Battle of the Downs 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 . Background . The entry ( in 1635 ) of France in 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 for an attempt to Dunkirk that year . In the spring of 1639 , the Count - Duke of Olivares ordered the construction and assembly of a new fleet at A Coruña for a new relief jaunt to Dunkirk . 29 warships were assembled in four squadrons , soon joined by an additional 22 warships ( also in four squadrons ) from the Spanish Mediterranean fleet . Twelve English transport ships also arrived , contracted to carry the Spanish army under the flag of English neutrality . Lope de Hoces was offered overall command , but he turned it down , as a result the command passed to Antonio de Oquendo , commander of the Mediterranean fleet . Oquendo was under instructions to assume a half - moon formation , to induce the Dutch into a boarding battle . The flagship was placed on the right wing ( rather than the center ) , as that is where it was expected the Dutch firepower would come from . In a curious decision , ships of different squadrons were mixed through the formation , an attempt to ensure that the smaller ships would be supported by larger ones . The vanguard was to be composed of the seven - ship " Dunkirk squadron " commanded by Miguel de Horna , in light of their experience with the channel . The Dutch States - General made their own preparations . From intelligence networks , the Dutch learned that the Spanish fleet might attempt to make for the anchorage known as The Downs , off the English coast , between Dover and Deal . There they could anchor under the protection of English neutrality , and ferry the army and supplies on smaller , fast boats across the English Channel to Dunkirk . The States - General ordered a fleet of 23 warships and some fireships , under the overall command of Maarten Tromp , into the channel to prevent this eventuality , while the rest of the Dutch fleet was still being prepared . Tromp was under instructions to watch for and , if necessary , harass and delay the Spanish fleet , but was forbidden from engaging them in battle until the rest of the Dutch fleet , some fifty vessels under Johan Evertsen , had been launched and joined them . Setting out , Tromp divided his fleet into three squadrons – one squadron of fifteen ships , under rear admiral Joost Banckert , was dispatched to a position above the Downs , in case the Spanish fleet had circumvented the British Isles and was coming from that side , a second squadron of six ships under Witte de With was put inside the English Channel , on patrol by the English coast , while Tromp himself took the remaining 12 ships to patrol the French side of the channel . Opening phase . The Spanish fleet of 75 ships and 24 , 000 soldiers and sailors set out on 27 August from A Coruña ( in another calculation , 51 galleons , with the troops carried aboard 7 patache s and 12 English transports ; on the whole , an estimated 8 , 000 sailors and 8 , 000 troops ) . The fleet reached the mouth of the English Channel on September 11 . On September 15 , they learned from a passing English ship that a Dutch squadron was anchored near Calais . On the morning of September 16 , the Spanish fleet spotted the 12 - ship squadron of Maarten Tromp near the French coast . Tromp immediately dispatched one of his ships to warn Banckert , leaving him with only 11 . De With ' s squadron were visible at a distance , but too late to reach Tromp . With odds of 57 against 11 , Oquedo could have probably just made for Dunkirk directly , and there would be little Tromp could to do stop it . But Oquedo could not resist the chance to make battle with such favorable odds . Perhaps not realizing the size of the Spanish fleet , Tromp did not decline battle but rather ordered his squadron into a tight line of battle . Believing Tromp ' s squad was attempting to slip past his right wing , Oquendo impetuously ordered his flagship to turn hard starboard , hoping to board Tromp ' s flagship . This maneouver , however , was effected without warning the rest of the Spanish fleet . Some of the ships near Oquendo turned with him , others were confused and maintained bearing . The half - moon formation quickly disintegrated , and only the Dunkirk squadron and the galleon " San Juan " , kept up with the Spanish flagship ' s pursuit of Tromp . Had Oquendo given the order for a line , the immense Spanish fleet could have probably encircled and dispatched the Dutch squadron in a few hours . But Oquendo seemed intent on boarding the Dutch flagship . When he finally decided to turn for a shot , he did it too late and sailed past the Tromp ' s poop . Trying to correct his error , Oquendo decided to attempt to board the second ship in the Dutch column , the latter also avoided him . Oquendo ' s flagship and one of the Dunkirk ships , the " Santiago " , were now downwind and on the receiving end of the cannonades of the remaining nine ships of the Dutch column . Tromp turned his column and went for another round on the " Santiago " . Oquendo , the other six Dunkirk ships and the " San Juan " , unable to turn upwind , fired what they could . The artillery did little damage , but the Spanish musketry picked off many on the Dutch decks . This encounter lasted for three hours , in the course of which the Dutch ship " Groot Christoffel " accidentally exploded . By noon , the six ships of the De With column had reached Tromp , and increased his number to 16 . Although the rest of the Spanish fleet remained dispersed and disorganized , many units had finally turned and were also approaching from the other side . For Tromp , this was building up into a dangerous situation , as the Spanish units upwind would cut off his exit , and force the Dutch squadron to turn into the shoals of the bay of Boulogne , and almost certainly run aground . But at this moment , Oquendo ordered the Spanish fleet to resume a half - moon formation . The Spanish ships turned , allowing Tromp ' s squadron to also turn , gain upwind , and escape the danger . There were no more engagements that evening . The fleets anchored in , and the next day , rear - admiral Joost Banckert arrived , bringing the total Dutch fleet to thirty - two , but there was no engagement , just preparations for what was to become known as the Action of 18 September 1639 . The Spanish , whose first priority was to protect the troops , not to endanger them by continuing the battle , were driven to take refuge off the coast of England , in the anchorage known as The Downs between Dover and Deal , near an English squadron commanded by Vice - Admiral John Pennington . They hoped the usual autumn storms would soon disperse the Dutch fleet . Tromp , as always , endured De With ' s insubordination with complacency . In a famous scene , described by De With himself , after the battle , he entered Tromp ' s cabin with his face sooty , his clothes torn , and limping from a leg wound . Tromp looked up from his desk and asked : " Are you alright , De With ? " De With replied : " What do you think ? Would I have been if you had come to help me ? " On the evening of the 28th , Tromp and De With withdrew to resupply , as they were short on gunpowder . They feared they had failed in their mission until they rediscovered the Spanish at the Downs on the 30th . Together , they blockaded the Spanish and sent urgently to the Netherlands for reinforcements . The five Dutch admiralties hired any large armed merchant ship they could find . Many joined voluntarily , hoping for a rich bounty . By the end of October , Tromp had 95 ships and 12 fire ship s . Meanwhile , the Spanish , who earlier had managed to sneak 13 or 14 Dunkirker frigates through the blockade , began to transport their troops and money to Flanders on British ships under an English flag . Tromp stopped this by searching the English vessels and detaining any Spanish troops he found . Uneasy about the possible English reaction to this , he pretended to Pennington to be worried by his secret orders from the States - General . He showed him , " confidentially " , a missive commanding him to attack the Spanish armada wherever it might be located and to prevent by force of arms any interference by a third power . Legend also says that Tromp formally asked de Oquendo why he refused battle though he had superior firepower . De Oquendo replied that his fleet had to be repaired first , but that he could not obtain masts and other materials now that the Dutch blockaded him . On learning this , Tromp supplied the Spanish with the necessary materials for repair . Nevertheless they did not leave the English coast . The battle . On 31 October , an easterly wind giving him the weather gage , Tromp having dispatched 30 ships under De With to watch the English and prevent them from interfering , kept two squadrons to the north ( under Cornelis Jol ) and the south ( under Commodore Jan Hendriksz de Nijs ) to block escape routes and attacked with three squadrons . Some of the large , unmanoeuverable Spanish ships panicked on approach of the Dutch fleet and grounded themselves deliberately ; they were immediately plundered by the English populace , present in great numbers to watch the uncommon spectacle . Others tried a planned breakthrough . De Oquendo ' s Royal Flagship , the " Santiago " , came out first followed by the " Santa Teresa " , the Portuguese flagship . Five blazing fireships were sent into the Spanish ships . The first ship could disengage and avoid three of them in the last moment but these hit the following " Santa Teresa " , who had just managed to repel the attack of the other two . Too big ( the biggest ship in the Spanish / Portuguese fleet ) and slow to manoeuvre , and with no time to react , the " Santa Teresa " was finally grappled and set on fire by one fire ship . With Admiral Lope de Hoces already dead by his wounds , she fiercely burned with great loss of life . The Portuguese ships were intercepted by the squadron of the Zeelandic Vice - Admiral Johan Evertsen who launched his fireships against them : most were taken or destroyed , leaving according to some reports 15 , 200 dead and 1 , 800 prisoner . The number of dead is today considered as greatly exaggerated ; for example , it does not take into account that a third of the troops had already reached Flanders . De Oquendo managed to escape in the fog with about ten ships , most of them Dunkirkers , and reach Dunkirk . Nine of the ships driven ashore during the battle could be later refloated and also reached Dunkirk . Losses . According to the Spanish naval historian Cesáreo Fernández Duro , of the 38 ships that attempted to break the Dutch blockade , twelve ran aground on the Downs ( of which nine were refloated and managed to reach Dunkirk ) , one was burnt by a Dutch fireship , nine surrendered ( of which three were so damaged that they sank on the way to port ) and 3 ran aground on the coasts of France or Flanders to avoid capture . The French diplomat Comte d ' Estrades , in a letter to Cardinal Richelieu , claimed that the Spanish had lost thirteen ships burnt or sunk , sixteen captured with 4 , 000 prisoners , and fourteen lost off the coasts of France and Flanders , a figure higher than the number of Spanish ships present at the Downs . D ' Estrades also reported in his letter that the Dutch had lost ten ships sunk or burnt . This source is cited by Jean Le Clerc in his Histoire des Provinces - Unies des Pays - Bas . The Portuguese Admiral and historian Ignacio Costa Quintella gives figures of 43 ships and 6 , 000 men lost by the Spanish and some ships and more than 1 , 000 men by the Dutch . The Dutch sources only mention one Dutch ship lost that got entangled with the " Santa Teresa " and about a hundred persons dead . Historian M . G de Boer who did extensive research and published a book about the subject confirms this and puts Spanish losses in ships and men at about 40 and 7000 respectively . Aftermath . The celebrated Dutch victory marked a significant moment in the shifting balance of naval power . Even if the Spanish mission was a failure , the larger part of the infantry troops managed to reach Flanders with all the money . Of the ships that succeeded in breaking through the blockade , many were severely damaged . Spain , straining under the vast commitments of the Thirty Years war , was in no position to rebuild its naval dominance . Fighting over trade continued between Dutch and Dunkirker forces and the convoy itself was just one of a number ; but these convoys paid a heavy price in lives and ships in running the Dutch blockades . These complicated operations in the Low Countries had left the overall Spanish Habsburg forces and finances in a precarious situation . The Dutch , English and French were quick to take advantage by seizing some small Spanish island possessions in the Caribbean . But by far the worst effects for Spain were the increased difficulties it suffered in maintaining its position in the Southern Netherlands . Tromp was hailed as a hero on his return and was rewarded with 10 , 000 guldens invoking the jealousy of De With who only got 1 , 000 . De With wrote some anonymous pamphlets painting Tromp as avaricious and himself as the real hero of the battle . With Spain beginning to gradually lose its dominant naval position , England weak and France not yet in possession of a strong navy , the Dutch allowed their own to diminish greatly after the peace treaty was signed in 1648 . So , with an ineffective naval administration , ships that were too light and too few in number , they were to find themselves at a serious disadvantage in their coming struggles with the English . However , they were able to maintain their large mercantile advantage over the English , entering into a period of increasing Dutch maritime superiority , both mercantile and naval , from the Second Anglo - Dutch War , until the onset of the 18th century . The Battle of the Downs was a flagrant violation of English neutrality within sight of the English coast . For the English , their navy ' s inability to intervene was a humiliation . Lingering resentment from this incident may have influenced the breakout of the First Anglo - Dutch War , not far from the Downs at the Battle of Goodwin Sands in 1652 . Order of battle . The Netherlands ( Maarten Tromp ) . ( not complete : the contemporaneous Dutch sources give only lists of participating captains ; in many cases it is unknown which ship they commanded ) < br > 26 September : < br > " Aemilia " 57 ( Tromp , flagcaptain Barend Barendsz Cramer ) Rotterdam < br > " Frederik Hendrik " 36 ( Pieter Pietersz de Wint ) Amsterdam ; on 31 October this was Witte de With ' s flagship < br > " Hollandsche Tuyn " 32 ( Lambert IJsbrandszoon Halfhoorn ) Northern Quarter ( Noorderkwartier ) < br > " Salamander " 40 ( Laurens Pietersz Backhuysen ) - WIC ship < br > " Gelderland " 34 ( Willem van Colster ) Rotterdam < br > " Sampson " 32 ( Claes Cornelisz Ham ) Noorderkwartier < br > " Omlandia " 28 ( Jan Gerbrandszoon ) Frisia < br > " Groot Christoffel " 28 ( hired by Noorderkwartier admiralty , Frederick Pieterszoon ) - blew up on 26 September < br > " Deventer " 28 ( Robert Post ) Amsterdam < br > " Gideon " 24 ( Hendrick Jansz Kamp ) Frisia < br > " Meerminne " 28 ( Jan Pauluszoon ) Zealand < br > " Veere " 32 ( Cornelis Ringelszoon ) Zealand Reinforcements 27 September : < br > " Maeght van Dordrecht " 42 ( Vice - Admiral Witte de With ) Rotterdam < br > " Overijssel " 24 ( Jacques Forant ) Amsterdam < br > " Utrecht " 30 ( Gerrit Meyndertsz den Uyl ) Amsterdam < br > " Sint Laurens " 32 ( A . Dommertszoon ) < br > " Bommel " 28 ( Sybrant Barentsz Waterdrincker ) Amsterdam Reinforcements 28 September : < br > Banckert squadron : < br > " ' t Wapen van Zeeland " 28 ( Vice - Admiral Joost Banckert ) Zealand < br > " Zeeridder " 34 ( Frans Jansz van Vlissingen ) Zealand < br > " Zutphen " 28 ( Joris van Cats ) Amsterdam < br > " Walcheren " 28 ( Jan Theunisz Sluis ) Amsterdam < br > " ' t Wapen van Holland " 39 ( Lieven Cornelisz de Zeeuw ) Noorderkwartier < br > " Neptunis " 33 ( Albert ' t Jongen Hoen ) Noorderkwartier < br > " Amsterdam " 10 ( Pieter Barentsz Dorrevelt ) Amsterdam < br > " Drenthe " 16 ( Gerrit Veen ) Amsterdam < br > " Rotterdam " 10 ( Joris Pietersz van den Broecke ) Frisia < br > " Arnemuyden " 22 ( Adriaen Jansz de Gloeyende Oven ) Zealand < br > " Ter Goes " 24 ( Abraham Crijnssen ) Zealand < br > " Friesland " 22 ( Tjaert de Groot ) Frisia After reinforcements 31 September < br > Evertsen squadron : < br > " Vlissingen " 34 ( Vice - Admiral Johan Evertsen , flagcaptain Frans Jansen ) Zealand De With squadron : thirty ships , four fireships Jol squadron , seven ships : < br > " Jupiter " ( Cornelis Cornelisz Jol " Houtebeen " ) WIC De Nijs squadron , eight ships Spain / Portugal ( Antonio de Oquendo ) . Order of Battle of the Spanish Armada , 6 September 1639 ( Orden de Batalla en media Luna ) . Total is 75 ships . Dates are now NS . " Name " guns ( squadron / type / commander etc . ) - Fate " Santiago " 60 ( Castile ) - Capitana Real or Royal Flagship . Escaped into Dunkirk , 1 November 1639 < br > " San Antonio " ( pinnace ) ( Masibradi ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " San Agustin " ( pinnace ) ( Martin Ladron de Guevara ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " Santa Teresa " 60 ( Portugal ) - Don Lope de Hoces , commander . Destroyed in action 31 October < br > " San Jeronimo " < br > " San Agustin " ( Naples ) - Vice - Admiral . Driven ashore 31 October , sunk 3 or 4 days later < br > " El Gran Alejandro " ( Martin Ladron de Guevara ) - Taken by the Dutch < br > " Santa Ana " ( Portugal ) < br > " San Sebastian " < br > " Santa Catalina " ( Guipuzcoa ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " San Lazaro " < br > " San Blas " ( Masibradi ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " San Jerónimo " ( Masibradi ) - Burnt in the Downs 31 October < br > " San Nicolas " < br > " Santiago " ( Castile ) - Burnt off Dover on the night of 2 November < br > " San Juan Bautista " ( Guipuzcoa ) - Sunk 31 October < br > " Esquevel " 16 ( hired Dane ) - Captured 28 September < br > " San Jose " ( Dunkirk ) < br > " Los Angeles " ( Castile ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " Santiago " ( Portugal ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " Delfin Dorado " ( Naples ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " San Antonio " ( Naples ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " San Juan Evangelista " ( Dunkirk ) < br > " El Pingue " ( hired ship ) - Sunk in the Downs 31 October < br > " San Carlos " ( Masibradi ) < br > " San Nicolas " ( Masibradi ) < br > " San Miguel " < br > " Orfeo " 44 ( Naples ) - Lost on the Goodwin sands 31 October < br > " San Vicente Ferrer " ( Dunkerque ) < br > " San Martin " ( Dunkerque ) < br > " Nuestra Senora de Monteagudo " ( Dunkerque ) - Escaped into Dunkirk 1 November < br > " Santiago " 60 ? ( Galicia ) - Captured 31 October < br > " ? " ( flag of Masibradi ) - Captured 28 September , retaken same day , escaped to Dunkirk , 1 November , wrecked 4 days later < br > " Santo Tomas " ( Martin Ladron de Guevara ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " Nuestra Senora de Luz " < br > " Santa Clara " < br > " San Gedeon " ( Dunkerque ) < br > " San Jacinto " < br > " San Carlos " ( Dunkerque ) - Sunk 31 October < br > " Santo Cristo de Burgos " ( San Josef ) - Lost off the French coast 31 October < br > " San Paulo " ( Masibradi ) < br > " San Miguel " < br > " La Corona " ( hired ship ) < br > " La Presa " or " San Pablo La Presa " ( Castile ) < br > " San Esteban " ( Martin Ladron de Guevara ) - Captured 31 October < br > " San Pedro de la Fortuna " ( hired ship ) - Driven ashore but got off , 31 October < br > " Los Angeles " ( hired ship ) < br > " Aguila Imperial " < br > " La Mujer " < br > " Santo Domingo de Polonia " ( hired Polish ship ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " San Jose " ( flagship of Vizcaya ) - Captured 31 October < br > " San Salvador " ( flagship of Dunkirk ) - Escaped into Dunkirk 1 November < br > " São Baltasar " ( Vice - Admiral of Portugal ) - 800 tons . Back at Lisbon in 1640 < br > " San Francisco " 50 ? ( Rear - Admiral of Dunkerque ) - Escaped into Dunkirk 1 November < br > " San Pedro el Grande " ( flagship of Ladron de Guevara ) < br > " Santiago " ( Martin Ladron de Guevara ) < br > " Jesus Maria " ( pinnace ) < br > " San Pedro Martir " ( urca ) ( hired ship ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " Fama " ( Urca ) ( hired ship ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " Santa Cruz " ( Masibradi ) < br > " San Daniel " ( Guipuzcoa ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " San Juan Evangelista " ( hired ship of Hamburg ) - Driven ashore 31 October < br > " Santa Agnes " ( frigate ) ( Naples ) - Stranded but got off , 3 November < br > " Grune " ? ( Castile ) - Driven ashore , 31 October 1639 < br > " Santa Teresa ( Saetia ) " ( Castile ) - Taken by a French privateer 31 October < br > " Exchange " ( hired English transport ) - All 8 English transports put into Plymouth 13 September , and reached the Downs 22 October , where they were detained < br > " Peregrine " ( hired English transport ) < br > " Assurance " ( hired English transport ) < br > 5 other hired English transports