The La Herradura Naval Disaster took place on October 19, 1562 in the bay of
La Herradura
La Herradura is a seaside resort on Spain's Costa Tropical, part of the borough of Almuñécar, in the province of Granada, Andalucía. It is on Granada's south-western coast, 70 kilometres east of Málaga.
History
La Herradura's first settl ...
,
Almuñécar
Almuñécar () is a Spanish city and municipality located in the southwestern part of the comarca of the Costa Granadina, in the province of Granada. It is located on the shores of the Mediterranean sea and borders the Granadin municipalities of ...
, Spain. A major storm sank 25 ships out of a fleet of 28 sheltering in the bay, and some 5,000 people were drowned.
King
Philip II of Spain
Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
had gathered a fleet in
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 ...
to relieve Spanish-held
Oran
Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
, which was under
siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
On October 18, 28
galley
A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
s, loaded with supplies, soldiers and their families, set sail under the command of
Juan de Mendoza y Carrillo,
Captain General
Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title.
History
The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Command ...
of the Galleys of Spain.
A strong easterly storm blew up, so Mendoza took shelter in La Herradura Bay. This is a horseshoe-shaped bay, opening towards the south-west, and he had safely anchored there several times before in similar conditions. However, on the morning of October 19 the wind direction unexpectedly changed to blow from the south and the storm turned into a
cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...
. Despite efforts to beach the ships, high winds and waves threw them onto each other and the rocks of the Punta de la Mona headland.
Of the 28 galleys, 25 sank and between 3,000 and 5,000 people died. The surviving ships were ''La Soberana'', ''Mendoza'' and ''San Juan'' on the seaward side of the fleet that were blown eastward around Punta de la Mona into more sheltered waters.
Some 2,000 people rescued themselves by swimming ashore. Many of them were naked
galley slaves
A galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley, either a convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar ('' French'': galérien), or a kind of human chattel, often a prisoner of war, assigned to the duty of rowing.
In the ancient Mediterranea ...
who were unburdened by the boots, clothing and armour of the sailors and soldiers but who then survived harsh months of winter weather and starvation before being recaptured.
This was a further blow for the Spanish Navy, which had just suffered a defeat in the
Battle of Djerba
The Battle of Djerba ( tr, Cerbe) took place in May 1560 near the island of Djerba, Tunisia. The Ottomans under Piyale Pasha's command overwhelmed a large joint Christian Alliance fleet, composed chiefly of Spanish, Papal, Genoese, Maltese, ...
. Nevertheless, Oran and
Mers El Kébir
Mers El Kébir ( ar, المرسى الكبير, translit=al-Marsā al-Kabīr, lit=The Great Harbor ) is a port on the Mediterranean Sea, near Oran in Oran Province, northwest Algeria. It is famous for the attack on the French fleet in 1940, in t ...
were successfully defended against the Ottomans.
In 1604, author
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...
– who himself fought aboard galleys in the
Battle of Lepanto
The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...
– referred to the event in his book ''
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
'':
A plaque with this quote can be found near the town's
Saint Joseph’s church.
A monument on La Herradura’s seafront commemorates the tragedy. Erected in 1990, it is by Granada-based sculptor Miguel Moreno.
References
Sources
Naufrágio en La HerraduraLa Herradura Monument
{{coord missing, Spain
Maritime incidents in Spain
1562 in Spain
Maritime disasters