September 12, 1740
On this afternoon, we sailed into Havana Harbour and dropped anchor. We had survived what would later be known as the War of Jenkins’ Ear. It would last 9 years, claim 20,000 lives, 407 ships, and at the end, there would be no winners and no losers, a draw. Pointless. It would rob families of their husbands, their sons, and it would rob us of our friend.
Havana was Spanish and, like Veracruz, a slave port. It had survived a British siege this year, which ended in late July, when the British retreated back to the sea.
A number of small boats came to meet us. One of them had the Governor of Cuba on board, Francisco de Güemes y Horcasitas Gordón de Saenz de Villamolinedo. Try repeating that a few times. He was a short man, about forty years old, a
