The Battle of Cabrita Point, also known Battle of Marbella, was a naval battle that took place while a combined Spanish-French force besieged Gibraltar on 10 March 1705 (21 March 1705 in the New Calendar) during the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. The battle ended in an allied victory (English, Portuguese and Dutch) which effectively ended the Franco-Spanish siege of

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Prelude

The allies had conquered Gibraltar on behalf of the Archduke Charles of Habsburg on 1 August 1704. The Spanish besieged the city by land, and in that year, the French had made a first failed attempt to attack from the sea in the

Battle of Vélez-Málaga A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. In January 1705,

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

was determined to reconquer the city and had Villadarias replaced by Marshal de Tessé. Tessé realized that Gibraltar would never be retaken as long as the allies could access it from the sea. He therefore ordered Admiral Pointis to block up the place by sea with his squadron of 18 ships of the line. Some of these ships were Spanish under José Fernández de Santillán. Gibraltar was not a permanent harbour yet for the English fleet, which was anchored in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

at the time. The commander of Gibraltar,

Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt Prince George Louis of Hessen-Darmstadt (1669 – 13 September 1705) was a Field Marshal in the Austrian army. He is known for his career in Habsburg Spain, as Viceroy of Catalonia (1698–1701), head of the Austrian army in the War of the Spani ...

, despatched an express to Lisbon, desiring Sir

John Leake Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Leake (4 July 1656 – 21 August 1720) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. He then distinguished himself when he led ...

to sail to his assistance. This admiral set sail immediately with five sail of the line and a body of troops. By the morning of 10 March, he had a squadron of 23 English, eight Portuguese ships of various sizes, and four Dutch.

The battle

Leake's fleet reached the Strait late on the 9th, and laid to during the night. The next morning at about 5.30 a.m., they were within two miles of Cabrita Point, when they saw five sail coming out of the Bay. These proved to be the French ships ''Magnanime'' (74), ''Lys'' (86), ''Ardent'' (66), ''Arrogant'' (60), and ''Marquis'' (66). They made at first towards the Barbary Coast, but, finding that they were being gained upon, stood for the Spanish coast. At 9 a.m. Sir Thomas Dilkes in , with the , and a Dutch

man-of-war The man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a Royal Navy expression for a powerful warship or frigate from the 16th to the 19th century. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually reserved for a ship armed wi ...

, got within gunshot of ''Arrogant'', which, after a slight resistance, struck. Before 1 p.m. two Dutch ships took ''Ardent'' and ''Marquis''; ''Magnanime'' and ''Lys'' were driven ashore to the westward of

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

. ''Magnanime'', in which De Pointis had his flag, ran ashore with so much force that all her masts went by the board. The French subsequently burned ''Magnanime'' and ''Lys''. The rest of the French squadron had been blown from their anchorage by a gale and had taken shelter in the bay of

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

. They now slipped their cables and made their way to

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

Aftermath

The Marshal de Tessé, in consequence of this disaster, turned the siege of Gibraltar into a blockade, and withdrew the greater part of his forces on 31 March. Pointis retired from active service after this battle. Leake had not only scored a remarkable victory, but had saved Gibraltar from attack and had enhanced his already high reputation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabrita point Naval battles of the War of the Spanish Succession Naval battles involving France Naval battles involving England Naval battles involving Portugal Naval battles involving the Dutch Republic Naval battles involving Spain

Battle of Cabrita Point The Battle of Cabrita Point, also known Battle of Marbella, was a naval battle that took place while a combined Spanish-French force besieged Gibraltar on 10 March 1705 (21 March 1705 in the New Calendar) during the War of Spanish Succession. ...

History of Gibraltar 1705 in France History of the province of Málaga