Action of 16 October 1799 The Action of 16 October 1799 was a minor naval engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars between a squadron of British Royal Navy frigates and two frigates of the Spanish Navy close to the Spanish naval port of Vigo in Galicia . The Spanish ships were a treasure convoy , carrying silver specie and luxury trade goods across the Atlantic Ocean from the colonies of New Spain to Spain . Sighted by British frigate HMS " Naiad " enforcing the blockade of Vigo late on the 15 October , the Spanish ships were in the last stages of their journey . Turning to flee from " Naiad " , the Spanish soon found themselves surrounded as more British frigates closed in . Although they separated their ships in an effort to split their opponents , the Spanish captains were unable to escape : " Thetis " was captured after a short engagement with HMS " Ethalion " on the morning of 16 October , while " Santa Brigada " almost reached safety , only being caught on the morning of 17 October in the approaches to the safe harbour at Muros . After a short engagement amid the rocks she was also captured by an overwhelming British force . Both captured ships were taken to Britain , where their combined cargoes were transported with great fanfare to the Bank of England . The eventual value of their cargo was assessed as at least £618 , 040 , resulting in one of the largest hauls of prize money ever awarded . Background . In 1796 , following the secret terms of the Treaty of San Ildefonso , the Kingdom of Spain suddenly reversed its position in the French Revolutionary Wars turning from an enemy of the French Republic into an ally . The Spanish declaration of war on Great Britain forced the British Mediterranean Fleet to abandon the Mediterranean Sea entirely , retreating to ports at Gibraltar and Lisbon . This force now concentrated against the Spanish Navy , most of which was stationed at the main fleet base of Cadiz in Southern Spain . A British blockade fleet won a significant victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 and dissuaded the Spanish fleet from playing a significant role in the ongoing war . Other Spanish ports were also blockaded to limit Spanish trade and movement and most significantly to intercept Spanish treasure convoys from the colonies of New Spain and South America . Vast quantities of gold , silver and valuable trade goods crossed the Atlantic in regular armed frigate convoys . To intercept and seize these shipments the Royal Navy dispatched their own frigates to patrol the Spanish coast . To encourage their sailors , the Royal Navy distributed prize money to the value of the ships and material captured and the seizure of a Spanish treasure fleet could yield spectacular amounts of money : particularly large sums had been captured during previous wars in 1656 , 1744 and 1762 , but during the first three years of conflict between Britain and Spain since 1796 only one treasure convoy had been intercepted , near Cadiz at the Action of 26 April 1797 , and on that occasion the treasure was smuggled ashore before the convoy was seized . Chase . On 21 August 1799 , a convoy of two 34 - gun frigates , " Thetis " under Captain Don Juan de Mendoza and " Santa Brigada " under Captain Don Antonio Pillon , sailed from Vera Cruz in New Spain with a cargo that included cochineal , indigo dye , cocoa and sugar but which principally consisted of more than two million silver Spanish dollars . The passage across the Atlantic was uneventful and by the afternoon of 15 October the convoy , ordered to make any Spanish port , was nearing its destination at Vigo , a fortified port city in Galicia just south of Cape Finisterre at the northwest point of Spain . The ports of Northern Spain were blockaded by British frigates sailing independently , crossing the approaches in search of enemy shipping and it was one such ship , the 38 - gun HMS " Naiad " under Captain William Pierrepont , that sighted the Spanish convoy in position at 20 : 00 on 15 October . Turning away to the southeast , the Spanish ships then made all sail northeast in search of a safe harbour , with Pierrepont in pursuit . At 03 : 30 on 16 October , another sail was spotted to the southwest , which was rapidly revealed to be a second British frigate , the 38 - gun HMS " Ethalion " under Captain James Young . " Ethalion " joined the chase and at dawn two more sails were revealed , with the 32 - gun HMS " Alcmene " under Captain Henry Digby to the west and 32 - gun HMS " Triton " under Captain John Gore to the north . With four British frigates now in full pursuit , the Spanish captains sought to split their enemy and divided , at which Pierrepont directed " Ethalion " , the closest British ship , to pursue the faster " Thetis " . Young complied , firing long - range shot in " Santa Brigada " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s direction at 09 : 00 , driving Pillon ' s ship further from his companion . Battle . As " Naiad " , " Triton " and " Alcmene " streamed past in pursuit of " Santa Brigada " , Young focused his attention on " Thetis " , coming within range at 11 : 30 . Mendoza , seeing that battle was inevitable , bore up across " Ethalion " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s bows in an effort to rake Young ' s ship . Young turned to thwart the manoeuvre and fired two rapid broadside s into " Thetis " , which responded in kind . For an hour the frigates exchanged running fire until Mendoza , realising escape was impossible , surrendered . " Thetis " had lost one man killed and nine wounded in the exchange while " Ethalion " had suffered no casualties . As " Ethalion " subdued " Thetis " the remainder of the British squadron continued southwards in pursuit of " Santa Brigada " . Pillon was an experienced officer with a good knowledge of the Northern Spanish coast and he intended to lose his pursuers in the rocky channels of Cape Finisterre . Early on 17 October he reached Spanish coastal waters , rounding Finisterre just beyond the Monte Lora rocks . Captain Gore on " Triton " , which was in full flow at seven knots , was unaware of the obstacle and at 05 : 00 crashed into them , coming to a juddering halt and inflicting severe damage to his ship ' s hull . Gore was able however to bring " Triton " off soon afterwards and continued pursuit , assisted by Digby on " Alcmene " who was able to block Pillon ' s route into Porte de Vidre . Both frigates opened fire on " Santa Brigada " at 07 : 00 as the Spanish ship sought shelter in the rocks at Commarurto close to the safe harbour at Muros , Pillon ' s movement hampered by the coastal " ria s " that blocked the wind . After an hour of resistance , with " Naiad " belatedly approaching , Pillon was forced to surrender his ship to superior British forces . " Santa Brigada " had lost two men killed and eight wounded , " Alcmene " one killed and nine wounded and " Triton " a single man wounded . Aftermath . As the British force took control of " Santa Brigada " , a Spanish squadron of four ships sailed from Vigo with the appearance of intending to bring Pierrepont ' s squadron to battle . Pierrepont immediately issued orders for his ships to meet with the Spanish who promptly turned about and returned to port without coming within range . A shore breeze enabled the British ships and their prize to extricate themselves from the Commarurto rocks without further damage . They then sailed directly for the fleet base at Plymouth , arriving on 22 October to find that " Thetis " and " Ethalion " had reached the port the day before . Dispatches were sent to Lord Bridport , commander of the Channel Fleet , which were then forwarded to the Admiralty and revealed the scale of the prize . Aboard " Thetis " was found a quantity of trade cocoa and a series of boxes containing coin , including 333 boxes of 3000 dollars each , four boxes of 2 , 385 dollars each , 94 boxes containing 4 , 000 dollars each and two golden doubloons and 90 golden half - doubloons . This totaled 1 , 385 , 292 silver dollars , with a sterling value of £311 , 690 . On " Santa Brigada " were trade cocoa , sugar , indigo and cochineal worth in total about £5 , 000 as well as 446 boxes containing 3000 dollars each , 59 bags and three kegs of dollars and numerous loose coins , for a total value of at least 1 , 338 , 000 silver dollars or £301 , 350 . Altogether the sterling value of the cargo was calculated as not less than £618 , 040 ( the equivalent of £ as of 2018 ) . The captured ships on the other hand were written off as worthless although some additional money was made auctioning off their naval stores . In the aftermath , the sailors of the squadron were noted in the streets of Portsmouth wearing " bank notes stuck in their hats , buying watches for the fun of frying them , and issuing laws that any of their crew who appeared without a gold - laced hat should be cobbed , so that the unlucky man who appeared in silver could only escape by representing that the costlier articles were all bought up , but he had compelled the shopkeeper to take money for gold lace . " This vast sum of money was transported through Plymouth on 63 wagons , guarded by armed sailors and Royal Marines and accompanied by musical bands and cheering crowds to the security of the Royal Citadel . It remained in Plymouth until November when it was removed to London with considerable ceremony and placed at the Bank of England . The sums awarded as prize money , distributed in equal proscribed shares among the crews of " Ethalion " , " Naiad " , " Alcmene " and " Triton " were among the largest ever recorded . Each captain was given £40 , 730 ( of which a third was due to the admiral in command ) , each lieutenant £5 , 091 , each warrant officer £2 , 468 , each midshipman £791 and each sailor or marine £182 . For the regular seamen , this total was 15 times their annual pay of £12 . As historian James Henderson noted " even the humblest seaman could set himself up with a cosy pub " . For the captains , normally paid £150 a year , this was more money than they could make in 270 years . On the only subsequent occasion when a Spanish treasure fleet was successfully intercepted , at the Battle of Cape Santa Maria in October 1804 , an even greater haul was captured . On that occasion however the Admiralty used an obscure regulation to seize the bulk of the prize and the captains only received around £15 , 000 each . Historian Richard Woodman has noted that this action illustrates both the dominance of the Royal Navy and its high standards at this stage in the war , stating that " The coincidental appearance of four frigates in the vast Atlantic testifies to the enormous resources the British put into the prosecution of the war . That the four frigate captains proceeded to act in such perfect concert is further evidence , if it were needed , of the shared standards of mutual help and assistance " .