The first pirates and corsairs (French and English) who attacked the Isthmus, did so at the mouth of the Chagres River and in Nombre de Dios, limiting themselves only to assaulting Spanish ships. The first invasion of the mainland was carried out by FRANCIS DRAKE, on the night of July 9, 1572, when with fifty men, he assaulted Nombre de Dios, failing in the attempt. However, he landed in the Gulf of San Blas, where with the help of the Maroons, on January 31, 1573, he burned the town of Cruces