Battle of Flores (1591) 1591
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1591 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Portugal | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Islands & open ocean | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Anglo-Spanish War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Hispanic Monarchy, Kingdom of England | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 39.5119, -31.1819 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Flores was a naval engagement during the Brittany Campaign of the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585 fought off the Island of Flores between an English fleet of 22 ships under Lord Thomas Howard and a Spanish fleet of 55 ships under Alonso de Bazán. Sent to the Azores to capture the annual Spanish treasure convoy, when a stronger Spanish fleet appeared off Flores, Howard ordered his ships to flee to the north, saving all of them except the galleon Revenge commanded by Admiral Sir Richard Grenville.
After transferring his ill crewmen onshore back to his ship, he led the Revenge in a rearguard action against 55 Spanish ships, allowing the English fleet to retire to safety. The crew of the Revenge sank and damaged several Spanish ships during a day-and-night running battle. The Revenge was boarded many times by different Spanish ships, and repelled each attack successfully. When Admiral Sir Richard Grenville was badly wounded, his surviving crew surrendered. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, wrote a poem about the battle, entitled The Revenge: a Ballad of the Fleet.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Flores (1591) (revision 1371696375), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Flores (1592) 1592 · 0 km
- Action of Faial 1594 · 261 km
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- Siege of São Filipe 1641 · 354 km
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Other battles of the Anglo-Spanish War
- Battle of Cartagena de Indias (1586) 1586
- Battle of Santo Domingo (1586) 1586
- Battle of Bayona Islands (1590) 1590
- Capture of Breda (1590) 1590
- Siege of Rouen (1591–1592) 1591
- Battle of Flores (1592) 1592
- Siege of Caudebec 1592
- Battle of Blaye 1593
- Action of Faial 1594
- Action of San Mateo Bay 1594
All 33 battles of the Anglo-Spanish War →
Browse more: battles in Portugal · Islands & open ocean · Early modern battles