Battle of Flores (1592)

Battle of Flores (1592)
Part of the Anglo–Spanish War
The arrival of the 'Madre de Deus' at Dartmouth Harbour, envisaged in a 19th-century English drawing
Date 20 May – 13 August 1592 Location Atlantic, off Flores Island (Azores) Coordinates: 39°30′43″N 31°10′55″W / 39.51194°N 31.18194°W / 39.51194; -31.18194 Result English victory
Belligerents
Spain Portugal under Philip of Spain	England
Commanders and leaders
André Furtado de Mendonça Alonso de Bazán	Walter Raleigh John Burrough Earl of Cumberland Martin Frobisher (acting)
Strength
Various Spanish & Portuguese ships	9 warships 7 support ships
Casualties and losses
1 Carrack captured, 1 Carrack destroyed, 1 Galleon captured 3 other ships captured or burned 1,000 killed, wounded or captured	120 killed or wounded 3 ships sunk in storm Unknown to disease

 Spain

The Battle of Flores (1592), also known as Cruising Voyage to the Azores of 1592, or the Capture of the Madre de Deus describes a series of naval engagements that took place from 20 May to 19 August 1592, during the Anglo-Spanish War. The battle was part of an expedition by an English fleet initially led by Sir Walter Raleigh, and then by Martin Frobisher and John Burrough. The expedition involved the capture of a number of Portuguese and Spanish ships including the large Portuguese carrack Madre de Deus, after a long naval battle off the island of Flores in the Azores. The expedition, particularly the capture of the great carrack, was a financial and military success. The rich cargo aboard the carrack, which at the time equaled nearly half the size of the Kingdom of England's royal annual revenue, was subject to mass theft when it arrived in Dartmouth, England, followed by quarrels over the shares of the prize. The expedition had formative consequences for the English both financially and on the future of English exploration.

By virtue of the Iberian Union that joined the crowns of Portugal and Spain in 1580, the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373 had fallen in abeyance. As the Anglo–Spanish War was ongoing, Portuguese shipping was a fair target for the Royal Navy. Sir Walter Raleigh, having only just been released from the Tower of London, received a commission from Queen Elizabeth I for an expedition to the West Indies. He outfitted a sixteen ship naval squadron of which two, the Garland and Foresight belonged to the Queen.

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