Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1657)
Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife | |||||||
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Part of Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660) | |||||||
Robert Blake's flagship George at the battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1657. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Spanish Empire | The Protectorate | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Admiral Diego de Egües y Beaumont Alonso Dávila y Guzmán |
Admiral Robert Blake Sir Richard Stayner | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
2 galleons,[a] 9 merchant ships,[b] 5 other vessels, 1 castle and various shore gun emplacements | 23 warships[5] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
12 ships sunk, 5 captured[6][c] 300 killed[8] |
1 ship severely damaged, 48 killed & 120 wounded[9][10] | ||||||
The Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was a military operation in the
Background
England, ruled at the time by
Blake kept the fleet at sea throughout an entire winter in order to maintain the blockade. During this period a Spanish convoy was
Blake's fleet arrived off Santa Cruz on 19 April. Santa Cruz lies in a deeply indented bay and the harbour was defended by a castle,
Battle
The attack began at 9:00 am on 20 April (of the Julian calendar still used in England by then; 30 April of the Gregorian calendar). Stayner's division manoeuvred alongside the Spanish ships, which protected the English ships to some extent from the guns of the castle and forts. No shot was fired from the English ships until they had moved into position and dropped anchor. While the frigates attacked the galleons, Blake's heavier warships sailed into the harbour to bombard the shore defences. Blake ordered that no prizes were to be taken; the Spanish fleet was to be utterly destroyed.[18] Most of the Spanish fleet, made up of smaller armed merchantmen, were quickly silenced by the superior gunnery of Stayner's warships. The two galleons fought on for several hours. Blake's division cleared the breastworks and smaller forts; smoke from the gunfire and burning ships worked to the advantage of the English by obscuring their ships from the Spanish batteries.[18]
Around noon, the flagship of the Spanish admiral, Don Diego de Egues, caught fire; shortly afterwards she was destroyed when her powder magazine exploded. English sailors took to boats to board Spanish ships and set them on fire. By 3:00 pm, all sixteen Spanish ships in the harbour were sunk, ablaze or had surrendered. According to other reports, twelve Spanish merchants survived the attack.[19] Contrary to orders, Swiftsure and four other frigates each took a surrendered ship as a prize and attempted to tow them out of the harbour. Blake sent peremptory orders that the prizes were to be burnt. He had to repeat his order three times before the reluctant captains obeyed.[10][20]
Having achieved its objective of destroying the Spanish vessels, the English fleet was faced with the hazardous task of withdrawing from Santa Cruz harbour under continuing fire from the forts. According to accounts the wind suddenly shifted from the north-east to the south-west at exactly the right moment to carry Blake's ships out of the harbour;
Aftermath
The Spanish treasure from Mexico had been unloaded and secured ashore.[2][22] Blake was unable to seize it but it was also temporarily unavailable to the government in Madrid. According to historian John Barratt, the battle was a major victory and one of Blake's greatest exploits; he had penetrated a heavily defended harbour, burnt twelve Spanish ships and captured another five which were later destroyed.[1] Blake's force had suffered no more than 48 men killed and 120 wounded.[2]
News of the battle reached England the following month. It was inaccurately presented as a victory over 16 Spanish galleons.
The victory boosted the image of Cromwell's navy throughout Europe. Some of the Santa Cruz plate was captured when a hired Dutch ship was seized as it attempted to break the blockade of Cadiz.
Ships involved
Blake's fleet comprised 22 vessels:[27]
The Spanish fleet comprised two war vessels:
- Jesús María, under D. Diego de Egües
- Concepción, under D. José Centeno
See also
Notes
- ^ They were Jesús María, under D. Diego de Egues, and Concepción, under D. José Centeno.[4]
- ^ They were Nuestra Señora de los Reyes, Capt. Roque Galindo; San Juan Colorado, Capt. Sebastián Martínez; Santo Cristo de Buen Viaje, Capt. Pedro de Arana; Campechano grande, Capt. Pedro de Urguía; Campechano chico, Capt. Miguel de Elizondo; Vizcaína, Capt. Cristóbal de Aguilar; Sacramento, Capt. Francisco de Villegas; Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, Capt. Istueta; and a patache under Pedro de Orihuela.[4]
- ^ 2 galleons scuttled, 9 merchant ships scuttled[7]
References
- ^ a b Barratt (2006), p. 176.
- ^ a b c Powell (1972), pp. 311–313.
- ^ Grolier (1990), p. 325.
- ^ a b Fernández Duro (1900), p. 25.
- ^ a b Clowes (1898), p. 215.
- ^ Barratt (2016), p. 5.
- ^ Fernández Duro (1900), pp. 24–28.
- ^ de Barrionuevo (1893), pp. 285–287.
- ^ a b Allen (1852), p. 52.
- ^ a b c Barratt (2006), p. 182.
- ^ Manganiello (2004), p. 481.
- ^ Barratt (2016), pp. 6–8.
- ^ Barratt (2016), pp. 8, 9.
- ^ Barratt (2016), p. 8.
- ^ Barratt (2016), p. 9.
- ^ Barratt (2016), pp. 9, 10.
- ^ Anderson (1952), p. 145.
- ^ a b Barratt (2006), p. 181.
- ^ a b Olaya, Vicente G. (28 September 2019). "El 'Google Maps' del XVII que revela la verdad de la batalla de Santa Cruz". El País.
- ^ Lavery (2003), p. 159.
- ^ Powell (1972), p. 309.
- ^ a b Barratt (2016), p. 10.
- ^ Barratt (2006), p. 183.
- ^ Barratt (2006), p. 177.
- ^ Cesáreo Fernández Duro: Bosquejo biográfico del almirante D. Diego de Egües y Beaumont (1892), pp. 61-62.
- ^ Fernández Duro (1900), pp. 56–58.
- ISBN 978-0-85052-623-3.
References
- OCLC 1015099422.
- Allen, Joseph (1852). Battles of the British Navy (Volume: 1). London: H. G. Bohn. ISBN 1-4588-1112-3.
- Barratt, John (2006). Cromwell's Wars at Sea. Barnsley. ISBN 1-84415-459-9.
- Barratt, John (2016). 'Better Begging than Fighting': The Royalist Army in Exile in the War against Cromwell 1656–1660. ISBN 978-1-910777-72-5.
- de Barrionuevo, Jerónimo (1893). Avisos de D. Jerónimo de Barrionuevo (1654–1658), Vol. III (in Spanish). Madrid: Tello.
- Capp, Bernard (1989). Cromwell's Navy: The Fleet And the English Revolution, 1648–1660. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-820115-X.
- Clowes, Sir William Laird (1898). The Royal Navy: a History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol. II. London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company.
- Corbett, Sir Julian Stafford (1904). England in the Mediterranean 1603–1713, Vol. I. London: Longmans, Green, and Co.
- Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1900). Armada Española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y Aragón vol. V. Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra.
- Firth, C.H. (1909). The Last Years of the Protectorate, Vol. I. London: Longmans, Green, and Co.
- Grolier (1990). Academic American Encyclopedia, Volume 3. Grolier Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7172-2029-8.
- Lavery, Brian (2003). The Ship of the Line – Vol. 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650–1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
- Manganiello, Stephen C (2004). The Concise Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1639–1660. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5100-9.
- Powell, John Rowland (1972). Robert Blake: General-At-Sea. Collins. ISBN 0-00-211726-6.