Confession del Capitan de Infateria Don Joseph Garcia Gago, Secretario, que fuè, del Governador de la Habana Don Juan de Prado, y de la Junta de Guerra, formada en dicha Plaza de Orden de S. M. empezada hoy 24 de octubre de 1763

Infantry Captain Joseph García Gago's confession at the court martial. Gago has formerly served in the Regimiento de África, and in Cuba as the secretary of the Junta de la Habana, and of Juan de Prado, the Captain General of Cuba. Gago answers here 52 questions between October 24 and November 3, 1763, related to his role in the defense and the surrender of Havana, during the treason trial aftermath of the capitulation. This scarce pamphlet was supposedly printed only for the court's use, thus in very limited numbers, during the large-scale and lengthy trial aftermath of the surrender.

Before Spain entered into the ongoing global conflict, the Seven Years' War on France's side in 1762, Charles III of Spain sent a flotilla under the command of Admiral Gutierre de Hevia to Havana to defend the city, and ordered to strengthen Cuba's fortresses against an expected offensive of the British navy. For managing the fortification works Juan de Prado was appointed as Captain General of Cuba and arrived at Havana in February 1761 with his main confidant and assistant, Captain Don José (Joseph) García Gago, and Balthasar Ricaud de Tirgale the chief architect of the project. The improvement of the fortifications began immediately after their arrival, but soon an epidemic of yellow fever hit the city, the construction slowed down and remained incomplete at the time of the British attack, commanded by George Pocock and George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle, on June 6, 1762. After six weeks of fighting, the city surrendered on August 13. The British gained control over the most important harbor in the Spanish West Indies, seized one-fifth of the strength of the Spanish Navy, and obtained possession over the city's military equipment, and its economic and financial assets. The surrender of Havana and a few weeks later Manila (6 October 1762), the capitals of the West and East Indies, was an enormous loss of prestige for Spain which hammered a nail into the coffin of the Spanish Empire and proved the British naval supremacy. The two cities eventually returned to Spain as a result of the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which concluded the Franco-British conflicts of the Seven Years' War. After the surrender, the Spanish military and civil leaders involved in the defense were tried before a court martial in Madrid. Prado, Hevia, and nine other officials - among them Gago - were accused of treason. Prado was found guilty, and sentenced to death, but was reprieved, and died in prison. Hevia was condemned to house arrest for 10 years and the loss of his office and titles but was later pardoned and reinstated. Others were dismissed from office or sentenced to less severe penalties.

An extremely scarce and important document, we could not trace any copies in institutional holdings.