of his companions escaped from prison and managed to board a Portuguese ship that the Duke of Braganze had sent from Lisbon . Díaz Pimienta left Cadiz on 2 June 1643 , arriving in Cartagena of 19 July 1643 after a prosperous journey . On 31 December 1643 , Díaz Pimienta arrived with his fleet in the Bay of Cadiz . On 27 February 1646 he was in Majorca , from where he had to transport new pieces of artillery to Mahón , with gunpowder , shells and the gun crews . The Battle of Orbetello was fought on 14 June 1646 off the Spanish - ruled town of Orbetello on the coast of Tuscany , which was being besieged by the French . Díaz de Pimienta was the second in command to the Count of Linhares . Pimienta was in charge of 22 galleons and frigates , and Linhares commanded 30 galleys . They were opposed by Grand Admiral Jean Armand de Maillé - Brézé with 24 sailing ships and 20 galleys . There was little wind , so the galleys towed the sailing vessels , which did the fighting . The result was inconclusive , with both fleets suffering damage until they separated at dusk . On 25 June , Pimienta landed with a force of 3 , 300 soldiers who attacked the French lines , but were forced to retreat and reembark . On 14 April 1648 , while Spain was at war with France over the territory of Roussillon , the king appointed Díaz Pimienta Governor of Minorca , Royal Councillor and Captain General of the Ocean Sea Fleet . The Spanish were often remiss in providing pay and provisions for the sailors . In 1652 , Diaz Pimienta , captain - general of the Atlantic fleet , reported that many of his crew were deserting , even " those who until now have been trustworthy for guarding the others . " He was concerned that the whole fleet would be abandoned . The ships were running out of food and drinking water because nobody could be trusted to go to shore to get it . Díaz Pimienta was killed in battle in 1652 . References . Citations Sources Further reading