Battle of the Downs

Battle of the Downs
Part of the Eighty Years' War
The Battle of the Downs by Willem van de Velde, 1659. RijksMuseum.
Date 21 October 1639 Location Near The Downs (English Channel) Result Decisive Dutch victory
Belligerents
Spain	United Provinces
Commanders and leaders
Antonio de Oquendo	Maarten Tromp
Strength
53 warships (Dutch claim) 38 (Spanish claim)	95 warships
Casualties and losses
See losses section	See losses section

Coordinates: 51°12′N 1°30′E / 51.2°N 1.5°E / 51.2; 1.5

The naval Battle of the Downs took place on 21 October 1639 (New Style), during the Eighty Years' War, and was a decisive defeat of the Spanish, commanded by Admiral Antonio de Oquendo, by the United Provinces, commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp.

The entry (in 1635) of France into the Thirty Years War had blocked off the overland "Spanish Road" to Flanders. To support the Spanish army of Flanders of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand, the Spanish navy had to ferry supplies by sea via Dunkirk, the last Spanish-controlled port on the North Sea coast. A Spanish fleet, under admiral Lope de Hoces y Córdova, had managed to make the trip to Dunkirk in 1636 and again in 1637, without being spotted by Dutch squadrons. In 1638, the French invaded Spain, and laid siege to Fuentarrabia. Lope de Hoces was hurriedly dispatched to rescue the city, but his fleet was destroyed by the French navy under Henri de Sourdis while it lay at anchor near Getaria. As the remainder of the Spanish navy was engaged on missions in the Mediterranean and Brazil, there were not enough ships left to attempt the Dunkirk passage that year.

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