page_title: Battle of the Narrow Seas
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of the Narrow Seas / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Ritratto Di Federico SpinolaEnglish: Portrait of Frederico Spinola by Federico Barocci
context_page_description: The Battle of the Narrow Seas, also known as the Battle of the Goodwin Sands or Battle of the Dover Straits was a naval engagement that took place on 3–4 October 1602 during the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585 and part of the Dutch Revolt. An English fleet under Sir Robert Mansell intercepted and attacked six Spanish galleys under the command of Federico Spinola; in the Dover Straits and was fought all the way off from the coast of England and finally off the Spanish Netherlands. The English were soon joined by a Dutch fleet under Jan Adriaanszoon Cant and they completed the destruction.
context_section_description: In 1602 Frederico Spinola, younger brother of Ambrogio Spinola, had distinguished himself greatly as a soldier in the Army of Flanders and had succeeded in 1599 going through the English Channel passing the straits of Dover unmolested; this led to a panic called the Invisible armada as it encouraged suspicions that the attempt might be renewed and on a larger scale. Buoyed by this achievement he had indulged Philip III of Spain, the Duke of Lerma and Martín de Padilla in a vision of a massive galley-borne invasion of England from Flanders. However the council brought him down to a mere eight galleys, provided at Spinola's expense. He was on his way from San Lucar to Lisbon but he was defeated by Sir Richard Leveson at Sezimbra Bay which cost him two galleys.
  After this defeat Spinola took his remaining six galleys back to Lisbon and filled his vessels with pay chests for Flanders. During the sailing to Flanders he captured an English merchant ship, which he left at A Coruña. At Santander he took on a further 400 troops to complete the Tercio complement of 1,600 men. In England word had spread that Spinola was on his way in an attempt to run the English channel again. His heading was for Sluis with the six galleys, of whose approach was well informed by Robert Cecil even when they arrived at Blavet in Brittany at the beginning of October. Queen Elizabeth decided to act, so she appointed Sir Robert Mansell to join with the States fleet before Dunkirk and Sluis, to see what they could do to impeach them. Meanwhile, the States of Holland and West Frisia had sent a flotilla of nine ships under Vice-Admiral Jacob van Duyvenvoorde to intercept Spinola but when this force arrived near Spain, Spinola had already escaped to the north. Van Duyvenvoorde, coping with an outbreak of smallpox by which he was afflicted himself, sent four of his ships back north under Jan Adriaanszoon Cant, known by the English as Jan van Cant.
caption: Federico Spinola
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