The events that occurred 225 years ago in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, when the English tried to take the capital under the command of the acclaimed Admiral Horacio Nelson, failing miserably, they are still not seen with the historical perspective they deserve, probably because the British themselves wanted to erase that defeat from their books. history. Nelson was received as a hero on his return to England, despite returning defeated and with one arm missing, and that was enough to minimize any reference to the Gesta of July 25. Nor is it that in this other part too much was done to put in its rightful place a battle that, due to its development and approach, deserves to be recognized.
The Tertulia Amigos del 25 de Julio has been in charge in recent years of making visible, by all means at its disposal, the importance of this historical event. An effort in which it has been accompanied by the Cultural Historical Association La Gesta, which has given visibility to the historical milestone thanks to its representation.
As the current president of the Tertulia, Luis García Rebollo, explains, “the British believed that Santa Cruz was a roadstead, unprotected, easy to attack, with which to raise the morale of some troops who were dissatisfied and who could mutiny at any time” . Ignorance was such that neither the force with which the trade winds blow on the chicharrera coast was taken into account, preventing the ships from approaching, nor the configuration of the coastline, against which their boats collided, much less the military experience of General Antonio Gutiérrez, who knew how to activate all the defenses quickly and effectively. The British saw it so easily that Nelson wanted to captain one of the boats, a decision that ended up costing him his right arm, after the accurate shot of the Tigre cannon.
If Santa Cruz had fallen, the rest of the islands would have followed suit and Great Britain would have become a key port in trade with America and Africa. Precisely to value all this history, and after the completion of the recreations through the streets of Santa Cruz for the last three days, yesterday was the time for recognition.
This year, the Nelson Society has attended the commemoration of the Gesta for the first time, and it has done so with the help of the Tertulia, which has wanted to show the British everything that their history books do not include.
The first of the events held yesterday was the inauguration of a commemorative plaque for the English soldiers who fell in the battle of Santa Cruz in the church of San Jorge, which stands next to the Plaza de Los Patos. The Bishop of Tenerife, Bernardo Álvarez, together with a representative of the Anglican Church in Santa Cruz, officiated a mass in memory of the British soldiers who died during the battle on July 25.
After this act, the Real Club Náutico hosted an emotional meeting in which the president of the Nelson Society gave a speech, and after it, and together with the British military attache in Tenerife, he threw a laurel wreath into the sea in memory of the fallen British.
During the afternoon, already with the presence of the mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez, and members of the Municipal Corporation and the different levels of the State, the institutional act of recognition of those who fell in the Gesta was held, placing a wreath of flowers on the tomb of General Gutiérrez, buried in the church of La Concepción. After the mass, the procession of Santiago Apóstol, patron saint of Santa Cruz, took place precisely from the very moment in which the British were defeated on July 25, 1797.
The acts with which the 225th anniversary of La Gesta closed with various tributes to the fallen and the procession of Santiago Apóstol. Sergio Mendez
The acts with which the 225th anniversary of La Gesta closed with various tributes to the fallen and the procession of Santiago Apóstol. Sergio Mendez
