Battle of the Saltes Island

Battle of Saltes Island
Part of the Third Ferdinand War
Illustration by Alfredo Roque Gameiro
Date 17 July 1381 Location Off Saltes Island, near Huelva, present day Spain Result Decisive Castilian victory Castilian supremacy in the Atlantic Ocean
Belligerents
Kingdom of Portugal	Crown of Castile
Commanders and leaders
João Afonso Telo	Fernando Sánchez de Tovar
Strength
23 galleys	17 galleys
Casualties and losses
22 galleys and their crews captured	Minimum

The naval Battle of Saltes Island or Battle of Saltes (Spanish: Batalla de la Isla Saltés) took place on 17 July 1381, off Saltes Island, between the Crown of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal during the Third Ferdinand War. The Castilian fleet commanded by Don Fernando Sánchez de Tovar defeated decisively the Portuguese fleet led by João Afonso Telo. The result of the battle was the destruction of the naval offensive capability of Portugal, achieving the Castilian naval supremacy in the Atlantic Ocean.

Following the death of Peter I of Castile, Ferdinand I of Portugal declared war on the Kingdom of Castile for possession of the Castilian throne. This series of conflicts were known as the Ferdinand Wars. In 1381, breaking the Treaty of Santarem (1373) which brought peace to the second war, Ferdinand I retaliated against Castile, thus initiating the Third Ferdinand War. For this, he signed an alliance with the young Richard II of England.John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, also had claims to the Castilian throne since 1371 and seeing in this deal a means of enforcement of his cause, sent about 2,000 English soldiers under the command of the Earl of Cambridge to Lisbon to support a Portuguese incursion into the Castilian territory.

To prevent the English contingent being intercepted at sea by the navy of Castile, the Portuguese monarch planned a naval blockade. In mid-July 1381, a Portuguese fleet under the command of João Afonso Teles de Menezes, 6th Count of Barcelos, sailed from Lisbon towards the mouth of the Guadalquivir river to prevent the passage of the Castilian fleet, which was anchored in Seville. At the same time, the fleet of Admiral Fernando Sánchez de Tovar sailed from its base in Seville, heading out to the Portuguese coasts. On 17 July, sailing in opposite directions, the two fleets sighted each other off the Algarve.

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