28. Santo Tome de Guayana
The encounter between the English party under Keymis and the Spanish settlement of Santo Tome was a minor affair, with two Englishmen and two Spaniards killed by musket fire, before the smaller Spanish garrison of the settlement fled. Keymis held the town for the ensuing 29 days, sending out small search parties in pursuit of the promised vein of ore he had claimed to have knowledge of, but no gold was found. Surrounded by hostile Spanish troops, Keymis had his men loot the settlement before torching it, and fled downriver in ship’s boats, where he rendezvoused with Raleigh on March 2, 1618. Keymis had previously reported the battle and the death of Raleigh’s son by letter, upon his return to the fleet he found Raleigh despondent and resentful.