Battle of Cap de la Roque
1703 CE.
Shown on the map at 38.780°, -9.525°.
The Battle of Cap de la Roque took place on 22 May 1703 between an Anglo-Dutch convoy protected by a Dutch States Navy squadron under Captain Roemer Vlacq and a larger French Navy squadron under Alain Emmanuel de Coëtlogon during the War of the Spanish Succession. During the war the French and Spanish navies were largely unable to challenge their English and Dutch counterparts in fleet actions and therefore had switched to targeting merchant convoys, forcing the latter to protect them. On 21 May 1703 a large convoy consisting of about 110 English and Dutch merchant ships transporting mainly salt, but also wine and sugar, left Lisbon bound for England. Vlacq's squadron comprised the ships of the line Muiderberg (52), Rotterdam (52), Gaesterland (46) and Schermer (44) and the frigate Rozendaal (36). Vlacq commanded the squadron onboard Muiderberg. On 22 May the convoy encountered Coëtlogon's squadron, composed of the ships of the line Vainqueur (84), Monarque (90), Éole (64), Orgueilleux (90) and Couronne (76), off Cabo da Roca. Vlacq, after signalling the merchantmen to save themselves, lined up his ships to protect the convoy and engaged the French.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Cap de la Roque, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.