Naval Battle of Vigo

The battles naval of bay of Vigo , sometimes called battles of Rand , took place on October 23rd, 1702 (new style) or on October 12th (according to the Calendrier Julien still used in England on this date) in bay of Vigo, off the coasts of the Galicie in Spain. It put at the catches a fleet anglo-Dutchwoman directed by the admiral George Rooke, assisted by the Dutch admirals Philips van Almonde and van der Goes, with a Franco-Spanish convoy ordered by the admirals François Louis Rousselet de Châteaurenault and Manuel of Velasco.

Context

Rooke had been sent on mission with a fleet anglo-Dutchwoman of 49 ships to seize the port of Cadiz, but the September 29th 1702, held in failure, it decides to turn over to England and fact slackens with Lagos (Portugal). There, he learns that a Spanish convoy, charged to bring back in once all the production of the American colonies of the previous year, left Havana the July 24th but, alerted English raid, had received order to divert its road of Cadiz towards Vigo, that he had reached on September 23rd.

Decided to return a little gloss to its mission, Rooke immediately sets sail towards Vigo, where it falls on a squadron from 40 French vessels and Spanish discharging freight. The Spanish fleet made up of 20 vessel X bringing back their rich person cargoes of the Indies Occidentales is ordered by Velasco, and of its escort of 20 ships of the royal Marine French.

Castle-Renault had already organized the protection of the port by closing again the Darse by harrows of masts of ship which it had given the order to cut down; the entry of the port was covered by pieces of artillery out of battery from the forts of the city and the island San Simón, not far from Redondela.

The battle

However, on October 23rd, Rooke gives the order to attack, charging the admiral Thomas Hopsonn ordering the Torbay to force the stopping of piled up masts, and to make unload the task force of the duke of Ormonde so that it seizes fear.

The confrontation proceeds in bay of San Simón where the Franco-Spanish ones sheltered, thus thinking of being able to keep itself of any attempt at attack on behalf of the English.

The attack is a total success for Rooke. The Torbay managed to force the entry of the port, the artillery batteries are captured, and finally the French and Spanish vessels on the spot burnt or are failed: 12 of the French vessels are destroyed. Anglo-Dutch seizing the remainder of the squadron (6 vessels and two frigate S).

Spanish fleet, 11 ships are destroyed and 9 are captured. The fleet anglo-Dutchwoman does not lose any building. On the other hand, the made combat of many victims on both sides: it is estimated that there are 2.000 died and as many wounded Franco-Spanish side, and 800 died and 500 wounded side anglo-Dutch. The winners recover 14.000 books of spoils (nearly 3 million books had already been discharged by the Spaniards before the attack). In recognition of the rendered services, Rooke is named Gouverneur of Gibraltar (1704).

This battle is often mentioned to illustrate the inefficiency of the Royale under the reign of Louis XIV.

In the literature

the legend whereby part of the spoils of Vigo would be still under water, in the wrecks of certain ships, had the hard life a long time. One finds of it an echo in the famous novel of Jules Verne, 20.000 miles under the seas , where the Nemo captain shows with his hosts the wreck of a Spanish ship.

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