Invasion of Jamaica

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An English expeditionary force captured Spanish Jamaica in May 1655, during the Anglo-Spanish War of 1654–1660. It was part of an ambitious plan by Oliver Cromwell to undermine or obliterate Spanish dominance in the Americas and to acquire new colonies there, known as the Western Design. Although major settlements like Santiago de la Vega, now Spanish Town, were poorly defended and quickly occupied, resistance by escaped slaves, or Jamaican Maroons, continued in the interior. The Western Design was largely a failure, but Jamaica remained in English hands, and was formally ceded by Spain in the 1670 Treaty of Madrid. The Colony of Jamaica remained a British possession until independence in 1962.

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