The Battle of Ameixial, was fought on 8 June 1663, near the village of Santa Vitória do Ameixial, some north-west of Estremoz, between Spanish and Portuguese as part of the

Portuguese Restoration War The Portuguese Restoration War ( pt, Guerra da Restauração) was the war between History of Portugal (1640–1777), Portugal and Habsburg Spain, Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon (1668), ...

. In Spain, the battle is better known as the Battle of Estremoz. In the spring of 1663, the Spanish had undertaken their most successful attack on Portugal, since the beginning of the war. Under command of John of Austria the Younger, son of

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

(and the conqueror of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

and of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

and winner of the French in Italy), the greater part of the south of Portugal was overrun. The important city of

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old to ...

was taken on 22 May, opening perspectives for a march on Lisbon, to the west. But the lack of ammunition, food and money paralysed the Spanish army. The Portuguese raised a 17,000 men strong army led by Sancho Manoel de Vilhena, aided by Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg, Fernando de Meneses, Count of Ericeira and other senior officers, and marched against the Spanish. The Spanish commander decided to retreat to a strategic position at the north east of Évora and wait for the enemy, leaving a garrison of 3,700 in Évora. The Portuguese army was reinforced by three regiments (1 cavalry & 2 infantry) of about 3,000 troops, from England (mostly from around the British isles) which were put under the command of the Duke of Schomberg. Also included were a small number of mercenaries from France. Of this foreign contingent, almost 2,000 English fought in Ameixial, about 1600 incorporated in the infantry and 300 in the cavalry. The standard of Don John of Austria was captured when his squadron was almost totally killed.''The Manuscripts of J. M. Heathcote'', pp. 111-12 The standard was later presented to King Afonso VI of Portugal himself. The Spanish casualties were very high, all of their artillery and baggage was captured, and the army was forced to retreat to

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The population ...

in Extremadura. When the Spanish garrison of Évora of 3,700 men capitulated on 24 June 1663, the whole expedition was a complete failure. The independence of the Kingdom of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

was saved while the military career of John of Austria ended. A memorial stone was placed on the site of the battlefield. The battle is memorialized in a prominent

azulejo ''Azulejo'' (, ; from the Arabic ''al- zillīj'', ) is a form of Spanish and Portuguese painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. ''Azulejos'' are found on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, resta ...

of the Room of the Battles () in the Palace of the Marquises of Fronteira, created in 1671-1672.The inscription in Portuguese reads as follows:

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Ameixial Ameixial Ameixial 1663 in Portugal Conflicts in 1663 Ameixial Estremoz

See also

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