Action of 30 September 1681 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Cape St Vincent (1681) |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brandenburg Navy, by Lieve Pietersz Verschuir (1684). |
|||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spanish Empire |
 Brandenburg |
||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Marquess of Villafiel | Thomas Alders | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 12 galleons 3 fireships |
6 ships | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| unknown | 10 killed, c. 30 wounded |
||||||
The action of 30 September 1681 was a short sea battle. It took place on September 30, 1681. The fight happened near Cape St. Vincent in Portugal. In this battle, the Spanish navy won against the ships from Brandenburg. Brandenburg lost 10 sailors and had about 30 wounded.
What Happened in the Battle?
The Brandenburg ships thought they had found a Spanish convoy. They believed these ships were full of gold, silver, spices, and other valuable goods from the Americas. So, they decided to attack.
However, they made a big mistake. Instead of merchant ships, they had attacked a much stronger Spanish warship squadron. This Spanish fleet had been sent out to find any ships that might be raiding.
When the Brandenburg sailors realized their error, they quickly sailed away. They retreated to the safe port of Lagos in Portugal. While the Brandenburg ships were fixing their damage in Lagos, the real Spanish merchant convoy safely reached Cádiz.
Ships That Fought
Here are the ships that took part in this sea battle.
Spain's Ships
- Spain had 12 large warships, called galleons.
- They also had 3 fireships. These were old ships filled with flammable materials. They would be set on fire and sent towards enemy ships to burn them.
Brandenburg's Ships
Brandenburg had 6 ships in total, with 124 guns.
- Markgraf von Brandenburg: This ship had 50 guns. It was once a Spanish ship called Carolus Secundus, captured by Brandenburg the year before.
- Fuchs: This ship had 20 guns.
- Rother Löwe: This ship also had 20 guns.
- Einhorn: This ship had 12 guns.
- Prinzess Maria: This ship had 12 guns.
- Wasserhund: This ship had 10 guns.
See also
In Spanish: Batalla del cabo de San Vicente (1681) para niños
