Tom is ferried from Conil Bay near Cape Trafalgar on the 2^nd of May 1797 to the Royal Hospital on Isle de Leonin in Cadiz harbour. The French consul intervene on his behalf but the Spanish still regard him as a political prisoner and mount a 5-man guard around him. However within a month he’s fit enough to dictate letters. 5 months later he’s able to move. Finally on 16^th September 1797, through French diplomatic pressure, he earns his release.

Tom

France had lost all its colonies in North America and Britain had lost much of its north American empire. The Spanish Empire had absorbed and managed much of North America West of the Mississippi but New Spain was busy exploiting and controlling their possessions further south. The slave trade was at its height and British, American, French and Dutch ships were operating at capacity selling people to provide labour to work on Caribbean plantations, however with national allegiances built up and broken regularly, political intrigue between the representatives of each of these states would be thriving.  Governers, managers, Viceroyals and soldiers played one off another to obtain economic or political advantage. Amidst all this Thomas was sometimes a diplomatic asset sometimes an embarrassment. After the gun battle in the bay of Cadiz, one more administrator was forced to manage an awkward situation. The governor wouldn’t have known much about Tom, what to do with him or where he would be going next. He would just have wanted to keep him alive in order to shift him on to the next representative. Thomas himself would only have been dimly aware of his situation. He was probably on laudanum for pain relief, he’d lost an eye and was being guarded at all times on Isle de Leonin military hospital. The town had been under siege by the British navy for months and violent sorties by the British Navy were often expected.

Costs

We camped near El Puerto Santa Maria, took the fast ferry to the terminal in the Port of Cadiz and set out, 2 adults 3 children. I wanted to visit the fortifications at Castillo de San Sebastian, but we all needed breakfast. A day like that is full of compromises, managing people’s energy levels. We take a bus tour, hung out with cold drinks in a plaza, mingled with the crowd at the Iglesia and made our way to the Castillo de San Sebastian. It was a hot August afternoon, the crowd was thick on the beach, a real city beach.

Camping Playa las Dunas de San Anton. Trailer with 5 persons, €40 per night