The action of 5 October 1804 was fought off Cabo de Santa Maria during the Napoleonic Wars. In the engagement, a British squadron under Commodore Graham Moore attacked a Spanish squadron led by Brigadier José de Bustamante. Although Britain and Spain were at peace at the time, the British had received intelligence that Bustamante's squadron was transporting gold from Montevideo to Cádiz to bolster Spain's finances before the Spanish declared war on Britain. Moore's squadron destroyed one Spanish frigate and captured the other three, ensuring that none of the transported gold reached Spain. The engagement incited outrage in Spain and on December 1804 Charles IV of Spain declared war on Britain.
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