[5] Unable to capture the island, following the death of his comrade, John Hawkins, Drake abandoned San Juan, and set sail for Panama where he died from disease and received a burial at sea after failing to establish an English settlement in America.

Previous to that, the Spanish West Indian Fleet under the command of General Sancho Pardo Osorio had sailed from Havana on 10 March with 2,000,000 pesos in gold and silver, bound for Spain.

Damage from a storm in the Old Bahama Channel five days later necessitated a trip to Puerto Rico for repairs, which was reached on 9 April.

The Spanish artillery and scored hits upon Drake's ship, Defiance, killing Sir Nicholas Clifford and Browne.

[2][1][3] According to a Spanish account,[2] The same Thursday, 23rd, San Clement's Day, at ten o'clock at night, when it was quite dark, the enemy commenced an attack on the port with twenty-five boats, each carrying fifty or sixty men well armed, with the view of burning the frigates, as was afterwards seen, and they all entered up close to the platform of the Rock (battery), ranging themselves under the fire of the artillery...Most of the boats attacked the Capitana, the Texeda frigate, setting fire to her at the bow, and throwing into her a quantity of fire-pots and shells while ours succeeded in extinguishing the flames before they had done any damage, the fight being carried on by cannon, musquetry and stones.