Off the Algarve: Stories of naval battles

Over the years, an astonishing 13 naval battles have taken place off the Algarve coast and an overwhelming majority of them took place at Cap Saint-Vincent.  Furthermore, we also know of others, one in Cape Lagos and one in Cape Santa Maria. Some of these battles have been Portuguese victories, others have been defeats, but many of them have simply concerned only foreign belligerents in Portugal. Let’s return to this wartime history that has marked the Algarve coast over the centuries.

What do the Portuguese, French, Castilian/Spanish, British, Dutch and Brandenburg have in common? They all fought one or more battles off the Algarve coast. From the battle of Cap Saint-Vincent in the middle of the Luso-Castilian war from 1327 to 1833, when yet another battle of the same name took place at the same place between the absolutists and the Liberals. Unfortunately, southern Portugal saw many fleets defy each other at the cost of heavy human and material losses. 

The first two naval battles of the Algarve took place in the 14th century at Cap Saint-Vincent and both ended in Portugal's defeat against the Castilians.

The next four battles also took place at Cape Saint-Vincent during the 17th century. Now, It was Holland's turn to be humiliated by Spain on three occasions (in 1606, 1621 and 1641), before it faced Brandenburg, its former ally, in 1681:

As Spain refused to honour its commitments and finance part of its war effort as planned (dating back to the Dutch War), the Brandenburg sovereign sent his men to attack Spanish maritime trade. After some very promising catches, the Brandenburg fleet hoped to seize Spanish gold convoys.

The squadron then headed south on September 30th, as they saw about ten sails on the horizon, they rushed to a division of Spanish warships off Cape Saint-Vincent - this was the wrong decision! The Marquis de Villafiel and his men were looking for the squadron and after two hours of fighting, the Brandenburgers were routed with 10 dead and about 30 wounded. They found refuge in the port of Lagos, far from the Spanish guns, to repair their many damages. At the same time, the coveted gold-carrying fleet arrived quietly in the area and reached Cadiz, without a single casualty.

 

Two naval battles took place in Lagos, in 1693 and 1759, between France and England. 

That of 1693 was an admirable French victory against the Kingdom of England and the United Provinces. One fine day in June, Tourville and its 72 ships managed to destroy 50 enemy ships and capture 40 during the battle. France then inflicted "the greatest damage that the English nation had suffered in a century". The English failure resulted in a financial disaster and a series of shipowner bankruptcies in London.

In 1759, at the same place, England carried out a small act of revenge in Lagos against the French. When spotted at night at Cape Gibraltar, the English began to attack their opponent, while the French fleet having only recently scattered after their passage to Cadiz. French ships attempted to take refuge in Almadora Bay, near Lagos, Portugal as they were neutral in the conflict. But the Englishman, Edward Boscawenm did not hesitate to violate the sovereignty of this country. Under his command, the 4 French ships were attacked. At the end of the battle, 2 ships were destroyed and 3 captured by the French, while the English only had 2 damaged ships - a much-needed victory for the British.

>>> Our villas in Lagos

>>> Discover Lagos, a small jewel of the Algarve

 

Always returning to Cape Saint-Vincent, also known as "cape at the end of the world" in the Old World.

In 1780, Spain and England met twice in a "draw" during the American War of Independence. The first battle is known as the "Battle of the Moonlight" since it continued after sunset, which was quite rare in naval battles. The British came out largely victorious. But six months later, Spain managed to intercept an English convoy in the same place. Contrary to what its name indicates, "the second battle of Cap Saint-Vincent" is therefore not a battle since no battle took place. Spain suffered no losses and captured 52 vessels and their 3000 men during this successful action. 
 

The next battle, Cap Saint-Vincent, took place in 1797. Quoted in the article ‘Sagres and Cap St. Vincent: the Algarve at the end of Europe’, involved some of the great names in the navy, including the famous Horatio Nelson. At the end of this battle, the losses will be heavy on the Spanish side; with 250 dead and 550 wounded as well as 4 captured ships. Great Britain, on the other hand, managed to suffer with as little as 73 dead and 327 wounded.

It is time to take a break from Cape Saint-Vincent as we head towards Cape Santa-Maria, found off the coast of Faro, where we find a merciless battle between Spain and England.

This conflict of 5 October 1804 was a surprise attack by the British on a Spanish squadron in peacetime and without prior declaration of war. The British were seeking to intercept a Spanish convoy full of treasures. During a rapid battle between the two opposing fleets, the "Sainte-Barbe" Mercedes (where a ship's artillery powders and materials are stored) exploded, destroying the frigate and carrying with it 80% of the crew. 269 Spaniards were killed and 80 drowned. In addition, 600 Spanish sailors were captured. The British deplored only 2 casualties in the fighting and 7 drowned. The three vessels captured by the British were subsequently integrated into the Royal Navy. 

In 2007, Odyssey Marine Exploration (a Florida-based company) found 17 tonnes of Mercedes-owned gold and silver, claiming that it was all in international waters and beyond Spain's legal jurisdiction. The Spanish government accused the Odyssey team of being "pirates of the 21st century" and filed legal action on the grounds that the wreck was protected by ‘sovereign immunity’ which prohibited any form of disruption or unauthorized commercial exploitation of state-owned warships. June 2009: The Federal Court of Tampa sentences Odyssey and ordered the return of the treasure to Spain, which took place on 25 February 2012.

>>> Your luxury villa in Faro

The history of naval battles in the Algarve ends as it began, at Cape Saint-Vincent. In 1833, in the middle of the Portuguese civil war, the liberal refugees in the Azores wanted to put an end to the absolutist Dom Miguel. This was achieved with the help of the British officer and the head of their small fleets, Charles Napier (aka Carlos da Ponza, an alternative name to escape the British state fine for those serving in a foreign army). Half the Algarve army with a total of 176 guns was ready to set sail in southern Portugal and in hope of marching onto Lisbon. After a successful landing towards Cape Saint-Vincent, the liberal fleet was yet to face their far superior enemy with its numbers holding 372 guns! This would have been an extraordinary challenge.

I was to be a great accomplishment for Charles Napier and his men. As at the end of the battle, only 30 Liberals were killed and 60 wounded, while the absolutists lost 200 men, 6 ships and recorded 300 wounded. The victory was so incredible that Charles Napier was made Viscount of Cap Saint-Vincent and he recovered his rank in the Royal Navy. For Portugal, this battle partially allowed the capture of Lisbon and the overthrowing of the king.

>>> Our magnificent villas in Lisbon