The
Battle of Lagos was a sea battle during the Nine Years' War on 1693-06-27 (1693-06-17 Old Style (
O.S)), when a French fleet under
TourvilleAnne Hilarion de Costentin, comte de Tourville was a French naval commander who served under King Louis XIV.-Military career:At age 17, as a Knight of Malta, he fought his first naval battle on a frigate of the Order of Malta....
defeated an Anglo-Dutch fleet under
George RookeAdmiral Sir George Rooke , English naval commander, was born at St Lawrence, near Canterbury in 1650. Entering the navy as a volunteer, he served in the Dutch Wars and became post captain in 1673....
. Rookes squadron was protecting the
Smyrna convoy, and it is by this name the action is sometimes known.
In the spring of 1693 a large convoy was organized to transport English and Dutch merchant ships bound for Spain and the Mediterranean, which had been held back by the threat of attack by the French fleet, or by commerce raiders.
The convoy, consisting of upwards of 200 sail, was to be escorted by a strong squadron of 8 English, and 5 Dutch ships of the line, with fireships, scouts and other auxiliaries, under the command of Admiral George Rooke.
The
Battle of Lagos was a sea battle during the Nine Years' War on 1693-06-27 (1693-06-17 Old Style (
O.S)), when a French fleet under
TourvilleAnne Hilarion de Costentin, comte de Tourville was a French naval commander who served under King Louis XIV.-Military career:At age 17, as a Knight of Malta, he fought his first naval battle on a frigate of the Order of Malta....
defeated an Anglo-Dutch fleet under
George RookeAdmiral Sir George Rooke , English naval commander, was born at St Lawrence, near Canterbury in 1650. Entering the navy as a volunteer, he served in the Dutch Wars and became post captain in 1673....
. Rookes squadron was protecting the
Smyrna convoy, and it is by this name the action is sometimes known.
The Prelude
In the spring of 1693 a large convoy was organized to transport English and Dutch merchant ships bound for Spain and the Mediterranean, which had been held back by the threat of attack by the French fleet, or by commerce raiders.
The convoy, consisting of upwards of 200 sail, was to be escorted by a strong squadron of 8 English, and 5 Dutch ships of the line, with fireships, scouts and other auxiliaries, under the command of Admiral George Rooke. This squadron was bound for the Mediterranean, to take up station there. The convoy was to be covered by the combined allied fleet for its passage across the Channel, until it was past the port of Brest, to guard against attack by the French stationed there. The fleet, which was also charged with protecting England from the threat of invasion, would then double back to cover the Channel.
The French, however, whilst they had made good their losses of the previous year, had abandoned the intent to invade, in favour of a
guerre de courseCommerce raiding use naval forces to destroy the logistics of an enemy on the open sea, rather than engaging the combatants themselves or enforcing a blockade against them....
, a war against the allies' trade and commercial interests.
To this end, Louis XIV had dispatched the French fleet under Tourville, his most able commander,to set an ambush for the convoy before it entered the Straits of Gibraltar.
By the end of May Tourville had assembled a fleet of 70 ships of the line, plus fireships, store ships and other auxiliaries, about 100 sail altogether, and taken up station near Lagos Bay in Portugal.
The convoy sailed at the end of May, with the allied fleet of 24 Dutch warships under
AlmondePhilips van Almonde was a Dutch Lieutenant Admiral, who served in his nation’s maritime conflicts of the 17th and early 18th centuries.Philips was the son of Pieter Jansz van Almonde, a wealthy burgher...
, and 45 English under a leadership committee of Killigrew, Delaval and
ShovellSir Cloudesley Shovell , English admiral, was baptised at Cockthorpe in Norfolk, in 1650. Rising through the officer ranks he became a popular British hero, whose celebrated naval career was brought to an end in a disastrous shipwreck in the Isles of Scilly...
.
By 7 June (
O.S) the convoy was about 150 miles southwest of
UshantUshant is an island in the English Channel which marks the north-westernmost point of European France. It belongs to Brittany and is in the traditional region of Bro-Leon. Administratively, Ushant is a commune in the Finistère department...
, and the main allied fleet turned back, leaving Rooke and the convoy to proceed south.
The allies had made no move to check where the French fleet was, and received no news of its whereabouts until 17 June (
O.S).
By this time Rooke and the convoy were in action off Lagos, having been sighted by the French in the morning of the 17th June(
O.S).
The Battle
Rooke couldn't avoid battle, but held the advantage of being to windward. Ordering the merchant ships to disperse, his squadron took battle positions.The battle started around 8 pm. when the rear of his squadron was overtaken by the French van (Gabaret).
Two Dutch ships,
Zeeland (64, Philip Schrijver) and
Wapen van Medemblik (64, Jan van der Poel), engaged the French thus sacrificing themselves. They fought valiantly, giving the rest of the allied ships time enough to escape.
When the two Dutch ships finally surrendered, Tourville was very impressed and congratulated the two captains asking them if they "were men or devils".
Rooke declared it "one of the best judged things I ever saw in action".]
The next day Rooke, with 54 merchant ships in company, was standing west. In pursuit were just 4 French warships. As they closed, Rookes flagship, the
Royal Oak (100) guns, turned to face them. After a short exchange they abandoned the chase and drew off. Rooke and his group were able to reach
MadeiraMadeira is a Portuguese archipelago in the mid Atlantic Ocean that lies between and . It is one of the Autonomous regions of Portugal, with Madeira Island and Porto Santo Island being the only inhabited islands...
without further incident, where he found
Monk (60) with one of the Dutch warships, and 40 or 50 merchant ships in company. With this party and stragglers collected en route, Rooke was able to reach Ireland on 30 July.
The Aftermath
Over half of the convoy was saved. Some 90 ships were lost, the majority were Dutch and 40 were captured by the French. The two main goals of the convoy, first, to deliver the traders to their destinations in the Mediterranean and, second, to establish a naval presence there were defeated. For the French there was a huge gain, with prizes valued at 30 million livres. The
City of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
judged it the worst financial disaster since the
Great FireThe Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
, 27 years previously.
For Tourville a worthy revenge for his defeat in the Battle of La Hogue one year earlier.
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