| Battle of Abrolhos | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theDutch invasions of Brazil | |||||||
._Hacia_1632_Cuadro4-v2-2.jpg) The Battle of Abrolhosc. 1632, byJuan de la Corte. Oil on canvas. NavalMuseum ofMadrid. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Antonio de Oquendo | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 20 warships (5 unarmed) | 16 warships | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 galleon sunk 1 galleon captured 500 dead and 100 wounded | FlagshipPrins Willem sunk 1 or 2 other ships sunk From 350 dead and 80 wounded to about 2,000 casualties | ||||||
The navalBattle of the Abrolhos took place on 12 September 1631[1][2][3] off the coast ofPernambuco, Brazil, during theEighty Years' War. A joint Spanish-Portuguese fleet under admiralAntonio de Oquendo defeated the Dutch after a six-hour naval battle.[4]
On 5 May 1631 Spanish admiral Antonio de Oquendo leftLisbon with a fleet of about 20 men-of-war. Oquendo carried reinforcements toParaíba, Pernambuco, andBahia. On his way back to Portugal, he was to convoy ships loaded with sugar. So as to allow the Dutch extra time to get ready, he headed first for Bahia. Once the Dutch learned of his coming, their fleet in Pernambuco, led by admiral Adrian Pater, sailed to intercept the Spanish convoy. Despite having 33 ships at Pernambuco, Pater left 17 in port as he considered only 8 of Oquendo's to be battleworthy.[5] Finally, on September 12, the two fleets met around the cays.
Oquendo exitedBaía de Todos os Santos with his 44-gun, 900-ton flagshipSantiago de Oliste and 28-gun, 700-ton vice-flagshipSan Antonio; 30-gunNuestra Señora de la Concepción; 28-gunNuestra Señora del Buen Suceso; 26-gunNuestra Señora de la Anunciada; 24-gunSan Carlos; 22-gunSan Buenaventura; 20-gunSan Blas,San Francisco andSan Pedro; 18-gunSan Bartolomé, andSan Martín; plus the requisitioned FrenchpinnacesLion Doré of 10 guns (renamedSan Antonio), andSaint Pierre of 8 guns (renamedSan Pedro). These Spanish men-of-war were accompanied by the 28-gun Portuguese warshipSão Jorge; 20-gunSantiago; 19-gunSão João Baptista; 18-gunNossa Senhora dos Prazeres (Maior), andNossa Senhora dos Prazeres (Menor); plus the unarmedNossa Senhora da Boa Nova,Nossa Senhora do Rozário,Santo António,Santa Cruz, andSão Jerónimo.
This force was protecting ten unarmed Brazilian caravels bearing 1,200 troops under the Neapolitan-born cmdr. Giovanni Vincenzo de San Felice, Conde de Bagnuoli, intended to reinforce the town of Paraíba in addition to 20 Lisbon-bound sugar merchantmen. Standing away from the coast, the entire formation was driven southeast by contrary winds and currents into the vicinity of the Abrolhos (rocks 300 kilometres or 200 miles off Brazil at about 18 degrees south latitude, their name deriving from the Portuguese phrase "abre olhos-eyes open-intended" as a warning of the half-submerged dangers). On the evening of 11 September the Iberian fleet was sighted by admiral Pater, who prepared for action overnight.[6]
During Pater's voyage two of his ships became separated, leaving the Dutch admiral with his 46-gun, 1,000-ton flagship of the Dutch fleetPrins Willem and 50-gun, 800-ton Vice-flagshipGeunieerde Provintien; 38-gunProvincie Ultrecht; 34-gunWalcheren; 32-gunGriffoen andGroeningen; 30-gunHollandia andOliphant; 28-gunAmersfoort andGoeree; 26-gunMercurius; 24-gunDordrecht; 22-gunMedemblik; 20-gunFortuijn andWapen van Hoorn; plus 14-gunNiew Nederlandt.[6]
At first light the admiral summoned his captains for final instructions, then drank a toast of Brunswick beer to the day's success. The Dutch admiral Pater had formed his fleet in two lines. Pater bore down in faint east-northeasterly breezes upon Oquendo, who was 10 km (6 mi) distant, having ordered his 17 Spanish and Portuguese galleons to interpose in a half-moon crescent between the enemy and the convoy. Five ships were out of sight to the rear because they had not received the orders of admiral Oquendo:Anunciada,Buenaventura,San Carlos,San Bartolomé, and the flagship of admiral Massibradi, of the Castilian naval Squadron. The Dutch did not see them and instead maneuvered to engage the rest of the Spanish fleet.[7]
Fighting began around mid-morning, when Vice Admiral de Vallecilla's San Antonio opened fire on Thijssen's advancingGeunieerde Provintien, which closed into board along withProvincie Ultrecht.[6] About 15 minutes later de Oquendo and four other galleons opened fire on Pater's flagship, which steered directly towardSantiago de Oliste withWalcheren. The Dutch held their opening broadsides until point-blank range, then fired and grappled. A murderous engagement erupted around each flagship and vice-flag, both sides firing repeatedly into their opponents and yet unable to board. The smallest Portuguese galleon,Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres of Capt.[6] Cosme do Couto Barbosa attempted to supportSantiago de Oliste, only to drift helplessly beneath the combined guns ofPrins Willem andWalcheren and be sunk. Its place was taken by the much largerConcepción of Capt. Juan de Prado.[6] Around this time, Admiral Massibradi arrived with his five ships, tipping the balance towards the Spaniards, but the fight was still fierce.[8]
About 4 pm, a shot from de Oquendo's flagship started a blaze aboardPrins Willem, which the Spanish admiral cleverly directed his musketeers to fire at, so as to hamper Dutch fire-fighting efforts. The flames gained hold and finally drove Pater into the water, along with a few survivors, where he drowned. About this same time, de Vallecilla's vice-flag,San Antonio, broke up and went down by its stern, taking most of the complement, while its Dutch foeProvincie Ultrecht sheered off in flames and was later sunk.[6]
Thijsen'sGeunieerde Provintien was battered but in possession of a single prize – Buenaventura of Capt. Alonso de Alarcón y Molina, who had sailed toSan Antonio's side during the fighting, only to lose his life and ship. The remaining Dutch vessels were content to fire from long range – Hollandia,Amersfoort, andFortuijn being the only others to become closely engaged-while the Spaniards responded in kind.[6]
The day ended without a clear victor,[6] although depending on the sources Spanish losses may have been somewhat greater. According to David Marley, a Vice-flagship and galleon were sunk and another was taken, with 585 dead and missing (240 of these aboard the captured Buenaventura) plus 201 wounded.[6] The Dutch flagship and another man-of-war disappeared beneath the waves, leaving 350 dead and missing plus more than 80 seriously wounded. According to Miguel Esquerdo Galiana, the Dutch fleet lost 2,000 men and three galleons.[9]
However, strategically the battle was more favourably to the Iberians. Thijssen showed no inclination to renew action the next day, preferring to limp back to Recife with his mauled fleet on 21–22 September.[6] Oquendo meanwhile deposited his reinforcements at Barra Grande of Porto Calvo – only 700 of them actually reached Fort Arrail do Bom Jesus – before continuing toward Europe with his sugar convoy. The Dutch garrison at Pernambuco subsequently evacuated Olinda in November in order to concentrate its strength around Recife.[6]
18°02′00″S38°40′00″W / 18.0333°S 38.6667°W /-18.0333; -38.6667
