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 Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warri ...

, was a Spanish naval commander during the

Anglo–Spanish War (1585–1604) Anglo-Spanish War may refer to: * Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), including the Spanish Armada and the English Armada * Anglo-Spanish War (1625–1630), part of the Thirty Years' War * Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660), part of the Franco-Spanish ...

and the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Re ...

Notable military actions

In 1588, he should have been part of a second fleet and give support to the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an a ...

that was trying to invade England. After the failure of that fleet, he transported infantry troops to La Coruña and Lisbon, in preparation of an incoming English counter-offensive. In 1589, after the failure of the English "Invincible", commanded by Francis Drake, Alonso de Bazan went after the English fleet with his galleys and managed to seize three ships of the retreating Drake's forces off Lisbon. In 1590, at the start of the

Brittany Campaign The Brittany Campaign or the Campaign of Brittany was a military occupation of the Brittany region of France by Spain. It began in the summer 1590 when Philippe-Emmanuel de Lorraine, Duke of Mercœur and governor of Brittany, offered the ...

he transported some

Tercio A ''tercio'' (; Spanish for " third") was a military unit of the Spanish Army during the reign of the Spanish Habsburgs in the early modern period. The tercios were renowned for the effectiveness of their battlefield formations, forming the e ...

troops from the peninsula to France to help the Catholics in their fight against the French Protestants. September 9, 1591, was the date of his greatest military action of his career: the Battle of Flores, where a fleet of 55 vessels he commanded fought and defeated the 22-ship fleet of Thomas Howard, 1st Count of Suffolk, who was trying to capture 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 ...

. In 1594, in the Azores, he defeated another English fleet, led by the Count of Cumberland, that was trying to attack the ships coming from America. In 1597, he took part in another victory against the English fleet, the

Essex-Raleigh Expedition The Islands Voyage, also known as the Essex-Raleigh Expedition, was an ambitious, but unsuccessful naval campaign sent by Queen Elizabeth I of England, and supported by the United Provinces, against Spain during the Anglo–Spanish War (1585� ...

. In 1604, he died, being replaced by Admiral Luis Fajardo in his position left as captain general of the Navy of the Ocean Sea.

References

16th-century Spanish people 17th-century Spanish people Spanish people of the Eighty Years' War People of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) {{Spain-mil-bio-stub