The Battle of Blaye of 1593, also known as the Battle of Bec d'Ambès (in French) or Battle of the Gironde Estuary, was a naval Spanish victory that took place on 18 April 1593 off

Blaye Blaye (; oc, Blaia ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. For centuries, Blaye was a particularly convenient crossing point for those who came from the north and went to Bordea ...

and

Bec d'Ambès The Bec d'Ambès (, literally ''Beak of Ambès'') is the point of confluence of the rivers Garonne and Dordogne, in the Gironde estuary. Situated 15 miles north of Bordeaux, it has an oil refinery which was destroyed by bombing during World War I ...

, Gironde Estuary,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, during the seven-month siege of Blaye between the French-

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

forces of

Henry of Navarre Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

and the French-

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

garrison of the city led by Governor

Jean-Paul d'Esparbès de Lussan d'Aubeterre Jean Paul or ''variation'' may refer to: Places * Rue ''Jean-Paul-II'', several streets, see List of places named after Pope John Paul II * Place ''Jean Paul II'', several squares, see List of places named after Pope John Paul II People Given n ...

, in the context of the

Brittany Campaign The Brittany Campaign or the Campaign of Brittany was a military occupation of the Brittany region of France by Spain. It began in the summer 1590 when Philippe-Emmanuel de Lorraine, Duke of Mercœur and governor of Brittany, offered the ...

during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mi ...

and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604).''Armada española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y Aragón''. Vol III
Fernández Duro p.85Gustav Ungerer p.53Ortega y Medina p.200

Background

In 1592, some ships were acquired by farmer Peter Houghton and a group of London merchants, to help Marshal Matignon attack Leaguer Blaye and defend the Gironde against a Spanish squadron from Pasajes. Of these, six were English warships commanded by Admiral Wilkinson, Vice-Admiral Brailford and captains Johnson, Meriall, Bower and Courtney.

Battle

In April 1593, a Spanish naval force of 16 warships (

flyboat The flyboat (also spelled fly-boat or fly boat) was a European light vessel of Dutch origin developed primarily as a mercantile cargo carrier, although many served as warships in an auxiliary role because of their agility. These vessels could displa ...

s and

pinnaces Pinnace may refer to: * Pinnace (ship's boat), a small vessel used as a tender to larger vessels among other things * Full-rigged pinnace The full-rigged pinnace was the larger of two types of vessel called a pinnace in use from the sixteenth c ...

) commanded by Admiral

Pedro de Zubiaur Pedro de Zubiaur, Zubiaurre or Çubiaurre (1540 – 3 August 1605) was a Spanish naval officer, general of the Spanish Navy, distinguished for his achievements in the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). Biography Born into a seafaring family fro ...

and General Joanes de Villaviciosa Lizarza set out to relieve

. The city was controlled by the

Catholic League of France The Catholic League of France (french: Ligue catholique), sometimes referred to by contemporary (and modern) Catholics as the Holy League (), was a major participant in the French Wars of Religion. The League, founded and led by Henry I, Duke of ...

, but under heavy siege by French Royal troops, supported by English and

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

forces, commanded by Marshal Jacques de Goyon d'Matignon, and blocked by sea by six English

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 ...

-squadron under Admiral Wilkenson. Duro p.85 On 18 April the English naval force was defeated and dispersed by Zubiaur's fleet, and the Spanish troops disembarked at Blaye, relieving the

forces. In the naval engagement, the English warships of admiral Wilkenson and Vice-Admiral were boarded by the Spaniards, burnt and destroyed, whilst two Spanish flyboats named ''Fortuna'' and ''Grifo'' were also sunk. Soon after, another Anglo-French fleet of 11 to 19 warships from

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

, supported by about 40 small vessels (including six

galleass Galleasses were military ships developed from large merchant galleys, and intended to combine galley speed with the sea-worthiness and artillery of a galleon. While perhaps never quite matching up to their full expectations, galleasses neverthel ...

es from the port of

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

), arrived at Blaye, trying to block the Spanish fleet. After a fierce and unequal battle, amid an intense storm, the Spaniards were victorious,Rivas p.163 with significant loss of life on both sides due to heavy musket fire. In the end, many ships of both fleets were dispersed by the storm, and the Spanish fleet managed to return safely to the port of Pasajes.Ortiz y Sanz p.43 For his part in the fighting, Pedro de Zubiaur was decorated by King Philip II of Spain, receiving the title of ''"de general como a lo demás de escuadra para que antes que muera deje esto a los míos"''.Fernández Duro p.86 On 14 July the same year another Spanish force, composed of six

, under the command of Joanes de Villaviciosa Lizarza, and 120 soldiers led by Captain Antonio Manrique de Vargas, sailed from the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

port of Castro Urdiales, to reinforce the Catholic forces of Blaye.Fernández Duro pp.86–87 After the Spanish troops under Villaviciosa launched a successful assault against the Protestant positions, which resulted in over 800 Protestants killed or wounded, the siege finally ended with the withdrawal of the French-Protestant troops.''Con esta brillantísima acción se levantó el sitio, que duraba ya siete meses, quedando las pinazas al abrigo de los cañones del fuerte hasta el 4 de Agosto en la noche, aprovechada por Villaviciosa para dar otro golpe audaz.'' Fernández Duro p.86

Notes

References

* Bruce Wernham, Richard. ''List and Analysis of State Papers, Foreign Series: May 1592-June 1593''. H.M. Stationery Office, 1964. * Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1898). ''Armada Española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y Aragón.'' Vol. III. Madrid. * José Ortiz y Sanz
''Historia General de España''. Vol. VII
Third Edition, Madrid (1846). * Gustav Ungerer. ''A Spaniard in Elizabethan England: The Correspondence of Antonio Pérez's Exile''. Vol. I. London 1974. * Mac Caffrey, Wallace T. (1994). ''Elizabeth I: War and Politics, 1588–1603''. Princeton. Princeton University Press. USA. * Ortega y Medina, Juan Antonio. ''El conflicto anglo-español por el dominio oceánico''. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. 1994. * Gracia Rivas, Manuel
''En el IV Centenario del fallecimiento de Pedro Zubiaur, un marino vasco del siglo XVI''
Itsas Memoria. Untzi Museo Naval. San Sebastián 2006.

External links

* José Ortiz y Sanz
''Historia General de España''. Vol. VII
Battle of Blaye 1593. {{DEFAULTSORT:Blaye, Battle of 1593 Conflicts in 1593 Naval battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) Battles involving England Battles involving Spain Battles involving France 1593 in France 1593 in the British Empire

Background

Battle

See also

Notes

References

External links