Battle of Vigo Bay

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Battle of Vigo Bay
Part of the War of the Spanish Succession
The Battle of Vigo Bay, 23 October 1702 by Ludolf Bakhuizen, painted c. 1702
Date 23 October 1702 Location Vigo Bay Result Anglo-Dutch victory
Belligerents
England Dutch Republic	France Spain
Commanders
Admiral Sir George Rooke Lieutenant-Admiral Philips van Almonde	François Louis de Rousselet, Marquis de Châteaurenault Manuel de Velasco
Strength
28 ships of the line, assorted other frigates, etc.	c. 30 vessels: assorted warships and armed merchant galleons
Casualties and losses
c. 800 killed	c. 2000 killed, all ships burnt, grounded or captured

In the Battle of Vigo Bay (or Battle of Rande), an Anglo-Dutch fleet commanded by Admirals Rooke and Philips van Almonde attacked and destroyed a combined French-Spanish fleet under Admirals de Rousselet and Manuel de Velasco on 23 October 1702^[1] during the War of the Spanish Succession at Vigo Bay in Galicia (Spain).

Rooke had been sent with a large Anglo-Dutch force to capture Cádiz in Spain but retreated in defeat on 29 September 1702. When the returning fleet put in, to water at Lagos, Portugal, Rooke learned that the 1702 Spanish treasure fleet, one of the richest ever assembled, had sailed on 24 July from Havana, Cuba, and had been diverted from Cadiz to Vigo, where it had arrived on 23 September.

Determined to salvage something from the disaster at Cádiz, Rooke set out for Vigo, where he found that the treasure fleet was protected by a Franco-Spanish fleet of about 30 ships. Chateau-Renault had fortified the harbour by laying a boom of masts, covered by guns from forts in the town and on the island of San Simón, near the town of Redondela.

On October 23 Rooke attacked, sending Admiral Thomas Hopsonn on the Torbay to break the boom, and landing the soldiers of the Duke of Ormonde to capture the forts.

The ten hour battle was a complete victory for Rooke: the forts were captured, Torbay broke through the boom, and all the Spanish and French ships were burned by their own side, run aground or captured. The French and Spanish suffered about 2,000 killed; the English and Dutch about 800. The victors captured silver to the value of about £1,000,000 but a far larger sum — perhaps three million pounds — had been unloaded and taken away before the battle.

British guinea coins of 1703 bear the word VIGO to commemorate the battle.

The Battle of the Bay of Vigo, as pictured in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Hetzel edition)

Captain Nemo and his companions gather the treasure of Vigo

Treasure hunters believe that some of the treasure may still lie at the bottom of the bay. This belief was incorporated into the plot of Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, with Captain Nemo and his crew obtaining money by salvaging amongst the wrecks.

[edit] Ships involved

[edit] England (George Rooke)

Torbay 80 (flag of VA Hopson, captain Andrew Leake)
Mary 60/70
Grafton 70
Kent 70
Monmouth 70
Berwick 70
Essex 70
Swiftsure 70
Ranelagh 80
Somerset 80
Bedford 70
Cambridge 80
Northumberland 70
Orford 70
Pembroke 60
some frigates
some bomb ketches
10 fire ships

[edit] Netherlands

Vrijheid 96 flagship Van Almonde
Beschermer 90 flagship Lieutenant-Admiral Gerard Callenburgh
Dordrecht 72
Zeven Provinciën 90 flagship Vice-Admiral Philips van der Goes
Veluwe 64
Slot Muyden 72
Amelia 64
Holland 72
Unie 94 flagship Rear-Admiral J.G van Wassenaar
Reygersbergen 72
Gouda 64
Alkmaar 72
Catwyck 72
nine transports

[edit] France (Château-Renault)

Fort(e) 76 (flag) - Burnt
Solide 56 - Burnt
Prudent 62/64 - Burnt
Oriflamme 64 - Burnt
Dauphin(e) 44/46 - Burnt
Espérance 70 - Aground
Sirène 60/62 - Aground
Superbe 70 - Aground
Volontaire 46 - Aground
Prompt(e) 76 - Captured
Assuré 66 - Captured
Bourbon 68 - Captured
Ferme 72/74 - Captured
Modéré 54/56 - Captured
Triton 42 - Captured
Entreprenant 24 (frigate) - Burnt
Choquante 8 (frigate) - Burnt
Favori (fireship/frigate?) - Burnt
some fire ships

[edit] Spain (Velasco y Tejada)

Jesús-María-José 70 - Captured, sunk/aground
Bufona 54 - Captured, sunk/aground

17 galleons and 3 corvettes - 9 captured, 2 destroyed

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

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[edit] See also

• War of Spanish Succession