Battle of Roatán

Battle of Roatán
	Part of the American Revolutionary War
	; A 1782 Spanish map of Roatán. New Port Royal is visible on the right side of the island.
Date	March 16, 1782
Location	Roatán Island, present-day Honduras16°23′0.35″N 86°25′4.20″W
Result	Spanish victory Spanish occupation of Roatán;
Belligerents
Great Britain	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Edward Marcus Despard	Matías de Gálvez; Gabriel Herbias; Enrique MacDonell
Strength
81+ regulars	600 regulars; 3 frigates
Casualties and losses
2 wounded; 81 captured	2 killed; 4 wounded

The Battle of Roatán (sometimes spelled "Rattan") was an American War of Independence battle fought on March 16, 1782, between British and Spanish forces for control of Roatán, an island off the Caribbean coast of present-day Honduras.

A Spanish expeditionary force under Matías de Gálvez, the Captain General of Spanish Guatemala, gained control of the British-held island after bombarding its main defences. The British garrison surrendered the next day. The Spanish evacuated the captured soldiers, 135 civilians and 300 slaves, and destroyed their settlement, which they claimed had been used as a base for piracy and privateering.

The assault was part of a larger plan by Gálvez to eliminate British influence in Central America. Although he met with temporary successes, the British were able to maintain a colonial presence in the area.

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