⚔ Battlefields of the World

Battle of Cádiz (1669) 1669

Battle of Cádiz (1669): Willem van de Velde the Younger - The "Mary Rose" Action, 28 December 1669 - RCIN 405223 - Royal Collection
Image: Willem van de Velde the Younger, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.

Key facts

Year1669Wikidata P585 (point in time)
EraEarly modern (1500–1799)derived from year
Nearest landmassAt sea (nearest continent: Europe)Natural Earth (modern borders)
ContinentEuropeNatural Earth
ParticipantsKingdom of England, Regency of AlgiersWikidata P710
Coordinates36.4922, -6.3956Wikidata P625

About the battle

The Battle of Cádiz was fought on 18–19 December 1669 off Cádiz between the English Royal Navy warship HMS Mary Rose under Rear-admiral John Kempthorne, which was escorting several English merchantmen, and a squadron of seven Barbary corsairs operating out of the Regency of Algiers. The incident was recorded and drawn by the engraver Wenceslaus Hollar, with an engraving appearing in John Ogilby's 1670 work Africa.

The action occurred while Mary Rose was returning from a diplomatic mission to Al-Rashid of Morocco that had been conducted by Lord Henry Howard, with Hollar accompanying him in order to complete some drawings and maps of Tangier that he had begun some years earlier. The frigate was towing a merchant ship, King David, that Kempthorne had recaptured from Algerian corsairs, and was accompanied by five other vessels.

The convoy encountered a squadron of seven Barbary corsairs on 18 December 1669, with six attacking Mary Rose while one pursued King David that Kempthorne had cut loose. The corsairs withdrew as night fell, resuming their attack on the morning of the 19th. Despite Mary Rose sustaining damage to all three masts, she held off the attack, and the corsairs withdrew, capturing only King David.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Cádiz (1669) (revision 1370438074), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.

Location

36.4922, -6.3956 · At sea

Google Maps OpenStreetMap

Nearby battles

Browse more: battles at sea · Europe · Early modern battles

Further reading