Punta Carnero is a headland on the coast of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, near the city of

Algeciras Algeciras () is a city and a municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of G ...

, where the eastern end of Gallows Hill descends 200 metres to meet the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. Its most prominent feature is Punta Carnero lighthouse, which marks the entrance to the

Bay of Gibraltar The Bay of Gibraltar (), is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around long by wide, covering an area of some , with a depth of up to in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait of Gibraltar and the Med ...

and the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

. Goat Island lies near the lighthouse, and the Bay of Getares begins here.

History

In August 1415, a Portuguese fleet captained by King

John I of Portugal John I ( WP:IPA for Portuguese, �uˈɐ̃w̃ 11 April 1357 – 14 August 1433), also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in 1383–85 crisi ...

held a

Council of war A council of war conquest of Ceuta The Portuguese conquest of Ceuta took place on 21 August 1415, between Portuguese forces under the command of King John I of Portugal and the Marinid Sultanate, Marinid sultanate of Morocco at the city of Ceuta. The city's defenses fell unde ...

, while anchored off Punta Carnero.Peter Russell, ''Prince Henry 'the Navigator' A life'', Ed. Yale Nota Bene, 2001, p47-p48

References

* Madoz, Pascual (1845)
''Diccionario geográfico-estadístico-histórico de España y sus posesiones de Ultramar''p.555
{{in lang, esEstablecimiento Literario-tipográfico de P. Madoz y L. Sagasti. * Cartografía militar de España. Servicio geográfico del ejército, Madrid 1959. Hoja Nº14-48 (1.078) Geography of Spain

History

See also

References