 In April 1655, General Robert Venables led the armada in an attack on Spain's fort at Santo Domingo, Hispaniola.After the Spanish repulsed this poorly-executed attack, the English force then sailed for Jamaica, the only Spanish West Indies island that did not have new defensive works.In May 1655, around 7,000 English soldiers landed near Jamaica's Spanish Town capital and soon overwhelmed the small number of Spanish troops (at the time, Jamaica's entire population only numbered around 2,500).