Battle of Gibraltar

Battle of Gibraltar

Part of: Eighty Years War

Image of the Battle of Gibraltar

date	April 25, 1607
place	Gibraltar Bay
output	United Provinces victory

Parties to the conflict
United Netherlands	Spain
Commander
Jacob van Heemskerk †	Juan Alvarez d'Avila †
Troop strength
26 warships	21 warships
losses
at least 100 dead	14 warships, many dead

The Battle of Gibraltar took place on April 25, 1607 during the Eighty Years War , when a Dutch unit surprised a Spanish squadron in the Bay of Gibraltar . The battle, in which two thirds of the Spanish ships were sunk, ended in a Dutch victory. The battle lasted four hours.

prehistory

Admiral Jacob van Heemskerk (1567–1607)

The Republic of the United Netherlands had been in a war of independence (1568–1648) against the Kingdom of Spain for decades . It was a major problem that the annual trade convoys of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) were often threatened by Spanish squadrons operating from the coast of the Iberian Peninsula when they returned from the colonies . In 1607 the management of the VOC urged that the danger posed by these squadrons be eliminated in order to enable the merchant ships to travel safely to the Netherlands. It was therefore a fleet consisting of 26 smaller warships and four tenders under the command of Admiral Jacob van Heemskerk (1567-1607) put together and sent to Spanish waters.

The association set sail in early April 1607 and anchored off the mouth of the Tagus River on April 10 . Here one learned through spies and information from neutral merchants that the Portuguese spice fleet would not go to sea for the next few weeks and that no convoys from overseas were expected. However, it was also learned that a Spanish squadron of warships was moored in the Strait of Gibraltar . There the Spaniards would be able to intercept all Dutch trade convoys from the Levant , the Mediterranean or the southern Atlantic . Heemskerk decided to attack this Spanish association and immediately sailed to Gibraltar, where he arrived on the morning of April 25th.

The Spanish squadron under Don Juan Alvarez d'Avila was in the Bay of Gibraltar with a total of 10 galleons and 11 carracks and smaller warships. On board the ships were 4,000 soldiers in addition to the seamen, of whom 900 were on the flagship, the San Agustin , and 750 on board the large galleon Nuestra Senora de la Vega (the ship of the Spanish Vice Admiral ). Admiral Heemskerk held a council of war on board his flagship Æolus and briefed his officers on his plans. The Dutch ships were smaller, but in his view they were therefore more agile and effective, while the Spanish ships were difficult to maneuver. His plan was that he would lay his flagship alongside the Spanish flagship while the Tiger (Captain Lambert) lay on the other side. Vice-Admiral Laurenz Alteras and Captain Bras were to perform the same maneuver against the Nuestra Senora de la Vega . The remaining Dutch ships should follow directly behind the lead ships. He left only a few ships at the exit of the bay to prevent Spanish ships from escaping. When the Spaniards noticed the Dutch, they immediately prepared for their attack.

Course of the battle

Explosion of a Spanish carrack during battle, painting by Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen (around 1621)

Overall, the course of the fight was very confusing, as it took place in thick powder smoke and in a very confined space. Nevertheless, some main lines can be reconstructed. At 1:00 p.m., the Dutch ships had approached the Spanish squadron despite the weak wind, and at 3:30 p.m. the battle began. Heemskerk instructed its crew not to fire until the ships were against each other. To avoid a collision, Admiral d'Avila had the anchor ropes of the San Agustin cut so that the ship drifted behind the other Spanish ships. Heemskerk continued to pursue the Spanish flagship until it caught up with it. As soon as the Æolus and the Tiger were on the hull of the Spanish flagship, the exchange of broadsides and musket fire began. A cannonball smashed the left leg of the Dutch admiral, who died shortly afterwards. In his place, Captain Verhoef took command. In the further course of the fight, Admiral d'Avila was also killed on board the San Agustin .

Meanwhile, the Dutch Vice Admiral Alteras did not get around to attack the Nuestra Senora de la Vega , as he was initially put under pressure by two Spanish galleons himself. Three other Dutch ships therefore carried out his mission and finally fought the Nuestra Senora de la Vega down. The Spanish ship caught fire and eventually sank. But the Dutch ships too had caught fire and had to be extinguished. Vice-Admiral Alteras drifted off during his battle with the Spanish galleons towards the fortress of Gibraltar and eventually sank one of the two Spanish ships. The other was beached by his crew, badly damaged. At the same time, the ship of Captain Henry Janszoon had also been involved in the battle and set another Spanish galleon on fire.

In the early afternoon, the powder chamber of a large Spanish galleon finally exploded , presumably from the hit of a heated cannonball. The blown up, burning wreckage caused other ships to catch fire, which in turn led to the explosion of two more galleons. The Spanish occupations began to panic. Just before sunset, the San Agustin also hoisted the white flag. But since this could not be seen in the powder smoke, the ship was finally boarded by the Dutch, and most of the crew were killed. In general, at the end of the battle, a massacre began of the Spanish survivors, both those floating in the water and those on board the ships.

consequences

The Dutch admiral Jacob van Heemskerk fell during the battle (portrayal by Antonie Frederik Zürcher, 19th century)

The following day the Dutch squadron remained in the Bay of Gibraltar and attempted an attack on the fortress itself, but it failed. The Dutch seafarers therefore began to plunder the suburbs from which the population had already fled. Two Dutch ships were sent back to their home ports. On board they had 60 wounded and the body of the fallen admiral, who was buried in Amsterdam at state expense. In addition to these losses, the contemporary sources only give another 100 deaths, but no ships. This number seems to be, however, an understatement given the ferocity of the battles, but not surprising, since it was completely normal at that time that the commanders of the ships fallen sailors and soldiers continues in constantly the pay lists to get their wages or pay to acquire. The Spanish losses amounted to 14 ships sunk, burned or captured. Among these was the San Agustin , which, abandoned by the Dutch, drove to the beach and was burned there by some Spanish sailors.

The Dutch eventually left Gibraltar and cruised off the Azores , Canary Islands and along the Portuguese coast in search of prizes before heading back to the United Provinces.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} John Lothrop Motley: History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce 1609. Volume IV, London 1867.
2. ↑ It is said that the Spaniards had previously killed Dutch prisoners on board their ships, which now enraged the Dutch. Instructions are also said to have been found in the documents of the Spanish admiral, which provided for the harshest penalties against Dutch seafarers. See: John Lothrop Motley: History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce 1609. Volume IV, London 1867.
3. ↑ Captain Schwarz: Gibraltar. In: Bernhard von Poten (Ed.): Handbook of the entire military sciences. Volume IV, Leipzig and Bielefeld 1878, p. 116
4. ^ Ulrich Israel, Jürgen Gebauer: sailing warships . Military Publishing House of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin (East) 1982, p. 26.

literature

Contemporary sources

• Emanuel Meteren: Meteranus novus, that is: a real description of the Dutch War: So what happened in the whole Roman Empire, also in France, Hispania, England and other kingdoms, the same in East and West India, etc. , Iansson, Amsterdam 1640.
• Jan Wagenaar : Vaderlandsche Historie, Vervattende De Geschiedenissen, The Vereenigde Nederlanden, Inzonderheid The Van Holland, Van De Vroegste Tyden Af: Uit de geloofwaardigste Schryvers en egte Gedenkstukken seed gesteld; Met Konstplaaten en Kaarten opgehelderd. Volume IX, Tirion, Amsterdam 1753.

Newer literature

• Ulrich Israel, Jürgen Gebauer: Sailing warships . Military publishing house of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin (East) 1982, ISBN 3-327-00476-5 .
• John Lothrop Motley: History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce 1609. 4 volumes, Murray Publishings, London 1860-1867.
• Helmut Pemsel : Command of the Sea. A maritime world history from steam navigation to the present. Volume 1, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz 1994, ISBN 3-89350-711-6 .

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