Nelson's attack on Tenerife
English troops were defeated on the 25th July 1797
On the 25th of July 1797, after several failed attempts, an army of 900 soldiers commanded by the English Admiral Horatio Nelson tried to land in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The defending troops in Tenerife were mainly militias made up of local people and some French soldiers stationed there, all under the command of the Lieutenant General Antonio Gutiérrez. These soldiers fought in the streets of the city against the English troops that had managed to land. Finally the English troops were defeated and at least one of their ships in the port was sunk.
Nelson's attack ended in an agreement that allowed the English to return to their boats with their arms with the promise that they would not attack any of the other Canary Islands. In the Military Museum of the Canary Islands, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, there are various exhibits and information about this event, as well as the Tiger Cannon, which according to legend fired the shot that destroyed Horatio Nelson's arm.