Second Battle of Cape Finisterre
1747 CE.
Shown on the map at 42.882°, -9.404°.
The second battle of Cape Finisterre was a naval encounter fought during the War of the Austrian Succession on 25 October 1747. A British fleet of fourteen ships of the line commanded by Rear-Admiral Edward Hawke intercepted a French convoy of 250 merchant ships, sailing from the Basque Roads in western France to the West Indies and protected by eight ships of the line commanded by Vice Admiral Henri-François des Herbiers. When the two forces sighted each other, Herbiers ordered the merchant ships to scatter, formed his warships into a line of battle and attempted to draw the British warships towards him. In this he was successful, the British advanced on the French warships, enveloped the rear of the French line and brought superior numbers to bear on the French vessels one at a time. Six of the French warships were captured, along with 4,000 of their seamen. Of the 250 merchant ships, only 7 were captured. The British victory isolated the French colonies from supply and reinforcement.
Text from the Wikipedia article Second Battle of Cape Finisterre, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.