dismay; the King was in mute despair as he read the intelligence reports at the Palace of San Ildefonso. The French had done all they could to help the Spanish achieve their essential war aim, and began serious discussions on alternative exit strategies, urging Spain to offer Britain some very large concessions in return for Gibraltar. News also reached the British, ecstatic at the outcome, and at the same time just as John Jay submitted his draft treaty. The British promptly stiffened their terms, flatly refusing to cede land north of the old border with Canada. They also insisted that the Americans pay their national pre-war debt to the British or compensate Loyalists for their seized property. As a result, the Americans were forced to agree to these terms, and their Northern frontier was established along the line of the Great Lakes. Preliminary Articles of Peace were to be signed between the two on 30 November. Final actions In Britain the Admiralty considered plans for a major relief of Gibraltar, opting to send a larger but slower fleet, rather than a smaller, faster one. This was key to the outcome of the siege. Admiral Richard Howe's orders were to deliver the supplies to Gibraltar and then to return to England. The fleet—composed of 35 ships of the line, a large convoy of transports destined for Gibraltar, and additional convoys destined for the East and West Indies—left Spithead on 11 September. Bad weather and contrary winds, however, meant that the British fleet did not arrive at Cape St. Vincent until 9 October. Capture of the San Miguel On 10 October a storm wreaked havoc on the allied fleet: one ship of the line was driven aground, and another was swept through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean. One other, the Spanish 72-gun ship of the line San Miguel under the command of Don Juan Moreno, lost its mizzen mast in the storm. It was driven helplessly into Gibraltar by the storm. Cannon fire from the King's Bastion was fired at the vessel, some of which penetrated and caused damage and casualties. The San Miguel then tried with great difficulty to get out of danger but was soon grounded, and gunboats from the garrison quickly captured her. Moreno agreed to surrender to avoid any further bloodshed, being too close to the guns of Gibraltar. A total of 634 Spanish sailors, marines