Lope de Hoces ( fl. 1619 – 21 October 1639) was a Spanish admiral who was killed in action at the

Battle of the Downs The Battle of the Downs took place on 21 October 1639 (New Style), during the Eighty Years' War. A Spanish fleet, commanded by Admiral Antonio de Oquendo, was decisively defeated by a Dutch force under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp. Vict ...

Naval career

Nothing is known about his birthplace or youth. He is first mentioned in 1619 as commander of a squadron heading for the Caribbean. In 1621 De Hoces became interim Admiral of the Ocean Fleet, in the absence of Fadrique de Toledo. In 1626 he was fighting against the Dutch in Brazil. In 1633, Lope de Hoces captured the Dutch controlled island of St. Martin but in 1635 he failed to retake

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...

. After another indecisive sea battle on 19 February 1636, he returned to Spain, where a new Franco-Spanish war had broken out. De Hoces was stationed in La Coruña and launched two raids against the French and Dutch in the English Channel, in which he captured or sank 12 enemy ships. In 1637, a convoy under Lope de Hoces captured 32 enemy ships in the English Channel when returning from the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...

. In June 1638 a large French army crossed the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

to besiege Fuenterrabía. The French army was accompanied by a fleet of 44 French warships under

Henri de Sourdis Henri d'Escoubleau de Sourdis, 20 February 1593 to 18 June 1645, was a French naval commander and Archbishop of Bordeaux. Like many churchmen of his day, de Sourdis was a military man as well as a prelate. He fought in the Thirty Years' War an ...

. De Hoces was ordered to attack the French fleet but had only 12 ships at his disposal. The Spanish took up defensive positions before the bay of Guetaria. In the following Battle of Guetaria, the Spanish fleet was battered by superior French firepower, and finished off by fireships which burned the entire fleet, except the ''Santiago''. Only 1,000 Spanish survivors reached the shores, including Lope de Hoces.

Battle of the Downs

In 1639, another large convoy of 75 ships and 24,000 soldiers and sailors was prepared to resupply the Spanish Netherlands. The convoys command was offered to Lope de Hoces, but he turned it down, as a result the command passed to

Antonio de Oquendo Antonio de Oquendo y Zandategui (October 1577 in San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa – 7 June 1640, in A Coruña) was a Spanish admiral; in 1639 he was in command of the Spanish forces at the Battle of the Downs. Naval career Antonio was the son of ...

, commander of the Mediterranean fleet. On 15 September the fleet was intercepted near the

Strait of Dover The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait (french: Pas de Calais - ''Strait of Calais''), is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, separating Great Britain from continent ...

by the squadron of Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral

Maarten Tromp Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (also written as ''Maerten Tromp''; 23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653) was a Dutch army general and admiral in the Dutch navy. Son of a ship's captain, Tromp spent much of his childhood at sea, including being captured ...

, who was reinforced two days later by a flotilla of Vice-Admiral

Witte de With Witte Corneliszoon de With (28 March 1599 – 8 November 1658) was a Dutch naval officer. He is noted for planning and participating in a number of naval battles during the Eighty Years War and the First Anglo-Dutch war. Early life and chil ...

. De Oquendo took refuge in The Downs, in neutral English waters at the coast of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. On 21 October the Dutch fleet, grown to over a hundred ships, violated English neutrality and attacked the Spanish fleet, succeeding in destroying or capturing many enemy vessels. Lope de Hoces sailed on the ''Santa Teresa'' towards the Dutch fleet, but he was killed by two gunshot wounds. The ''Santa Teresa'' was set on fire by a fireship and burned with great loss of life.

References

Sources

Biografía de Don Lope de Hoces y Córdova
{{Authority control 1639 deaths Spanish admirals 17th-century Spanish people Naval commanders of the Eighty Years' War Year of birth unknown Military personnel of the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)