The action of March 1677, also known as the Battle of Tobago, took place on 3 March 1677 between a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

fleet under the command of

Jacob Binckes Jacob Binckes (1637, Koudum – 12 December 1677) was a Dutch commodore. Jacob himself used the name Benckes. Jacob was seafarer trading mostly on Norway in the transport of wood. In 1665 Jacob Binckes started his service with the Admiralty o ...

and a French squadron commanded by

Jean II d'Estrées Jean, Comte d'Estrées, (3 November 1624 in Solothurn, Switzerland – 19 May 1707 in Paris), was a Marshal of France, and an important naval commander of Louis XIV. He was born into a noble family from Picardy. His aunt was Gabrielle d'Es ...

attempting to recapture the island of

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. There was much death and destruction on both sides. One of the Dutch supply ships caught fire and exploded; the fire then quickly spread in the narrow bay causing several

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...

s, among them the French flagship ''Glorieux'', to catch fire and explode in turn which resulted in great loss of life. The French fleet retreated but would make a second attempt to captured Tobago at the end of the year with a much stronger fleet.

Order of battle

France

*''Glorieux'' (flagship, 64 guns) - ( Jean, Comte d'Estrées) Destroyed; 60 killed *''L'Intrépide'' (56 guns) - ( Louis de Gabaret) Captured *''Le Precieux'' (54 guns) - Captured *''Le Marquis'' (46 guns) - ( Chevalier de Lézines) Destroyed *''Le Galant'' (46 guns) - Damaged *''Le Fendant'' (54 guns) - (

Charles de Courbon de Blénac Charles de Courbon, comte de Blénac (1622 – 10 June 1696) was a French colonial administration who served as governor general of the French Antilles during the 17th century. He was an experienced soldier and fought for the king during the Fron ...

) Damaged *''Fortuné'' (52 guns) - ( Nicholas Lefèvre de Méricourt) *''Le Laurier'' (40 guns) - (

Charles-François de Machault de Belmont Charles-François de Machault de Belmont (1640–1709) was a French naval officer who was governor general of the French Antilles from 1703 to 1709. He held office during the War of the Spanish Succession, when the French colony on Saint Kitts was ...

) *''Le Soleil d'Afrique'' (40 guns) - Captain killed

Dutch Republic

*''Beschermer'' (flagship, 54 guns) - (

) 50 killed *''Huis te Kruiningen'' (58 guns) - ( Roemer Vlacq) Captured; 56 killed *''Zeelandia'' (34 guns) - ( Pieter Constant) 44 killed *''Middelburg'' (38 guns) - ( Jan Swart) Destroyed *''Sphaera Mundi'' (41 guns) *''Gouden Ster'' (30 guns) - ( Pieter Cooreman) Captain killed *''Hertog van York'' (26 guns) - ( Frederick Sweers) *''Alcion'' (24 guns) - ( Cornelis Stolwijk) Sunk *''Popkensburg'' (24 guns) - ( Pieter Slolwyck) *''Sint Salvador'' (6 guns) Conflicts in 1677

1677 Events January–March * January 1 – Jean Racine's tragedy ''Phèdre'' is first performed, in Paris. * January 21 – The first medical publication in America (a pamphlet on smallpox) is produced in Boston. * February ...

1677 in the Caribbean Tobago History of Trinidad and Tobago {{France-battle-stub