Antonio de Oquendo
| Antonio de Oquendo | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | October 1577 San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa |
| Died | 7 June 1640 A Coruña |
| Allegiance | Spain |
| Service/branch | Spanish Navy |
| Years of service | 1594-1640 |
| Rank | Captain General |
| Battles/wars | |
| Relations | Miguel de Oquendo (father) |
Antonio de Oquendo (San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa, October 1577 – A Coruña, 7 June 1640) was a Spanish admiral; in 1639 he was in command of the Spanish forces at the Battle of the Downs.
Antonio was the son of Captain-General Miguel de Oquendo, who died in October 1588 when his ship foundered off Pasajes, while coming back from the ill-fated campaign of the Armada Invencible. In 1594 he entered naval service. He commanded a naval squadron made of his flagship, the Delfín de Escocia, and the Dobladilla, two 500 ton galleons. On 7 August 1604 he captured an English privateer at the Battle of the Gulf of Cádiz. In 1607 he was appointed commander of the Biscay squadron, which was that year enlarged and renamed the squadron of the Bay of Biscay. From the same year he also functioned as the General of the Fleet of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
In 1619 he temporarily replaced Juan Fajardo de Entenza y de Guevara, arrested for insubordination, as commander of the Squadron of the Ocean, the Atlantic high seas navy. Ordered to be Fajardo's successor he refused, at the same time trying to make the government aware of the many shortcomings in the naval organisation; as a result he was himself incarcerated. Soon his imprisonment was changed for a forced stay in a convent. After a while Prince Philbert arranged his release; De Oquendo was then given command for a few years of the yearly Spanish treasure fleet, transporting the silver from the Andes to Spain.
In 1624 he was brought to trial on accusations of fraud and nepotism but managed to show that the charges were fabricated by his enemies within the fleet. Nevertheless, he was barred from command of the treasure fleet for four years and condemned to pay an indemnity of 12,000 ducats for having caused the loss of the galleons Espíritu Santo and Santísima Trinidad near Cuba through neglect of duty.
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