The Battle of Cape St Vincent of 1641 took place on 4 November 1641 when a Spanish fleet commanded by Don
Juan Alonso de Idiáquez y Robles intercepted a Dutch fleet led by Artus Gijsels during the
Eighty Years' War. After a fierce battle two Dutch ships were lost but the Dutch claimed only a hundred of their men were killed; the Spanish fleet also lost two ships but over a thousand dead. The damaged Dutch fleet was forced to abandon its planned attack on the
Spanish treasure fleet
The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet ( es, Flota de Indias, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the es, label=Spanish, plata meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to ...
.
Background
In 1641, after the outbreak of the
Portuguese Restoration War, the Portuguese government, with Dutch and French help, prepared to start the offensive against Spain at sea.
[Fernández Duro p. 270] Dom
António Telles da Silva, who had fought the Dutch in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, was designated commander of a squadron of 16 ships, which along with another 30 of the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
under Artus Gijsels, was entrusted with the mission to capture and hold the Spanish towns of Cádiz and
Sanlúcar.
The attempts failed thanks to the fortuitous encounter that they had with 5
Dunkirkers
During the Dutch Revolt (1568–1648), the Dunkirkers or Dunkirk Privateers were commerce raiders in the service of the Spanish monarchy. They were also part of the ''Dunkirk fleet'', which consequently was a part of the Spanish monarchy's ''Fl ...
under Judocus Peeters, who was chasing a flotilla of
Algerian privateers, off Cape St. Vincent.
Peeters managed to reach Cádiz without losing a single vessel and put on alert the Marquis of Ayamonte and Don
Gaspar Alfonso Pérez de Guzmán, 9th Duke of Medina Sidonia.
[Fernández Duro p. 271]
Gijsels and Telles returned to
Lisbon, where Telles was replaced by Tristão de Mendonça, former Ambassador to the Dutch Republic.
The Portuguese fleet then sailed with the French fleet of the
Marquis de Brézé,
[Saturnino Monteiro, ''Batalhas e combates da Marinha Portuguesa, Volumes 5-6'', p.225. (1997) ] while the Dutch fleet set sail in order to intercept and capture the
Spanish West Indies Fleet between the
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
and
Cape St. Vincent.
It was a hasty maneuver, since the Dutch ships had orders to return to their country if the West Indies Fleet didn't appear before November.
Battle
The Spanish squadron of Galicia, under Don Andrés de Castro, the squadron of Naples, under Don Martín Carlos de Meneos, and the
galleon
Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch W ...
s of Don Pedro de Ursúa, were urgently gathered in Cádiz to intercept the Dutch fleet.
The military governor of Cádiz, Don
Juan Alonso de Idiáquez y Robles, Duke of Ciudad Real, was appointed commander of the fleet in substitution of the Captain General, the
Duke of Maqueda, who was ill.
[Fernández Duro p. 272] He was a veteran soldier, having seen action in the Siege of Leucata against the French, but was inexperienced in sea battles.
Gijsels fleet was sighted off Cape St. Vincent on 4 November. The Duke of Ciudad Real immediately ordered to attack the major Dutch vessels. After suffering severe casualties he stopped the attack and the ships to fall back to Cádiz.
[Fernández Duro p. 273] This conduct dissatisfied King
Philip IV, who severely reprimanded, among other officers, Don Martín Carlos de Mencos, Admiral Don Pedro de Ursúa, and Captains Pedro Girón, Gaspar de Campos, and Adrián Pulido.
Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch admiral. Widely celebrated and regarded as one of the most skilled admirals in history, De Ruyter is arguably most famous for his achievements with the Dutch N ...
was present at this battle as Rear Admiral of the Dutch fleet.
Aftermath
Some of the Dutch ships under Artus Gijsels, abandoned by their Portuguese and French allies, had to sail back to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
to make repairs.
See also
*
Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1606)
The Battle of Cape St. Vincent was a naval engagement that took place on 6 October 1606, John Lothrop Motley, ''History of the United Netherlands, From the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Years' Truce, 1609'', volume 11 (Harper & Brot ...
References
Bibliography
*Cesáreo Fernández Duro: ''Armada española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y de León'', Vol. IV. Est. tipográfico Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, Madrid, 1898.
*Antonio Espinosa: ''Semanario erudito: que comprehende varias obras ineditas de nuestros mejores autores antiguos y modernos''. Don Antonio Espinosa, 1790.
*Agustín Ramón Rodríguez González: ''Victorias por mar de los Españoles'', Biblioteca de Historia, Madrid 2006.
*R. Prud’homme van Reine, ''Rechterhand van Nederland. Biografie van Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter'', (Amsterdam 1996)
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
1641 in Europe
Cape St. Vincent (1641)
Cape St. Vincent (1641)
Cape St. Vincent (1641)
Cape St. Vincent (1641)
Cape St. Vincent (1641)
Eighty Years' War (1621–1648)