noon
It is not necessary to follow that action step by step . Blunders on the part of the French marred its smooth execution , and the indifferent handling of their ships led to the sinking of two of them in the course of the afternoon by the fort 's gunfire . But by evening , owing largely to the irresistible fury with which the buccaneers stormed the place from the landward side , the fort had surrendered , and before dusk Blood and his men with some ordnance hauled thither by mules dominated the city from the heights of Nuestra Senora de la Poupa . At noon on the morrow , shorn of defences and threatened with bombardment , Cartagena sent offers of surrender to M. de Rivarol . Swollen with pride by a victory for which he took the entire credit to himself , the Baron dictated his terms . He demanded that all public effects and office accounts be delivered up ; that the merchants surrender all moneys and goods held by them for their correspondents ; the inhabitants could choose whether they would remain in the city or depart ; but those who went must first deliver up all their property , and those who elected to remain must surrender half , and become the subjects of France ; religious houses and churches should be spared , but they must render accounts of all moneys and valuables in their possession . Cartagena agreed , having no choice in the matter , and on the next day , which was the 5th of April , M. de Rivarol entered the city and proclaimed it now a French colony , appointing M. de Cussy its Governor .