Spain planned to attack Britain's colony in Australia and force them from the land by using cannons filled with fire-spreading 'hot shot', newly uncovered documents reveal. According naval archives the Spanish planned to lay siege on Sydney from the Spanish colonies in South America with a fleet of 100 boats. The invasion was intended to prevent the southern colony from being used by the British to cause 'great harm' to Spain's colonial interests in the Philippines and in central and southern America. King Carlos IV approved plans for the Spanish navy to launch a 100-ship attack and to fire new fire-speading ammunintion in their fight to expel Britain from their colony in Australia, new archival documents reveal . Spain wanted to 'take the fight to the British in the Pacific', and according to the documents, they feared Britain could attack them using the 'castaway bandits' it was sending there. The Spanish documents reveal that King Carlos IV approved the plot after a Spanish expedition arrived in Sydney in 1793. The British established a settlement there in 1788. Chris Maxworthy of the Australian Association for Maritime History said the Spanish intended to use heated ammunition that could set fire to ships and buildings on impact. 'The goal was the complete surrender by the British and their expulsion from the Australian land mass ... The effect [of the hot shot] would be to not only impact the targets ashore but also create multiple fires in the wooden buildings of that era in Sydney, particularly if the plans occurred during the hot summer months,' he told The Australian Financial Review. Chris Maxworthy of the Australian Association for Maritime History, above, said Spain's goal was the 'complete surrender by the British and their expulsion from the Australian land mass' The Dutch and the French had coveted territory in the southern Pacific but abandoned their plans after concluding  the land was unsuitable, but the Spanish were not deterred. Spanish naval commander Alessandro Malaspina reported back to his Government in the 1970s that Britain planned to use Australia for commercial reasons and to discover resources, rather than simply as a place to send their convicts. And he warned that Britain could use their colony as a base to launch an attack on Spain using an army of 'castaway bandits'. According to the historical documents, the deputy commander of the Spanish expedition, Jose de Bustamante y Guerra, proposed an invasion to King Carlos IV who approved it. He was then sent to Uruguay to start building the attack ships. But they never set sail. Mr Maxworthy said: 'As the military and naval commander, Bustamante was tasked to both defend South America from an anticipated British invasion, and to take the fight to the British in the Pacific.' If Spain had managed to seize the colony, historians say, Britain would have quickly recovered it. John West-Sooby, an expert on early Australian voyages, said the documents showed Spain was 'intended to strike first' and was concerned about the threat the British colony posed. He told the newspaper:  'The irritation of Madrid with respect to British 'incursions' into the Pacific during the eighteenth century is well known, but this confirms the bellicose attitude of the Spanish.'
Spain feared Britain could attack them with an army of 'castaway bandits'
It planned to use a fire-spreading ammunition to burn ships and houses .
Their goal was Britain's 'complete surrender' and 'expulsion' from the land .
Spain planned to attack Britain's colony in Australia and force them from the land by using cannons filled with fire-spreading 'hot shot', newly uncovered documents reveal. According naval archives the Spanish planned to lay siege on Sydney from the Spanish colonies in South America with a fleet of 100 boats. The invasion was intended to prevent the southern colony from being used by the British to cause 'great harm' to Spain's colonial interests in the Philippines and in central and southern America. King Carlos IV approved plans for the Spanish navy to launch a 100-ship attack and to fire new fire-speading ammunintion in their fight to expel Britain from their colony in Australia, new archival documents reveal . Spain wanted to 'take the fight to the British in the Pacific', and according to the documents, they feared Britain could attack them using the 'castaway bandits' it was sending there. The Spanish documents reveal that King Carlos IV approved the plot after a Spanish expedition arrived in Sydney in 1793. The British established a settlement there in 1788. Chris Maxworthy of the Australian Association for Maritime History said the Spanish intended to use heated ammunition that could set fire to ships and buildings on impact. 'The goal was the complete surrender by the British and their expulsion from the Australian land mass ... The effect [of the hot shot] would be to not only impact the targets ashore but also create multiple fires in the wooden buildings of that era in Sydney, particularly if the plans occurred during the hot summer months,' he told The Australian Financial Review. Chris Maxworthy of the Australian Association for Maritime History, above, said Spain's goal was the 'complete surrender by the British and their expulsion from the Australian land mass' The Dutch and the French had coveted territory in the southern Pacific but abandoned their plans after concluding  the land was unsuitable, but the Spanish were not deterred. Spanish naval commander Alessandro Malaspina reported back to his Government in the 1970s that Britain planned to use Australia for commercial reasons and to discover resources, rather than simply as a place to send their convicts. And he warned that Britain could use their colony as a base to launch an attack on Spain using an army of 'castaway bandits'. According to the historical documents, the deputy commander of the Spanish expedition, Jose de Bustamante y Guerra, proposed an invasion to King Carlos IV who approved it. He was then sent to Uruguay to start building the attack ships. But they never set sail. Mr Maxworthy said: 'As the military and naval commander, Bustamante was tasked to both defend South America from an anticipated British invasion, and to take the fight to the British in the Pacific.' If Spain had managed to seize the colony, historians say, Britain would have quickly recovered it. John West-Sooby, an expert on early Australian voyages, said the documents showed Spain was 'intended to strike first' and was concerned about the threat the British colony posed. He told the newspaper:  'The irritation of Madrid with respect to British 'incursions' into the Pacific during the eighteenth century is well known, but this confirms the bellicose attitude of the Spanish.'
Spain planned to attack Britain's colony in documents, they feared Britain could attack them using the 'castaway bandits' it was sending complete surrender by the British and their expulsion from the Australian land mass ... The launch an attack on Spain using an army of