Battle of Vigo Bay 1702
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 23 October 1702 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1702 | 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 | War of the Spanish Succession | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Dutch Republic, Kingdom of England, Kingdom of France, Kingdom of Spain | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 42.2750, -8.6750 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Vigo Bay, also known as the Battle of Rande (Galician: Batalla de Rande; Spanish: Batalla de Rande) or sometimes as the Battle of Redondela Bay, was a naval engagement fought on 23 October 1702 during the opening years of the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement followed an Anglo-Dutch attempt to capture the Spanish port of Cádiz in September in an effort to secure a naval base in the Iberian Peninsula. From this station the Allies had hoped to conduct operations in the western Mediterranean Sea, particularly against the French at Toulon.
The amphibious assault, however, had proved a disaster, but as Admiral George Rooke retreated home in early October, he received news that the Spanish treasure fleet from America, laden with silver and merchandise, had entered Vigo Bay in northern Spain. Philips van Almonde convinced Rooke to attack the treasure ships, despite the lateness of the year and the fact that the vessels were protected by French ships-of-the-line.
The Franco-Spanish fleet sought safety in Redondela Bay behind a boom with twin batteries. However, Allied marines captured the harbour batteries while an Allied ship broke the boom. The main Anglo-Dutch fleet then attacked the outnumbered and immobilized French fleet.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Vigo Bay (revision 1374900024), 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 War of the Spanish Succession
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- Battle of Chiari 1701
- Action of August 1702 1702
- Battle of Cremona 1702
- Battle of Cádiz (1702) 1702
- Battle of Friedlingen 1702
- Battle of Luzzara 1702
- Siege of Kaiserswerth 1702
- Siege of Landau (1702) 1702
- Siege of Venlo (1702) 1702
All 61 battles of the War of the Spanish Succession →
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