Battle of Gibraltar (1621) 1621
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 10 August 1621 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1621 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Spain | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Eighty Years' War, Thirty Years' War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Denmark–Norway, Dutch Republic, Hispanic Monarchy | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 36.1389, -5.3986 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Gibraltar took place on 10 August 1621, during the Eighty Years' War between the Spanish Empire and the Dutch Republic. A Dutch East India Company fleet, escorted by a squadron under Willem Haultain de Zoete, was intercepted and defeated by nine ships of Spain's Atlantic fleet under Fadrique de Toledo while passing the Strait of Gibraltar.
When the Twelve Years' Truce between Spain and the Dutch Republic ended, the Spanish wished to deal a decisive blow against the Dutch trading ships in the Mediterranean. The Spanish attempted to concentrate a fleet in the Bay of Gibraltar, but admirals Martín de Vallecilla, Juan Fajardo, and Don Francisco de Acevedo, with their respective squadrons, failed to join Toledo's squadron, which left Cádiz on 6 August 1621. Toledo thus faced the Dutch with only nine ships. Four days later, the Dutch trading fleet of more than 50 ships was sighted; 20 were warships and the rest were merchantmen.
While Toledo engaged a succession of Dutch ships with his powerful flagship, setting two on fire, the smaller Spanish galleons captured two ships and torched another. The Spanish flagship Santa Teresa was eventually dismasted and had to be taken in tow. The Dutch retreated with most of their valuable merchantmen, having lost seven ships.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Gibraltar (1621) (revision 1373705907), 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.
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Other battles of the Eighty Years' War
- Siege of Ostend 1604
- Siege of Sluis (1604) 1604
- Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1606) 1606
- Battle of Gibraltar (1607) 1607
- Battle of Playa Honda 1617
- Siege of Jülich (1621–1622) 1621
- Siege of Bergen op Zoom (1622) 1622
- Siege of Breda (1624) 1624
- Cádiz expedition (1625) 1625
- Siege of Oldenzaal (1626) 1626
All 110 battles of the Eighty Years' War →
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