Capture Of Cádiz
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The capture of Cádiz in 1596 was an event during the Anglo-Spanish War, when
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and
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troops under
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during th ...
, and a large Anglo-Dutch fleet under
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
, with support from the Dutch United Provinces, raided the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
city of
Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...
. Due to the Spanish commander's lack of foresight and organisation, the Anglo-Dutch forces met little resistance. In order to deny the raiders their prize, the Spanish set fire to the treasure fleet anchored in the
Bay of Cádiz The Bay of Cádiz is a body of water in the province of Cádiz, Spain, adjacent to the southwestern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The Bay of Cádiz adjoins the Gulf of Cádiz, a larger body of water which is in the same area but further offsh ...
. The attacking forces disembarked, captured, sacked, and burned the city and took hostage several of the city's prominent citizens, who were taken back to England to await payment of their ransom. The economic losses caused during the sacking were numerous: the city was burned, as was the fleet, in what was one of the principal English victories in the course of the war. Despite its failure in its primary objective of seizing the
Spanish treasure fleet The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet (, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790, which linked Spain with its Spanish Empi ...
's
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
, the raid contributed to Spain's declaration of bankruptcy the following year.


Background

On 13 June 1596 the fleet set sail from
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
. The fleet comprised 150 English and Dutch ships, 17 of which belonged to the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
, divided into four squadrons with 6,360 private soldiers, 1,000 English volunteers, and 6,772 sailors.
William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...

''Annales''
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
, was the admiral commanding the fleet, while the landing forces were under the command of
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during th ...
,
Lord Thomas Howard Lord Thomas Howard (1511 – 31 October 1537) was an English courtier at the court of King Henry VIII. He is chiefly known for his marriage (later invalidated by Henry) to Lady Margaret Douglas (1515–1578), the daughter of Henry VIII's si ...
, Sir
Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...
, and Sir
Francis Vere Sir Francis Vere (1560/6128 August 1609) was a prominent England, English soldier serving under Queen Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth I fighting mainly in the Low Countries during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) and the Eighty Years' War. ...
each commanding their respective units. Anthony Ashley was the Clerk of the Privy Council and was a representative of
Queen Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
. Cristóvão and Manuel of Portugal, sons of
António of Portugal Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular m ...
, and supposedly Antonio Pérez, were also on board, although without command.Documentos relativos a la toma y saco de Cádiz por los ingleses
pp. 205–435, de la
Real Academia de la Historia The Royal Academy of History (, RAH) is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of c ...
.
These forces were joined by another 20 ships from the United Provinces, with 2,000 men on board, who under the command of Admiral John de Duyvenvoorde, Lord of Warmond, were put under English orders.
John Lothrop Motley John Lothrop Motley (April 15, 1814 – May 29, 1877) was an American author and diplomat. As a popular historian, he is best known for his works on the Netherlands, the three volume work ''The Rise of the Dutch Republic'' and four volume ''His ...

''History of the United Netherlands''
The city of Cádiz, with approximately 6,000 inhabitants, was one of the principal Spanish ports and point of departure for the Spanish treasure fleet for
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
.


Capture

On Saturday, 29 June, there arrived in Cádiz news coming from
Lagos, Portugal Lagos (; ) is a city and concelho, municipality at the mouth of Bensafrim River and along the Atlantic Ocean, in the Barlavento region of the Algarve, in southern Portugal. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 31,049, in an area of 212.99 ...
in the
Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...
, advising of the presence of an English fleet. At that moment there were in the Bay of Cádiz some 40 Spanish ships, ranging from
galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...
s to
galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...
s, as well as 16 other vessels from the Spanish convoy, which were disarmed and ready to depart for the West Indies. These unarmed vessels immediately fled to
Puerto Real Puerto Real () is a municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. , it had a population of 42,151. The town is located on the northern shore of the inner lobe of the Bay of Cádiz. It wa ...
for refuge. Juan Portocarrero and
Alonso de Bazán Alonso de Bazán, son of Admiral Álvaro de Bazán the Elder, Marquis del Viso, and brother of the better known Admiral Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, was a Spanish naval commander during the Anglo–Spanish War (1585–1604) and ...
weighed anchor in front of the Spanish galleys, intending to prevent the Anglo-Dutch fleet from passing into the interior of the bay. On Sunday, 30 June at 2 o'clock in the morning, the Anglo-Dutch fleet could be seen from Cádiz, but it could not enter the bay due to bad weather. At 5 o'clock in the morning, both sides commenced an intense artillery barrage. After two hours, the Spanish fleet, outnumbering the English, had to retreat to the interior of the bay. In the fray, the Spanish galleons ''San Andrés'' and ''San Mateo'' were captured, while the ''San Felipe'' and ''Santo Tomás'' sank, set fire by their captains in the face of possible capture by the Anglo-Dutch forces. They entered the bay at 8 o'clock in the morning. By midday, reinforcements sent by the Duke of Medina-Sidonia,
Alonso Pérez de Guzmán Alonso Pérez de Guzmán (1256–1309), known as ''Guzmán el Bueno'' ("Guzmán the Good"), was a Spanish nobleman and hero of Spain during the Middle Ages, medieval period. Guzmán is the progenitor of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia, the oldes ...
arrived in Cádiz from
Vejer de la Frontera Vejer de la Frontera is a Spanish hilltop town and municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, on the right bank of the river Barbate. The town of Vejer de la Frontera occupies a low hill overlooking the Straits of Gibraltar and surrounded ...
,
Jerez Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Located in southwestern Iberia, it lies on the Campi ...
,
Arcos de la Frontera Arcos de la Frontera () is a town and municipality in the Sierra de Cádiz comarca, province of Cádiz (province), Cádiz, in Andalusia, Spain. Location Arcos de la Frontera is 64 km N-E of Cádiz and 35 km E-N-E of Jerez de la Front ...
,
Medina-Sidonia Medina Sidonia is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. Considered by some to be the oldest city in Europe, it is used as a military defence location because of its elevation. ...
, Puerto Real, and
Chiclana de la Frontera Chiclana de la Frontera () is a town and municipality in southwest Spain, in the province of Cádiz, Andalucía, near the Gulf of Cádiz. It belongs to the association of municipalities of the Bay of Cádiz (Bahía de Cádiz), the provincial capita ...
. For the most part, the soldiers were new and poorly armed. These reinforcements were joined by 5,000 men deployed from Santa Catalina and San Felipe. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, no more than 200 Englishmen disembarked on El Puntal, bringing under fire the Spanish forces charged with its defense. The forces had been sent into battle with nobody in command. Before 5 o'clock in the afternoon, the English advance force took control of the city with scarcely any resistance, while another part of the army advanced toward Point Zuazo in
San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...
, which was defended by Spanish forces. In the skirmishes in front of the city, each side lost approximately 25 men. The fort of San Felipe surrendered the next day. The poor state of the artillery, shortage of ammunition, and poor preparation of the forces and the lack of organization by Spanish authorities all motivated the scant resistance against attacking forces. The defensive tactics had to be improvised by Captain Pedro de Guía, the Mayor of Cádiz Antonio Girón, and the Duke of Medina-Sidonia in Jerez. As was stated afterwards: "...the disorder had been, after the will of the Lord, the cause of the loss of this city, because all were heads of command and none were feet that would follow, and that is how they lost, for not having either feet or head." As a result of his contributions
Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex, Order of the Garter, KG (12 June 1573 – 22 September 1629) was an English peer, ambassador and military officer. Life He was the only son of Henry Radclyffe, 4th Earl of Sussex and his wife Honora Pounde ...
, was knighted by the Earl of Essex for his role in taking the city.


Sack of Cádiz

Already in possession, the English and Dutch troops dedicated themselves to sacking the city. Churches and people's houses were the object of pillaging, although the troops did respect the integrity of the people themselves: "They treated very well the people and in particular the women, not offending them in any way." (Lope de Valenzuela) Before it was possible for the English forces to capture the Spanish fleet taking refuge in Puerto Real, Medina-Sidonia ordered its destruction. 32 ships, including the armada's galleys and the vessels from the treasure fleet, were burned. The next day, 3 July, the city's civil and ecclesiastical authorities made a pact with the English troops allowing the citizens of Cádiz to leave in exchange for a ransom of 120,000 ducats and the freedom of 51 English prisoners captured in past campaigns. The ''gaditanos'' (citizens of Cádiz) left the city for Point Zuazo with nothing more than they could carry. In guarantee of payment of the agreed-on ransom, various prominent citizens of the city were kept as hostages, including the president of the
Casa de Contratación The ''Casa de Contratación'' (, House of Trade) or ''Casa de la Contratación de las Indias'' ("House of Trade of the Indies") was established by the Crown of Castile, in 1503 in the port of Seville (and transferred to Cádiz in 1717) as a cro ...
, the mayor, council members, and religious figures. The Earl of Essex, Francis Vere and the Dutch commanders demonstrated support for keeping the city in Anglo-Dutch hands, provisioning and garrisoning it for use as a base of operations. This seems to have been contrary to the wishes of Admiral Howard and the rest of the English officials, who considered it to be a hazardous enterprise due to an eventual Spanish counterattack and was against the orders of the English Queen, frustrating plans for occupying the city. On 14 July, the English burned Cádiz and the next day they left the bay, taking the hostages with them since the Spanish authorities had not been able to pay the ransom.


Portugal

On its return trip to England, the fleet disembarked at and burned
Faro, Portugal Faro ( , ), officially the City of Faro (), is a Concelho, municipality, the southernmost city and capital of the district of Faro District, the same name, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. With an estimated population of 67,566 inhabi ...
. The raiders also took away with them the contents of the library of the Bishop of Lisbon, and the books were donated to the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
by the
Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...
on their return to England. On the heights of
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, they received news of the imminent arrival of the treasure fleet in the
Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
. The Earl of Essex proposed to capture the fleet, but Admiral Howard opposed him, saying that it would be contrary to orders. With that, the fleet resumed its journey to Plymouth, where they arrived a few days later.


Aftermath

The sacking of Cádiz in 1596 was one of the worst Spanish defeats in the course of the war, together with an earlier attack on the city in 1587, as well as the loss of the Armada in 1588. The economic losses produced by the Earl of Essex's expedition against the city and the anchored fleet in the port, estimated at 5 million ducats, contributed to the bankruptcy of the royal treasury that same year. Nevertheless, the recuperative capacity of the Spanish Armada was proven with the organization of a fleet that in October 1596, known as the
2nd Spanish Armada The Second Spanish Armada also known as the Spanish Armada of 1596Wernham pp. 139–140 was a naval operation that took place during the Anglo–Spanish War. Another invasion of England or Ireland was attempted in the autumn of 1596 by King Phi ...
under the command of Martín de Padilla, set sail against the English coast. A storm in the
Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...
however caused heavy losses and the fleet staggered back to port. Philip though still bent on revenge for the sack of Cádiz was determined for the operation to go ahead. So the following year in September a rushed and poorly organised
3rd Spanish Armada The Third Spanish Armada, also known as the Spanish Armada of 1597, was involved in a major naval event that took place between 18 October and 15 November 1597 as part of the Anglo–Spanish War.Graham pp. 212–213 The attack of the armada, wh ...
set sail. Again a storm put paid to the operation just off the English coast dispersing the fleet, driving some ashore with others captured. The city of Cádiz remained devastated; in addition to the churches and hospitals, 290 out of a total of 1,303 houses burned. After the departure of the English and Dutch, the Spanish authorities considered the possibility of fortifying the city or dismantling it and relocating it to
Puerto de Santa María Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...
. The military engineers Luis Bravo de Laguna, Tuburzio Spannocchi, Peleazzo Fratín, and Cristóbal de Rojas all presented plans for these options. Finally, it was decided to follow the plans laid out by Cristóbal de Rojas, who began construction of the fortifications in 1598. Philip II gave the city a ten-year extension on the payment of taxes. Every attempt to repeat the raid, over the course of the next two centuries, failed. The hostages would not be freed until July 1603, after the death of Elizabeth I and her succession by
James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...
. The next year, Spain and England ended the war with the signing of the
Treaty of London (1604) A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventio ...
. However, the English would later try to repeat this raid in the ill-fated Cádiz Expedition of 1625.


Miscellany

* The story of the 1596 expedition to Cádiz, recounted by the English historian
Richard Hakluyt Richard Hakluyt (; 1553 – 23 November 1616) was an English writer. He is known for promoting the British colonization of the Americas, English colonization of North America through his works, notably ''Divers Voyages Touching the Discov ...
in his book ''The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation'', was suppressed in the first editions by order of Elizabeth I, supposedly because of tensions between the queen and the Earl of Essex. * The attack on Cádiz, in the course of which the English troops seized a large quantity of
sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...
''(vino de Jerez)'', contributed to the popularization in England of the consumption of this drink, giving rise to the legend that the attacking troops sacked the city in order to capture the wine. *
Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...
dedicated a satirical sonnet to the troops that the Duke of Medina-Sidonia and Captain Becerra led to Cádiz after the English troops' departure.«A la entrada del duque de Medina en Cádiz»
* It was during this battle that according to eyewitnesses the Earl of Essex famously scaled the walls of Cádiz single-handedly * It is a major element in the plot of the historical novel ''The Grove of Eagles'' by
Winston Graham Winston Mawdsley Graham OBE, born Winston Grime (30 June 1908 – 10 July 2003), was an English novelist best known for the ''Poldark'' series of historical novels set in Cornwall, though he also wrote numerous other works, including contemp ...
. * English troops desecrated a statue of the Virgin Mother and Child when it was taken from a Cádiz church to the market square. Afterwards the mutilated statue named ''Our Lady Vulnerata'' was brought to the Chapel at the English College in Valladolid in 1600 by the priests and seminarians to make reparation for the behaviour of their fellow countrymen. * Thomas Gates, the future governor of Jamestown in 1610, was knighted by the Earl of Essex for bravery during the battle. *
Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex, Order of the Garter, KG (12 June 1573 – 22 September 1629) was an English peer, ambassador and military officer. Life He was the only son of Henry Radclyffe, 4th Earl of Sussex and his wife Honora Pounde ...
, was knighted by the Earl of Essex for the taking of Cádiz.


References


Notes


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cadiz Conflicts in 1596 Naval battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)
Capture Capture may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Capture", a song by Simon Townshend * Capture (band), an Australian electronicore band previously known as Capture the Crown * ''Capture'' (TV series), a reality show Television episodes * "Chapter ...
1596 in Spain 1596 in Europe Battles involving the Dutch Republic Battles involving England Battles involving Spain Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) 1596 in the British Empire