Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1657)

Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Part of the Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660)
Robert Blake's flagship George at the battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1657.
Date 20 April 1657 Location Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain Result English victory
Belligerents
Spain	The Protectorate
Commanders and leaders
Admiral Diego de Egües y Beaumont Alonso Dávila y Guzmán	Admiral Robert Blake Sir Richard Stayner
Strength
2 galleons, 9 merchant ships, 5 other vessels, 1 castle and various shore gun emplacements	23 warships
Casualties and losses
2 galleons scuttled 9 merchant ships scuttled 300 killed	1 ship severely damaged, 48 killed & 120 wounded

The Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was a military operation in the Anglo-Spanish War (1654–60) in which an English fleet under Admiral Robert Blake attacked a Spanish treasure fleet at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands. Most of the Spanish merchantmen were scuttled and the remainder were burnt by the English, though the treasure, which had already been landed, was saved.

England had decided to support France in its war in the Low Countries with the Spanish. War was openly declared in October 1655 and endorsed when the Second Protectorate Parliament assembled the following year. One of the prime enterprises was the blockade of Cadiz, which had not previously been attempted on such a scale. Robert Blake was to be in charge and also was to come up with methods that he had used in his previous encounters with the Dutch and Barbary pirates.

Blake kept the fleet at sea throughout an entire winter in order to maintain the blockade. During this period a Spanish convoy was destroyed by one of Blake's captains, Richard Stayner. A further six ships were sent from England as reinforcements towards the end of 1656, including George, which became Blake's flagship. In February 1657, Blake received intelligence that the convoy from Mexico was on its way across the Atlantic. Although his captains wanted to search for the Spanish galleons immediately, Blake refused to divide his forces and waited until victualling ships from England arrived to re-provision his fleet at the end of March. After this Blake (with only two ships to watch Cadiz), sailed from Cadiz Bay on 13 April 1657 to attack the plate fleet, which had docked at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands to await an escort to Spain.

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