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142-586: After the capture of Havana by British forces in 1762, an exchange was soon made to return Havana to the Spanish, the controlling colonial power of Cuba, in exchange for Florida . A key factor in the British capture of Havana turned out to be the overland vulnerability of El Morro . This realization and the fear of further attacks following British colonial conquests in the Seven Years War prompted

284-510: A "hardened" man who had no qualms about the death penalty or about summary and collective trials. If the only way to "defend the revolution was to execute its enemies, he would not be swayed by humanitarian or political arguments". In a 5 February 1959, letter to Luis Paredes López in Buenos Aires Guevara states unequivocally: "The executions by firing squads are not only a necessity for the people of Cuba, but also an imposition of

426-458: A bastion of the Morro once his siege works would have reached the ditch and to create a runway across this ditch with the rubble produced by his mining activities. By 22 June, four British batteries totalling twelve heavy guns and 38 mortars opened fire on the Morro from La Cabaña. Mackellar gradually advanced his breastworks towards the ditch under cover of these batteries so by the end of the month

568-438: A confession from a suspect, but presents a higher risk of false confession. Many torture victims will say whatever the torturer wants to hear to end the torture. Others who are guilty refuse to confess, especially if they believe it would only bring more torture or punishment. Medieval justice systems attempted to counteract the risk of false confession under torture by requiring confessors to provide falsifiable details about

710-487: A court martial, although it examined their actions during Prado's governorship as well as tactical decisions taken during the siege and although Prado and several officials were not military officers. The commission placed most of the blame on Prado and Hevia, finding them to have failed to fortify the Cabaña hill properly and to have abandoned it too easily; to have crippled the Spanish fleet by sinking blockships that prevented

852-459: A crime, although Islamic law has traditionally considered evidence obtained under torture to be inadmissible . Torture remained legal in Europe during the seventeenth century, but its practice declined. Torture was already of marginal importance to European criminal justice systems by its formal abolition in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Theories for why torture was abolished include

994-485: A criminal offense under a country's laws, evidence obtained under torture may not be admitted in court, and deporting a person to another country where they are likely to face torture is forbidden . Even when it is illegal under national law, judges in many countries continue to admit evidence obtained under torture or ill treatment. It is disputed whether ratification of the CAT decreases, does not affect, or even increases

1136-442: A distinction between torture and painful punishments. Historically, torture was seen as a reliable way to elicit the truth, a suitable punishment, and deterrence against future offenses. When torture was legally regulated, there were restrictions on the allowable methods; common methods in Europe included the rack and strappado . In most societies, citizens could be judicially tortured only under exceptional circumstances and for

1278-495: A fixed penalty to be torture, as it does not seek to break the victim's will. Torture may also be used indiscriminately to terrorize people other than the direct victim or to deter opposition to the government. In the United States , torture was used to deter slaves from escaping or rebelling. Some defenders of judicial torture prior to its abolition argued that it deterred crime; reformers contended that because torture

1420-412: A higher rate than for any other traumatic experience. Not all survivors or rehabilitation experts support using medical categories to define their experience, and many survivors remain psychologically resilient . Criminal prosecutions for torture are rare and most victims who submit formal complaints are not believed. Despite the efforts for evidence-based evaluation of the scars from torture such as

1562-446: A human being can retain within himself" and that "whoever was tortured, stays tortured". Many torture victims, including Améry, later die by suicide. Survivors often experience social and financial problems. Circumstances such as housing insecurity , family separation , and the uncertainty of applying for asylum in a safe country strongly impact survivors' well-being. Death is not an uncommon outcome of torture. Understanding of

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1704-576: A person to a capital crime if there were fewer than the two eyewitnesses required to convict someone in the absence of a confession. Torture was still a labor-intensive process reserved for the most severe crimes; most torture victims were men accused of murder, treason, or theft. Medieval ecclesiastical courts and the Inquisition used torture under the same procedural rules as secular courts. The Ottoman Empire and Qajar Iran used torture in cases where circumstantial evidence tied someone to

1846-572: A person to do something and physical attacks that ultimately target the mind. Death threats , mock execution , or being forced to witness the torture of another person are often reported to be subjectively worse than being physically tortured and are associated with severe sequelae . Other torture techniques include sleep deprivation , overcrowding or solitary confinement , withholding of food or water, sensory deprivation (such as hooding ), exposure to extremes of light or noise (e.g., musical torture ), humiliation (which can be based on sexuality or

1988-472: A roaring " ¡Si! " (yes). With as many as 20,000 Cubans estimated to have been killed at the hands of Batista's collaborators, and many of the accused war criminals sentenced to death accused of torture and physical atrocities, the newly-empowered government carried out executions, punctuated by cries from the crowds of "¡al paredón!" ([to the] wall!), which biographer Jorge Castañeda describes as "without respect for due process ". Although accounts vary, it

2130-402: A serious crime such as treason , often only when some evidence already existed. In contrast, non-citizens such as foreigners and slaves were commonly tortured. Torture was rare in early medieval Europe but became more common between 1200 and 1400. Because medieval judges used an exceptionally high standard of proof, they would sometimes authorize torture when circumstantial evidence tied

2272-450: A shift to methods that do not leave marks to aid in deniability and to deprive victims of legal redress. As they faced more pressure and scrutiny, democracies led the innovation in clean torture practices in the early twentieth century; such techniques diffused worldwide by the 1960s. Patterns of torture differ based on a torturer's time limits—for example, resulting from legal limits on pre-trial detention. Beatings or blunt trauma are

2414-460: A side effect of a broken criminal justice system in which underfunding, lack of judicial independence , or corruption undermines effective investigations and fair trials . In this context, people who cannot afford bribes are likely to become victims of torture. Understaffed or poorly trained police are more likely to resort to torture when interrogating suspects. In some countries, such as Kyrgyzstan , suspects are more likely to be tortured at

2556-446: A torture program begins, it usually escalates beyond what is intended initially and often leads to involved agencies losing effectiveness. Torture aims to break the victim's will , destroy their agency and personality , and is cited as one of the most damaging experiences that a person can undergo. Many victims suffer both physical damage— chronic pain is particularly common—and mental sequelae . Although torture survivors have some of

2698-490: A vicious cycle in which a fear of internal enemies leads to torture, torture creates false confessions , and false confessions reinforce torturers' fears, leading to a spiral of paranoia and ever-increasing torture"—similar to a witch hunt . Escalation of torture is especially difficult to contain in counterinsurgency operations. Torture and specific techniques spread between different countries, especially by soldiers returning home from overseas wars , although this process

2840-475: Is prohibited under international law for all states under all circumstances and is explicitly forbidden by several treaties. Opposition to torture stimulated the formation of the human rights movement after World War II , and it continues to be an important human rights issue. Although prevention efforts have been of mixed effectiveness, institutional reforms and the elimination of enforced disappearance have had positive effects. Despite its decline, torture

2982-584: Is correlated with the belief that torture is effective and used in ticking time bomb cases. Women are more likely to oppose torture than men. Nonreligious people are less likely to support the use of torture than religious people , although for the latter group, increased religiosity increases opposition to torture. The personality traits of right-wing authoritarianism , social dominance orientation , and retributivism are correlated with higher support for torture; embrace of democratic values such as liberty and equality reduces support for torture. Public opinion

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3124-451: Is criticized based on all major ethical frameworks, including deontology , consequentialism , and virtue ethics . Some contemporary philosophers argue that torture is never morally acceptable; others propose exceptions to the general rule in real-life equivalents of the ticking time-bomb scenario. Torture stimulated the creation of the human rights movement . In 1969, the Greek case

3266-511: Is enabled by moral disengagement from the victims and impunity for the perpetrators. Public demand for decisive action against crime or even support for torture against criminals can facilitate its use. Once a torture program is begun, it is difficult or impossible to prevent it from escalating to more severe techniques and expanding to larger groups of victims, beyond what is originally intended or desired by decision-makers. Sociologist Christopher J. Einolf argues that "torture can create

3408-487: Is estimated that several hundred people were executed nationwide during this time, with Guevara's jurisdictional death total at La Cabaña ranging from 55 to 105. Conflicting views exist of Guevara's attitude towards the executions at La Cabaña. Some exiled opposition biographers report that he relished the rituals of the firing squad, and organized them with gusto, while others relate that Guevara pardoned as many prisoners as he could. All sides acknowledge that Guevara had become

3550-905: Is even more common in asymmetric war or civil wars. The ticking time bomb scenario is extremely rare, if not impossible, but is cited to justify torture for interrogation. Fictional portrayals of torture as an effective interrogational method have fueled misconceptions that justify the use of torture. Experiments comparing torture with other interrogation methods cannot be performed for ethical and practical reasons, but most scholars of torture are skeptical about its efficacy in obtaining accurate information, although torture sometimes has obtained actionable intelligence. Interrogational torture can often shade into confessional torture or simply into entertainment, and some torturers do not distinguish between interrogation and confession. A wide variety of techniques have been used for torture. Nevertheless, there are limited ways of inflicting pain while minimizing

3692-515: Is explicitly prohibited under the Geneva Conventions . Some authors, such as John D. Bessler , argue that capital punishment is inherently a form of torture carried out for punishment. Executions may be carried out in brutal ways, such as stoning , death by burning , or dismemberment. The psychological harm of capital punishment is sometimes considered a form of psychological torture. Others do not consider corporal punishment with

3834-502: Is forbidden for all states under all circumstances. Most jurists justify the absolute legal prohibition on torture based on its violation of human dignity . The CAT and its Optional Protocol focus on the prevention of torture, which was already prohibited in international human rights law under other treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . The CAT specifies that torture must be

3976-585: Is internationally controversial. A variety of methods of torture are used, often in combination; the most common form of physical torture is beatings. Beginning in the twentieth century, many torturers have preferred non- scarring or psychological methods to maintain deniability. Torturers more commonly act out of fear , or due to limited resources, rather than sadism . Although most torturers are thought to learn about torture techniques informally and rarely receive explicit orders, they are enabled by organizations that facilitate and encourage their behavior. Once

4118-408: Is known about the perpetrators of torture. Many torturers see their actions as serving a higher political or ideological goal that justifies torture as a legitimate means of protecting the state. Fear is often the motivation for torture, and it is typically not a rational response as it is usually ineffective or even counterproductive at achieving the desired aim. Torture victims are often viewed by

4260-774: Is more common than torture in places of detention. There is even less information on the prevalence of torture before the twentieth century. Although it is often assumed that men suffer torture at a higher rate than women, there is a lack of evidence. Some quantitative research has estimated that torture rates are either stagnant or increasing over time, but this may be a measurement effect. Although liberal democracies are less likely to abuse their citizens, they may practice torture against marginalized citizens and non-citizens to whom they are not democratically accountable. Voters may support violence against out-groups seen as threatening; majoritarian institutions are ineffective at preventing torture against minorities or foreigners. Torture

4402-425: Is more likely when a society feels threatened because of wars or crises, but studies have not found a consistent relationship between the use of torture and terrorist attacks. Torture is directed against certain segments of the population, who are denied the protection against torture given to others. Torture of political prisoners and torture during armed conflicts receive more attention compared to torture of

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4544-443: Is most favorable to torture, on average, in countries with low per capita income and high levels of state repression . Public opinion is an important constraint on the use of torture by states. The condemnation of torture as barbaric and uncivilized originated in the debates around its abolition. By the late nineteenth century, countries began to be condemned internationally for the use of torture. The ban on torture became part of

4686-438: Is often assumed that torture is ordered from above at the highest levels of government, sociologist Jonathan Luke Austin argues that government authorization is a necessary but not sufficient condition for torture to occur, given that a specific order to torture rarely can be identified. In many cases, a combination of dispositional and situational effects lead a person to become a torturer. In most cases of systematic torture,

4828-411: Is poorly understood. Torture for punishment dates back to antiquity and is still employed in the twenty-first century. A common practice in countries with dysfunctional justice systems or overcrowded prisons is for police to apprehend suspects, torture them, and release them without a charge. Such torture could be performed in a police station, the victim's home, or a public place. In South Africa,

4970-500: Is still practiced in or by most countries. Torture is defined as the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on someone under the control of the perpetrator. The treatment must be inflicted for a specific purpose, such as punishment and forcing the victim to confess or provide information. The definition put forth by the United Nations Convention against Torture only considers torture carried out by

5112-619: Is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including punishment , extracting a confession , interrogation for information , or intimidating third parties. Some definitions restrict torture to acts carried out by the state , while others include non-state organizations. Most victims of torture are poor and marginalized people suspected of crimes, although torture against political prisoners , or during armed conflict, has received disproportionate attention. Judicial corporal punishment and capital punishment are sometimes seen as forms of torture, but this label

5254-608: The Allies after World War II. To implement a portion of this plan, Castro named Guevara commander of the La Cabaña prison, for a five-month tenure (2 January through 12 June 1959). Guevara was charged by the new government with purging the Batista army and consolidating victory by exacting "revolutionary justice" against those regarded as traitors, chivatos (informants), or war criminals . As commander of La Cabaña, Guevara reviewed

5396-531: The Istanbul Protocol , most physical examinations are inconclusive. The effects of torture are one of several factors that usually result in inconsistent testimony from survivors, hampering their effort to be believed and secure either refugee status in a foreign country or criminal prosecution of the perpetrators. Although there is less research on the effects of torture on perpetrators, they can experience moral injury or trauma symptoms similar to

5538-739: The Seven Years' War . After Spain abandoned its former policy of neutrality by signing the family compact with France , resulting in a British declaration of war on Spain in January 1762, the British government decided to mount an attack on the important Spanish fortress and naval base of Havana, with the intention of weakening the Spanish presence in the Caribbean and improving the security of its own North American colonies . A strong British naval force consisting of squadrons from Britain and

5680-561: The Treaty of Paris (1761) , re-established the so-called Family Compact between France and Spain. This treaty involved an offensive alliance directed against Britain, and in December 1761, Spain placed an embargo on British trade, seized British goods in Spain and expelled British merchants. In response to this, Britain declared war on Spain in January 1762. Before involving his country in

5822-446: The United Nations Convention against Torture (CAT) in 1984. Successful civil society mobilizations against torture can prevent its use by governments that possess both motive and opportunity to use torture. Naming and shaming campaigns against torture have shown mixed results; they can be ineffective and even make things worse. The prohibition of torture is a peremptory norm ( jus cogens ) in international law , meaning that it

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5964-578: The West Indies , and the military force of British and American troops it convoyed, were able to approach Havana from a direction that neither the Spanish governor nor the Admiral expected and were able to trap the Spanish fleet in the Havana harbour and land its troops with relatively little resistance. The Spanish authorities decided on a strategy of delaying the British attack until the strength of

6106-481: The anti-Machado rebellion. Biographers note that in January 1959 the Cuban public was in a "lynching mood", and point to a survey at the time showing 93% public approval for the tribunal process. Moreover, a 22 January 1959, Universal Newsreel broadcast in the United States and narrated by Ed Herlihy featured Fidel Castro asking an estimated one million Cubans whether they approved of the executions, and being met with

6248-568: The civilizing mission justifying colonial rule on the pretext of ending torture, despite the use of torture by colonial rulers themselves. The condemnation was strengthened during the twentieth century in reaction to the use of torture by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union . Shocked by Nazi atrocities during World War II, the United Nations drew up the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights , which prohibited torture. Torture

6390-825: The liberal democracies of the West, but torture was still used there, against ethnic minorities or criminal suspects from marginalized classes, and during overseas wars against foreign populations. After the September 11 attacks , the US government embarked on an overseas torture program as part of its war on terror . It is disputed whether torture increases, decreases, or remains constant. Most countries practice torture, although few acknowledge it. The international prohibition of torture has not completely stopped torture; instead, states have changed which techniques are used and denied, covered up, or outsourced torture programs. Measuring

6532-537: The Bahamas , is a wide expanse of shallow water, reefs and small islands or cays , accessible only to small boats except for one deep water channel, the Old Bahama Channel which is only some 10 miles wide at its narrowest. Although the Spanish navigators that charted it thought too dangerous for large warships, it was surveyed by a British frigate, whose captain left parties of his men in the cays to mark

6674-538: The Batista regime or by supporters of the revolution. In 1959 the revolutionary government extended its application to the whole of the republic and to those it considered war criminals, captured and tried after the revolution. According to the Cuban Ministry of Justice, this latter extension was supported by the majority of the population, and followed the same procedure as those in the Nuremberg trials held by

6816-449: The British naval and military leaders and smaller amounts of prize money for other officers and men. The Spanish governor, Admiral and other military and civil office holders were court-martialled upon their return to Spain and punished for their failures to conduct a better defence and allowing the Spanish fleet present to fall intact into the hands of the British. Havana remained under British occupation until February 1763, when it

6958-434: The British batteries. The next day however British breastworks around the Morro caught fire and the batteries were burned down, destroying the product of much of the work undertaken since mid June. Velasco immediately capitalised on this event, remounting many guns and repairing breaches in the fortifications of the Morro. Since its arrival at Havana, the British army had heavily suffered from malaria and yellow fever and

7100-560: The British fleet in danger: the wet weather starting earlier in that month would probably also initiate an outbreak of yellow fever among the besiegers. Secondly, despite some losses from tropical diseases Prado had 1,500 Spanish regular soldiers and some 2,300 colonial militiamen , as well as sailors from the fleet. There were initially 12 Spanish ships of the line in the harbour, besides two others newly constructed but not manned, and also several smaller warships and around 100 merchant ships. The presence of so many merchant ships dissuaded

7242-542: The British government into a thorough review of its military, this war forced the Spanish government into undertaking a similar process. The invasions of Havana and Manila were the catalyst for profound political and military reforms in the Spanish overseas empire. It was clear to the Spanish authorities that their regular army in Cuba could not match the strength that the British army in America could concentrate against it. It

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7384-464: The British had increased their daily direct hits on the Morro to 500. Velasco was losing as many as 30 men each day, and the workload of repairing the fortress every night was so exhausting that men had to be rotated into the fort from the city every three days. Velasco finally managed to convince Prado that a raid was necessary against the British batteries. At dawn on 29 June 988 men (a mixed company of grenadiers, marines, engineers, and slaves) attacked

7526-465: The French during their journey, with the loss through capture of some 500 men, consisted of: By 25 July 5, 000 soldiers and 3,000 sailors were sick. On 29 July the mine near the right bastion of the Morro fort was completed and ready to explode. Albemarle vainly feigned an assault, hoping that Velasco would finally decide to surrender. On the contrary, Velasco decided to launch a desperate attack from

7668-415: The Morro. However, naval guns were ineffective, the fort being located too high. Counter-fire from thirty guns of the Morro inflicted 192 casualties and seriously damaged the ships, one of which was later scuttled, forcing them to withdraw. Meanwhile, the bombardment by the land artillery was far more effective. By the end of the day, only three Spanish guns were still effective on the side of the Morro facing

7810-472: The Morro. The British repelled the Spanish sortie who thus withdrew to their lines and the siege works were left relatively intact. On 24 July Albemarle offered Velasco the opportunity to surrender, allowing him to write his own terms of capitulation. Velasco answered that the issue would rather be settled by force of arms. Three days later the reinforcements from North America led by Colonel Burton finally arrived. These reinforcements, who had been attacked by

7952-499: The Rome Statute, torture can also be a crime against humanity if committed as part of a systematic attack on a civilian population. In 1987 , Israel became the only country in the world to purportedly legalize torture . Torture prevention is complicated both by lack of understanding about why torture occurs and by lack of application of what is known. Torture proliferates in situations of incommunicado detention . Because

8094-565: The Spanish acceptance of British occupation of the Miskito Coast heightened Cuba's value as the first line of defence for the Spanish South American colonies. Spain received French Louisiana as a payment for intervening in the war on the side of the French and as compensation for having lost Florida. Numerous paintings and drawings of the battle were made, notably by Dominic Serres : Torture Torture

8236-425: The Spanish could react, sixteen men gained a foothold on the bastion. Velasco rushed to the breach with his troops, and was mortally wounded during the ensuing hand-to-hand fighting. The Spanish troops fell back, leaving the British in control of the Morro fort. Velasco was transported back to Havana, but by 31 July had died of his wounds. The British then occupied a position commanding the city of Havana as well as

8378-500: The Spanish fleet. Admiral Sir George Pocock , with seven ships-of-the-line and a frigate and Commodore Keppel his second-in-command, was to transport a military force under the command of George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle to the West Indies , to join the West Indies naval squadron, then under the command of Rear-Admiral Rodney , who was undertaking operations against Martinique , taking on additional troops there. The fleet

8520-585: The Spanish to build a new fortress to improve the overland defense of Havana; King Carlos III of Spain began the construction of La Cabaña in 1763. Replacing earlier and less extensive fortifications next to the 16th-century El Morro fortress, La Cabaña was the second-largest colonial military installation in the New World by the time it was completed in 1774 (after the St. Felipe de Barajas fortification at Cartagena, Colombia), at great expense to Spain. In charge of

8662-579: The United Kingdom and Portugal also used torture in attempts to retain their respective empires. Independent states in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia often used torture in the twentieth century, but it is unknown whether their use of torture increased or decreased compared to nineteenth-century levels. During the first half of the twentieth century, torture became more prevalent in Europe with

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8804-402: The abolition of judicial torture, it sees continued use to elicit confessions, especially in judicial systems placing a high value on confessions in criminal matters. The use of torture to force suspects to confess is facilitated by laws allowing extensive pre-trial detention . Research has found that coercive interrogation is slightly more effective than cognitive interviewing for extracting

8946-427: The absence of artillery cover, it now became impossible for the Spanish troops to repair the damage being inflicted on the Morro. Mackellar was also able to resume construction of siege works to approach the fortress. With the army in such a bad condition, work progressed rather slowly. All hope of the British army now resided in the expected arrival of reinforcements from North America. The progress of siege works over

9088-517: The advent of secret police , World War I and World War II , and the rise of communist and fascist states. Torture was also used by both communist and anti-communist governments during the Cold War in Latin America, with an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 victims of torture by United States–backed regimes. The only countries in which torture was rare during the twentieth century were

9230-496: The appeals of those convicted during the revolutionary tribunal process. The tribunals were conducted by 2–3 army officers, an assessor, and a respected local citizen. On some occasions the penalty delivered by the tribunal was death by firing-squad. Raúl Gómez Treto, senior legal advisor to the Cuban Ministry of Justice, has argued that the death penalty was justified in order to prevent citizens themselves from taking justice into their own hands, as had happened twenty years earlier in

9372-505: The army received just over £4 and ordinary seamen rather less than £4 each. During the siege the British had lost 2,764 killed, wounded, captured or deserted, but by 18 October also had lost 4,708 dead from sickness. One of the most depleted brigades was transferred to North America where it lost a further 360 men within a month of arrival. Three ships of the line were lost either as a direct result of Spanish gunfire or severe damage received which would cause their demise later. Shortly after

9514-421: The arrival of their siege train the next day, the British began erecting batteries among the trees on La Cabaña hill overlooking the Morro (some 7 metres (23 ft) higher) as well as the city and the bay. Surprisingly, this hill had been left undefended by the Spanish army despite its well-known strategic importance. Charles III of Spain had earlier instructed Prado to fortify this hill, a task that he considered

9656-402: The bay. Artillery batteries were brought up along the north side of the entrance channel from the Morro fort to La Cabaña hill, where they could be trained directly on the town. On 11 August, after Prado had rejected the demand for surrender sent to him by Albemarle, the British batteries opened fire on Havana. A total of 47 guns (15 × 32-pdrs, 32 × 24-pdrs), 10 mortars and 5 howitzers pounded

9798-511: The captured Batista officials who had perpetrated the worst of the repression. During the rebellion against Batista's dictatorship, the general command of the rebel army, led by Fidel Castro, introduced into the territories under its control the 19th-century penal law commonly known as the Ley de la Sierra (Law of the Sierra). This law included the death penalty for serious crimes, whether perpetrated by

9940-444: The city and the fleet went on, and Prado and his army obtained the honours of war on 13 August. Hevia neglected to burn his fleet which fell intact in the hands of the British. The great losses of men in the attack on Havana put to an end any possibility of an attack on Louisiana, and the French took advantage of the removal of so many troops from Canada to capture Newfoundland with a small force of fifteen hundred troops. Newfoundland

10082-403: The city from a distance of 500–800 m. By the end of the day Fort la Punta was silenced. Prado had no other choice left but to surrender. The next day, Prado was informed that there was only sufficient ammunition for a few more days. He made belated plans to remove the bullion in Havana to another part of the island, but the city was surrounded. Negotiations of the articles of capitulation of

10224-486: The city's defences and the onset of seasonal rains inflicting tropical diseases would significantly reduce the size of the British force via disease , along with the start of hurricane season would force the British fleet to seek a safe anchorage. However, the city's main fortress, the Morro Castle was overlooked by a hill that the governor had neglected to fortify; the British installed batteries there and bombarded

10366-579: The conflict raging in Europe and across the world, Charles III made provisions to defend the Spanish colonies against the Royal Navy . For the defence of Cuba, he appointed Juan de Prado as Captain General of Cuba, which was an administrative rather than a military position. De Prado arrived at Havana in February 1761 and began construction efforts to improve the fortifications of the city, although

10508-554: The construction was the colonel of engineers, the Navarrese Silvestre Abarca y Aznar. Over the next two hundred years the fortress served as a base for both Spain and later independent Cuba – La Cabaña has been used as a prison by the government of Fidel Castro and his younger brother Raúl . In January 1959, the revolutionary group led by Fidel Castro seized La Cabaña; the defending Cuban Army unit offered no resistance and surrendered. Che Guevara used

10650-506: The council from ordering the Spanish fleet to disrupt the British landings, which was also in accordance with the instructions that Admiral Hevia had received when he left Spain to protect Cuba's commerce The fleet's gunners and marines were sent to garrison the fortresses of Morro and Punta which were placed under the command of naval officers. Most of the shot and powder of the fleet as well as its best guns were also transferred to these two fortresses. Meanwhile, regular troops were assigned to

10792-479: The crime, and only allowing torture if there was already some evidence against the accused. In some countries, political opponents are tortured to force them to confess publicly as a form of state propaganda . The use of torture to obtain information during interrogation accounts for a small percentage of worldwide torture cases; its use for obtaining confessions or intimidation is more common. Although interrogational torture has been used in conventional wars , it

10934-529: The declaration of war with Spain, on the advice of Lord Anson , the British cabinet chose Havana as a major objective in its attack on Spain because of its strategic importance, believing that its permanent loss would weaken Spanish influence in the Caribbean. Detailed plans were made for a combined naval and military attack on Havana, relying on the Royal Navy's superiority in numbers and effectiveness over

11076-444: The defence of the city. Prado also ordered all women, children and the old and infirm to leave the city, leaving only men able to bear arms. The channel entrance was immediately closed with the boom chain . Additionally, three ships of the line ( Asia (64), Europa (64) and Neptuno (74)) were selected on account of their poor condition and sunk behind the boom chain. Although this made the remaining Spanish warships unable to leave

11218-407: The effective defending forces of the city by the time the siege began to 1,900 regulars, 750 marines, around 5,000 sailors and 2,000 to 3,000 militia , besides several thousand more without muskets or training to operate them. The main garrison consisted of: Havana had one of the finest natural harbours in the West Indies with a 180 m wide and 800 m long entrance channel giving access to

11360-431: The end of the month because of performance quotas. The contribution of bureaucracy to torture is under-researched and poorly understood. Torturers rely on both active supporters and those who ignore it. Military, intelligence, psychology, medical, and legal professionals can all be complicit in torture. Incentives can favor the use of torture on an institutional or individual level, and some perpetrators are motivated by

11502-425: The expedition reached Fort Royal on the recently conquered island of Martinique where it picked up the remainder of Major-General Robert Monckton 's expedition, still numbering 8,461 men. Rear Admiral Rodney's squadron, amounting to 8 ships of the line also joined the expedition bringing the total number of ships of the line to 15. There was some friction between Rodney and Pocock, as the latter had been preferred for

11644-405: The extremities of the channel, allowing the whole fleet to pass through it, safely and undetected. On 6 June the British force came into sight of Havana. Immediately, 12 British ships of the line were sent to the mouth of the entrance channel to block in the Spanish fleet. After surveying the city's defences, the British planned to begin the operations with the reduction of the Morro fortress, on

11786-559: The fortress as a headquarters and military prison for several months. During his five-month tenure in that post (January 2 through June 12, 1959), Guevara oversaw the revolutionary tribunals and executions of people who had opposed the communist revolution, including former members of Buró de Represión de Actividades Comunistas , Batista's secret police. There were 176 executions by Che Guevara documented for La Cabaña Fortress prison during Che’s command (January 3 to November 26, 1959). The first major political crisis arose over what to do with

11928-448: The fortress daily with heavy shelling. The fortress eventually fell after the officer in charge of Morro Castle, Luis Vicente de Velasco , was mortally wounded by a stray bullet. The capture of Morro Castle led to the eventual fall of the rest of the fortifications and the surrender of the city, the remaining garrison , and the naval forces present, before the hurricane season began. The surrender of Havana led to substantial rewards for

12070-424: The harbour, they were clearly outnumbered by the British fleet, and this move made the sailors available to defend the city. Realising the importance of the Morro, the Spanish commanders gave it top priority. The following day British troops were landed northeast of Havana, and began advancing west the next day. They met a militia party that was easily pushed back. By the end of the day, British infantry had reached

12212-535: The harbour. Two strong fortresses defended the entrance channel. On the north side of the channel stood the very strong Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro (known in English as Morro Castle ) on the rocky Cavannos Ridge. It had 64 artillery pieces and was garrisoned by 700 men. However, it had been noted that most of its guns faced Havana's port and bay, and that it was overlooked by the unfortified hill of La Cabaña. Although it had been proposed to fortify La Cabaña,

12354-402: The highest rates of post-traumatic stress disorder , many are psychologically resilient. Torture has been carried out since ancient times. However, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many Western countries abolished the official use of torture in the judicial system , although it continued to be used throughout the world. Public opinion research shows general opposition to torture. It

12496-403: The international reputation of countries that use it, strengthen and radicalize violent opposition to those states, and encourage adversaries to themselves use torture. Studies have found that most people around the world oppose the use of torture in general. Some hold definite views on torture; for others, torture's acceptability depends on the victim. Support for torture in specific cases

12638-657: The land side. Although Prado had received information of the presence of British ships two days before its arrival from a frigate that had escaped from the port of Matanzas , he did not believe that major warships could navigate the Old Bahama Channel. Prado and Admiral Hevia, surprised by the size of the attacking force, adopted a delaying defensive strategy. Prado wrote to the French in Saint-Domingue and to Spain for relief forces to be sent. He also requested reinforcements from Santiago de Cuba , which had

12780-545: The law has limited legitimacy or is routinely ignored. Sociologically torture operates as a subculture , frustrating prevention efforts because torturers can find a way around rules. Safeguards against torture in detention can be evaded by beating suspects during round-ups or on the way to the police station. General training of police to improve their ability to investigate crime has been more effective at reducing torture than specific training focused on human rights. Institutional police reforms have been effective when abuse

12922-595: The line in the dockyard, the San Carlos (80) and Santiago (80), were burnt. In addition, two small frigates or corvettes and two 18-gun sloops, including the Marte commanded by Domingo de Bonechea , and several smaller vessels were captured either along the Cuban coast or in Havana harbour. After the capture, Prize money payments of £122,697 each were made to Pocock as naval commander and to Albemarle as military commander, with £24,539 paid to Commodore Keppel ,

13064-631: The link between specific torture methods and health consequences is lacking. These consequences can include peripheral neuropathy , damage to teeth, rhabdomyolysis from extensive muscle damage, traumatic brain injury , sexually transmitted infection , and pregnancy from rape . Chronic pain and pain-related disability are commonly reported, but there is scant research into this effect or possible treatments. Common psychological problems affecting survivors include traumatic stress , anxiety , depression, and sleep disturbance . An average of 40 percent have long-term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),

13206-619: The loss in prestige was even greater. This defeat, together with the conquest of Manila by the British one and a half months later, meant the loss of Spain's 'Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies' as well as its colonial capital of the Spanish East Indies . These events confirmed British naval supremacy and showed the fragility of the Spanish Empire . Just as the earlier War of Jenkins' Ear had forced

13348-679: The most common form of physical torture reported by about two-thirds of survivors. They may be either unsystematic or focused on a specific part of the body, as in falanga (the soles of the feet ), repeated strikes against both ears, or shaking the detainee so that their head moves back and forth. Often, people are suspended in painful positions such as strappado or upside-down hanging in combination with beatings. People may also be subjected to stabbings or puncture wounds , have their nails removed , or body parts amputated . Burns are also common, especially cigarette burns , but other instruments are also employed, including hot metal, hot fluids,

13490-456: The most urgent of those relating to the fortifications. The task had been started but no guns had been installed. Two days later a British detachment landed at Torreón de la Chorrera , on the west side of the harbour. Meanwhile, Colonel Patrick Mackellar , an engineer, was overseeing the construction of the siege works against the Morro. Since digging trenches was impossible, he resolved to erect breastworks instead. He planned to mine towards

13632-437: The naval command of this important expedition. On 23 May the expedition, now off the northwest corner of Saint-Domingue, was further reinforced by Sir James Douglas ' squadron from Port Royal, Jamaica . The combined force now amounted to 21 ships of the line, 24 lesser warships, and 168 other vessels, carrying some 14,000 seamen and marines plus another 3,000 hired sailors and 12,826 regulars. The normal approach to Havana, on

13774-504: The naval second-in-command who was Albemarle's younger brother. Each of the 42 naval captains present received £1,600 as prize money. The military second-in-command, Lieutenant-General Eliott , received the same amount as Commodore Keppel, as the two shared a fifteenth part of the prize pool, as against the third shared by their commanders. Elliot was able to buy Bayley Park in East Sussex which he altered and enlarged. Privates in

13916-831: The necessary infrastructure for a torture program and instead intimidate by killing. Research has found that state torture can extend the lifespan of terrorist organizations, increase incentives for insurgents to use violence, and radicalize the opposition. Another form of torture for deterrence is violence against migrants, as has been reported during pushbacks on the European Union's external borders. Torture has been used throughout history to extract confessions from detainees. In 1764, Italian reformer Cesare Beccaria denounced torture as "a sure way to acquit robust scoundrels and to condemn weak but innocent people". Similar doubts about torture's effectiveness had been voiced for centuries previously, including by Aristotle . Despite

14058-411: The next few days allowed the British to begin the mining towards the right bastion of the Morro. Meanwhile, the now unopposed British artillery was daily hitting the Morro up to 600 times, causing some sixty casualties. Velasco had now no hope but to destroy British siege works and so on 22 July 1,300 regulars, seamen and militia sallied from Havana in three columns and attacked the siege works surrounding

14200-416: The north coast of Cuba, was to sail west parallel to the south coast of the island on the prevailing south-easterly wind, then to round its western tip and sail east towards Havana, against the wind. This last section, more than 200 miles long, would take a large squadron at least one week, and probably several, to complete, giving ample warning for Havana to prepare. To the north of Havana, reaching as far as

14342-409: The north side of the channel, through a formal Vauban -style siege. The commanding position of this fort over the city would then force the Spanish commander to surrender. However, the initial survey had underestimated the strength of the Morro fortress, which was located on a rocky promontory where it was impossible to dig approach trenches and that a large ditch cut into the rock protected the fort on

14484-420: The officers from prominent Cuban families. Havana and Manila were returned to Spain as a result of the Treaty of Paris signed in February 1763, but the British occupation lasted until two months later, when a newly appointed Captain General of Cuba , Alejandro O'Reilly , arrived to re-establish Spanish rule. Spain agreed to cede Florida and France returned Menorca to Great Britain. The loss of Florida and

14626-507: The people." [REDACTED] Media related to Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña at Wikimedia Commons 23°08′50″N 82°21′00″W  /  23.14722°N 82.35000°W  / 23.14722; -82.35000 Battle of Havana (1762) British victory [REDACTED]   Great Britain The siege of Havana was a successful British siege against Spanish-ruled Havana that lasted from March to August 1762, as part of

14768-566: The perpetrators as severe threats and enemies of the state . Studies of perpetrators do not support the common assumption that they are psychologically pathological. Most perpetrators do not volunteer to be torturers; many have an innate reluctance to employ violence, and rely on coping mechanisms , such as alcohol or drugs. Psychiatrist Pau Pérez-Sales finds that torturers act from a variety of motives such as ideological commitment, personal gain, group belonging, avoiding punishment, or avoiding guilt from previous acts of torture. Although it

14910-443: The police have been observed handing suspects over to vigilantes to be tortured. This type of extrajudicial violence is often carried out in public to deter others. It discriminatorily targets minorities and marginalized groups and may be supported by the public, especially if people do not trust the official justice system. The classification of judicial corporal punishment as torture is internationally controversial, although it

15052-420: The poor , through laws targeting homelessness , sex work , or working in the informal economy , can lead to violent and arbitrary policing. Routine violence against poor and marginalized people is often not seen as torture, and its perpetrators justify the violence as a legitimate policing tactic; victims lack the resources or standing to seek redress. Since most research has focused on torture victims, less

15194-499: The poor or criminal suspects. Most victims of torture are suspected of crimes; a disproportionate number of victims are from poor or marginalized communities. Groups especially vulnerable to torture include unemployed young men, the urban poor , LGBT people , refugees and migrants, ethnic and racial minorities, indigenous people , and people with disabilities . Relative poverty and the resulting inequality in particular leave poor people vulnerable to torture. Criminalization of

15336-400: The project had been delayed and no guns had been installed there by the start of the siege. The south side was defended by the older Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta . The channel could also be blocked by a boom chain extending from El Morro to La Punta. Havana itself lay on the south side along the channel and was surrounded by a wall 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long. Two days after

15478-415: The prospect of career advancement. Bureaucracy can diffuse responsibility for torture and help perpetrators excuse their actions. Maintaining secrecy is often essential to maintaining a torture program, which can be accomplished in ways ranging from direct censorship, denial, or mislabeling torture as something else, to offshoring abuses to outside a state's territory. Along with official denials, torture

15620-676: The rate at which torture occurs is difficult because it is typically committed in secrecy, and abuses are likelier to come to light in open societies where there is a commitment to protecting human rights. Many torture survivors, especially those from poor or marginalized populations, are unwilling to report. Monitoring has focused on police stations and prisons, although torture can also occur in other facilities such as immigration detention and youth detention centers . Torture that occurs outside of custody—including extrajudicial punishment, intimidation, and crowd control —has traditionally not been counted, even though some studies have suggested it

15762-485: The rate of torture in a country. In international humanitarian law , which regulates the conduct of war, torture was first outlawed by the 1863 Lieber Code . Torture was prosecuted during the Nuremberg trials as a crime against humanity ; it is recognized by both the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as a war crime . According to

15904-421: The remainder taking action against the British and surrendered them intact rather than burning them; they had not mounted any significant counterattacks and, finally, had not removed the royal treasury before the surrender. After a lengthy trial, Prado was found guilty and sentenced to death, but was reprieved and died in prison. Hevia was sentenced to 10 years' house arrest and the loss of his office and titles, but

16046-482: The rise of Enlightenment ideas about the value of the human person, the lowering of the standard of proof in criminal cases, popular views that no longer saw pain as morally redemptive, and the expansion of imprisonment as an alternative to executions or painful punishments. It is not known if torture also declined in non-Western states or European colonies during the nineteenth century. In China, judicial torture, which had been practiced for more than two millennia,

16188-464: The risk of death. Survivors report that the exact method used is not significant. Most forms of torture include both physical and psychological elements and multiple methods are typically used on one person. Different methods of torture are popular in different countries. Low-tech methods are more commonly used than high-tech ones, and attempts to develop scientifically validated torture technology have failed. The prohibition of torture motivated

16330-448: The risk of torture is highest directly after an arrest, procedural safeguards such as immediate access to a lawyer and notifying relatives of an arrest are the most effective ways of prevention. Visits by independent monitoring bodies to detention sites can also help reduce torture. Legal changes that are not implemented in practice have little effect on the incidence of torture. Legal changes can be particularly ineffective in places where

16472-402: The sea upon the British miners in the ditch. At 2:00 am the next day two Spanish schooners attacked the miners from the sea. Their attack was unsuccessful and they had to withdraw. At 1:00 pm the British finally detonated the mine. The debris of the explosion partly filled the ditch but Albemarle judged it passable, and launched an assault, sending 699 picked men against the right bastion. Before

16614-558: The second strongest military force on the island, and although two relief forces set out from the Oriente Province in July, both were delayed by food shortages and high levels of sickness. One turned back and the other was still one day's march from Havana when the city surrendered. Besides hope of a relief force, Prado and the Havana garrison had several advantages. Firstly, the hurricane season would begin in late August, putting

16756-574: The siege HMS  Stirling Castle was declared unserviceable and was stripped and scuttled. HMS Marlborough sank in the Atlantic due to extensive damage received during the siege, and HMS  Temple was lost while returning to Britain for repairs. Charles III appointed a commission of generals to try Prado and others considered culpable for the loss of Havana on their return to Spain. Prado, Hevia and nine other military and civil officials were accused of treason and their trial was, in effect,

16898-481: The siege works. They reached the British batteries from the rear and started to spike guns, but British reaction was swift, and the attackers were repulsed before they caused any serious damage. On 1 July, the British launched a combined land and naval attack on the Morro. The fleet detached four ships of the line for this purpose: HMS Stirling Castle , HMS Dragon , HMS Marlborough and HMS Cambridge . The naval and land artillery simultaneously opened fire on

17040-417: The state. Most legal systems include agents acting on behalf of the state, and some definitions add non-state armed groups , organized crime , or private individuals working in state-monitored facilities ( such as hospitals ). The most expansive definitions encompass anyone as a potential perpetrator. Although torture is usually classified as more severe than cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment (CIDT),

17182-531: The strength of the Spanish Navy, namely Aquilón (74), Conquistador (74), Reina (70), San Antonio (64), Tigre (70), San Jenaro (60), América (60), Infante (74) and Soberano (74), together with a ship of 78 guns belonging to the Compañía de La Habana, a number of smaller armed vessels belonging to it and the Compañía de Caracas and nearly 100 merchant ships. Two new almost-completed ships of

17324-446: The sun, or acid . Forced ingestion of water , food , or other substances, or injections are also used as torture. Electric shocks are often used to torture, especially to avoid other methods that are more likely to leave scars. Asphyxiation , of which waterboarding is a form, inflicts torture on the victim by cutting off their air supply. Psychological torture includes methods that involve no physical element as well as forcing

17466-541: The threshold at which treatment can be classified as torture is the most controversial aspect of its definition; the interpretation of torture has broadened over time. Another approach, preferred by scholars such as Manfred Nowak and Malcolm Evans , distinguishes torture from CIDT by considering only the torturer's purpose, and not the severity. Other definitions, such as that in the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture , focus on

17608-540: The torturer's aim "to obliterate the personality of the victim". Torture was legally and morally acceptable in most ancient, medieval, and early modern societies. There is archaeological evidence of torture in Early Neolithic Europe, about 7,000 years ago. Torture is commonly mentioned in historical sources on Assyria and Achaemenid Persia . Societies used torture both as part of the judicial process and as punishment, although some historians make

17750-579: The torturers were desensitized to violence by being exposed to physical or psychological abuse during training which can be a deliberate tactic to create torturers. Even when not explicitly ordered by the government to torture, perpetrators may feel peer pressure due to competitive masculinity. Elite and specialized police units are especially prone to torturing, perhaps because of their tight-knit nature and insulation from oversight. Although some torturers are formally trained, most are thought to learn about torture techniques informally. Torture can be

17892-412: The troops had captured Martinique before Pocock sailed, 3,000 British and American troops from New York did not arrive at Havana until late July, and the plan to take up to 2,000 slaves from Jamaica to act as pioneers only produced 600 slaves, as many owners were reluctant to part with them without a scheme for compensation. A plan by Amherst to assemble a force of 8,000 men for an attack on Louisiana

18034-412: The vicinity of Havana. The defence of the Morro was assigned to Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla , a naval officer, who immediately took measures to prepare and provision the fortress for a siege. On 11 June a British party stormed a detached redoubt on the La Cabaña heights. Only then did the British command realise how strong the Morro was, surrounded by brushwood and protected by a large ditch. With

18176-412: The victim and in some cultures, humiliate their family and society. Cultural and individual differences affect how the victim perceives different torture methods. Torture is one of the most devastating experiences that a person can undergo. Torture aims to break the victim's will and destroy the victim's agency and personality. Torture survivor Jean Améry argued that it was "the most horrible event

18318-427: The victim's religious or national identity), and the use of animals such as dogs to frighten or injure a prisoner. Positional torture works by forcing the person to adopt a stance, putting their weight on a few muscles, causing pain without leaving marks, for example standing or squatting for extended periods. Rape and sexual assault are universal torture methods and frequently instill a permanent sense of shame in

18460-403: The victims , especially when they feel guilty about their actions. Torture has corrupting effects on the institutions and societies that perpetrate it. Torturers forget important investigative skills because torture can be an easier way than time-consuming police work to achieve high conviction rates, encouraging the continued and increased use of torture. Public disapproval of torture can harm

18602-490: The work was incomplete at the time of the siege. In June 1761, a flotilla of seven ships of the line under the command of Admiral Gutierre de Hevia arrived at Havana, transporting two infantry regiments of regulars (the España and Aragón regiments) totalling 996 men, bringing up the number of the Havana garrison to 2,400 regulars. There were also 6,300 sailors and marines aboard the ships. However, yellow fever had reduced

18744-552: Was banned in 1905 along with flogging and lingchi ( dismemberment ) as a means of execution, although torture in China continued throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Torture was widely used by colonial powers to subdue resistance and reached a peak during the anti-colonial wars in the twentieth century. An estimated 300,000 people were tortured during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962), and

18886-469: Was carried out in secret, it could not be an effective deterrent. In the twentieth century, well-known examples include the Khmer Rouge and anti-communist regimes in Latin America, who tortured and murdered their victims as part of forced disappearance . Authoritarian regimes often resort to indiscriminate repression because they cannot accurately identify potential opponents. Many insurgencies lack

19028-650: Was comprehensively fortified, and the strength of its fortifications and difficulty that large sailing warships would have in making an undetected approach from the north convinced the Spanish commanders it would be virtually impossible to capture, if its fortifications were in good order and it was properly garrisoned. Its wealth and ability to feed its population also suggested that it could resist being starved into surrender. Britain had been formally at war with France since May 1756, but Spain under Ferdinand VI remained neutral. After Ferdinand's death in 1759, his half-brother Charles III , reversed Ferdinand's policy and, by

19170-544: Was dismissed by Albemarle as impractical as it would have left too few troops in the North American colonies. During the month of February, British troops embarked; they consisted of: On 5 March the British expedition sailed from Spithead , England, with 7 ships of the line and 4,365 men aboard 64 transports and shops carrying supplies and artillery. The fleet arrived in Barbados on 20 April. Five days later

19312-401: Was later pardoned and reinstated: a leading official, Julián de Arriaga, was dismissed from office. Velasco's family was ennobled and his son was created Marqués de Velasco del Morro, and Charles III decreed that there should thereafter be a ship named Velasco in the Spanish fleet. The loss of Havana and Western Cuba was a serious blow to Spain. Not only were the financial losses considerable;

19454-430: Was now at half strength. Since the hurricane season was approaching, Albemarle was now engaged in a race against time. He ordered the batteries to be rebuilt with the help of men of the fleet. Many 32-pounder guns were taken from the lower deck of several ships to equip these new batteries. By 17 July the new British batteries had progressively silenced most of Velasco's guns, leaving only two of them operational. With

19596-531: Was recaptured in the Battle of Signal Hill on 15 September 1762. On 14 August the British entered the city. They had obtained possession of the most important harbour in the Spanish West Indies along with military equipment, 1,828,116 Spanish pesos and merchandise valued around 1,000,000 Spanish pesos. Furthermore, they had seized nine ships of the line in Havana harbour, representing one-fifth of

19738-747: Was returned to Spain under the 1763 Treaty of Paris that formally ended the war. Havana in the late 18th century was a major port and naval base, and also the strongest fortress in Spanish America. Its royal shipyard with access to abundant supplies of resistant hardwoods was capable of building first-rate ships of the line and had been developed by the Bourbon monarchy as the most important of its three naval shipyards. There had been several previous plans to attack Havana, including one proposed to Vernon in 1739, which he rejected in favour of an attack on Porto Bello , but no successful attack since it

19880-499: Was the first time that an international body—the European Commission on Human Rights —found that a state practiced torture and it, along with Ireland v. United Kingdom , formed much of the basis for the definition of torture in international law. In the early 1970s, Amnesty International launched a global campaign against torture, exposing its widespread use despite international prohibition and eventually leading to

20022-529: Was then to proceed to the northwest of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti ) to embark 4,000 men from the British colonies in North America, commanded by Jeffrey Amherst , and be further reinforced by a squadron from Port Royal, Jamaica , commanded by Sir James Douglas . It was to keep its final destination in doubt until it launched its amphibious attack on Havana. These plans were modified to meet circumstances, as Rodney and Robert Monckton commanding

20164-418: Was therefore necessary to form a disciplined colonial militia, with adequate weapons and training, supervised by experienced officers and non-commissioned officers , with an organisation and uniforms similar to the regulars. The regular garrison of about 3,200 would be backed by a disciplined militia of eight infantry battalions and one regiment each of cavalry and dragoons, totaling 7,500 soldiers, with many of

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