The Battle of Cape San Vicente is a naval battle at Cape San Vicente ( Portugal ) in 1641 between the Spanish fleet under the command of don Juan Alonso de Idiakes and the Dutch fleet led by Artus Gijels during the Eighty- Year War . Having discovered the tactical superiority of the Spanish fleet, the Dutch decided to retreat. Spanish officers persuaded Idyakes to pursue the enemy fleet, but he chose to return to Cadiz .
| The Battle of Cape San Vicente | |||
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| Main Conflict: Eighty Years War | |||
 The battle at Cape San Vicente, thin. K.A. Flipper | |||
| date of | November 4, 1641 | ||
| A place | Cape San Vicente ( Portugal ) | ||
| Total | strategic victory of the Spaniards | ||
| Opponents | |||
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| Commanders | |||
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| Forces of the parties | |||
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| Losses | |||
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Content
- 1 Background
- 2 battle
- 3 Consequences
- 4 notes
- 5 Literature
Background
In 1641, after the outbreak of the Portuguese War of Independence, the Portuguese government, with Dutch and French help, was preparing to launch an offensive against Spain at sea [1] . António Telles da Silva, who fought against the Dutch in India, was appointed commander of a squadron of 16 ships, which, together with 30 ships of the Dutch Republic under the command of Artus Gijsels, was entrusted with the task of capturing and holding the Spanish cities of Cadiz and Sanlúcar [1] . The mission failed because of an accident: the Allied fleet met at Cape San Vicente 5 Spanish ships of Judocus Peters from the “Dunkirk Squadron”, who fought in these waters with Algerian pirates. Peters managed to reach Cadiz , without losing a single vessel, and warn of the threat of Gaspard Alfonso Perez de Guzmán, 9th Duke of Medina Sidonia [2] .
Gijsels and Telles returned to Lisbon , where Telles was replaced by Tristan de Mendoza, former Portuguese ambassador to the Netherlands [2] . Then the Portuguese fleet departed to join the French fleet of the Marquis de Breese [3], while the Dutch fleet sailed south to intercept and capture the Spanish West Indies fleet between the Azores and Cape San Vicente [2] . This was a hasty maneuver, since the Dutch ships were ordered to return home if the West Indies fleet did not appear before November [2] .
Battle
The Spanish “squadron of Galicia” don Andrea de Castro, the “squadron of Naples” don Martin Carlos de Mencos and the galleons of don Pedro de Ursua were urgently called to Cadiz with the task of intercepting the Dutch fleet [2] . The military governor of Cadiz, don Juan Alonso de Idiakes i Robles, duke of Ciudad Real, was appointed fleet commander, replacing the sick duke of Makeda [3] . Idyakes was a veteran, a participant in land battles, but he was inexperienced in naval battles [3] .
The Guisels fleet was discovered at Cape San Vicente on November 4 . Idyakes immediately ordered the Dutch ships to be attacked, sinking at least three of them and causing significant damage to the rest [3] . However, to this day there is no explanation why, at the time when the Dutch fleet became the most vulnerable and defenseless, Idyakes refused to pursue the enemy and gave the order to return to Cadiz [4] . This infuriated King Philip IV , who dismissed Idyakes and severely reprimanded other fleet officials, in particular, Don de Mencos, Don de Ursua, and captains Pedro Chiron, Gaspard de Campos, and Adrian Pulido. [3]
The Dutch lost in battle 100-200 killed and 2 ships, the Spaniards - about 1100 dead and 2 ships [5] .
The rear admiral of the Dutch fleet in this battle was the well-known future Dutch admiral Michael de Ruyter .
Consequences
The Dutch ships of Artus Gijsels, abandoned by their Portuguese and French allies, sailed to England for repair [3] .
The outcome of the battle did not affect the course of the Portuguese revolution.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Fernández Duro p. 270
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Fernández Duro p. 271
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Fernández Duro p. 272
- ↑ Fernández Duro p. 273
- ↑ (nid.) R. Prud'homme van Reine, Rechterhand van Nederland. Biografie van Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter , p. 49
Literature
- (Spanish) 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.
- (Spanish) Antonio Espinosa: Semanario erudito: que comprehende varias obras ineditas de nuestros mejores autores antiguos y modernos . Don Antonio Espinosa, 1790.
- (Spanish) Agustín Ramón Rodríguez González: Victorias por mar de los Españoles , Biblioteca de Historia, Madrid 2006.
- (nid.) R. Prud'homme van Reine, Rechterhand van Nederland. Biografie van Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter , (Amsterdam 1996)