Battle of Albrolhos The naval Battle of the Albrolhos took place on 10 August 1631 off the coast of Bahía , Brazil , during the Eighty Years ' War . A joint Spanish - Portuguese fleet under Admiral Oquendo defeated the Dutch after a six hour naval battle . Background . On 5 May 1631 Spanish Admiral Oquendo left Lisbon with a fleet of about 20 men - of - war . He carried reinforcements to Paraíba , Pernambuco and Bahia . On his way back to Portugal , he was to convoy ships loaded with sugar . So as to allow the Dutch extra time to get ready , he headed first for Bahia . Once they learned of his coming , the Dutch sent a fleet commanded by Adrian Pater in the same direction . Finally , on September 12 , the two fleets met around the cays . Ships involved . De Oquendo exited Baía de Todos os Santos with his 44 - gun , 900 - ton flagship " Santiago de Oliste " and 28 - gun , 700 - ton vice - flagship " San Antonio " ; 30 - gun " Nuestra Señora de la Concepción " ; 28 - gun " Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso " ; 26 - gun " Nuestra Señora de la Anunciada " ; 24 - gun " San Carlos " ; 22 - gun " San Buenaventura " ; 20 - gun " San Blas " , " San Francisco " and " San Pedro " , ; 18 - gun " San Bartolomé " , and " San Martín " ; plus the requisitioned French pinnaces Lion Doré of 10 guns ( renamed " San Antonio " ) , and Saint Pierre of 8 guns ( " renamed San pedro " ) . These Spanish men - of - war are accompanied by the 28 - gun Portuguese warship " São Jorge " ; 20 - gun " Santiago " ; 19 . gun " São João Baptista " ; 18 - gun " Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres " ( Maior ) , and " Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres " ( Menor ) ; plus the unarmed " Nossa Senhora da Boa Nova " , " Nossa Senhora do Rozário " , " Santo António " , " Santa Cruz " , and " São Jerónimo " . This force was protecting ten unarmed Brazilian caravels bearing 1 , 200 troops under the Neapolitan - born Cmdr . Giovanni Vincenzo de San Felice , Conde de Bagnuoli , intended to reinforce the town of Paraíba in addition to 20 Lisbon - bound sugar merchantmen . Standing away from the coast , the entire formation was driven southeast by contrary winds and currents into the vicinity of the Albrolhos ( rocks 200 miles off Brazil at about 18 degrees south latitude , their name deriving from the Portuguese phrase " abre olhos - eyes open - intended " as a warning of the half - submerged dangers ) . On the evening of 11 September the Iberian fleet was sighted by Admiral Pater , who prepared for action overnight . During Pater ' s voyage two of his ships became separated , leaving the Dutch admiral with his 46 - gun , 1 , 000 - ton flagship of the Dutch fleet " Prins Willem " and 50 - gun , 800 - ton Vice - flagship " Geunieerde Provintien " ; 38 - gun " Provincie Ultrecht " ; 34 - gun " Walcheren " ; 32 - gun " Griffoen " , and " Groeningen " ; 30 - gun " Hollandia " , and " Oliphant " ; 28 - gun " Amersfoort " , and " Goeree " ; 26 - gun " Mercurius " ; 24 - gun " Dordrecht " ; 22 - gun " Medemblik " ; 20 - gun " Fortuijn " , and " Wapen Van Hoorn " ; plus 14 - gun " Niew Nederlandt " . Battle . At first light the admiral summoned his captains for final instructions , then drank a toast of Brunswick beer to the day ' s success . The Dutch admiral Pater had formed his fleet in two lines , Its place was taken by the much larger Concepción of Capt . Juan de Prado . Pater bore down in faint east - northeasterly breezes upon de Oquendo , who was six miles distant , having ordered his 17 Spanish and Portuguese galleons to interpose in a half - moon crescent between the enemy and the convoy . Anunciada , Buenaventura , San Carlos , and San Bartolomé lag astern . Fighting began around midmorning , when Vice Admiral de Vallecilla ' s San Antonio opened fire on Thijssen ' s advancing Geunieerde Provintien , which closed into board along with Provincie Ultrecht . About 15 minutes later de Oquendo and four other galleon opened fire on Pater ' s flagship , which steered directly toward Santiago de Oliste with Walcheren . The Dutch held their opening broadsides until point - blank range , then fired and grappled . A murderous engagement erupted around each flagshp and vice - flag , both sides firing repeatedly into their opponents and yet unable to board . The smallest Portuguese galleon , Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres of Capt . Cosme do Couto Barbosa , attempted to support Santiago de Oliste , only to drift helplessly beneath the combined guns of Prins Willem and Walcheren and be sunk . Its place was taken by the much larger Concepción of Capt . Juan de Prado . Eventually , about 4 : 00 PM . , a chance shot from de Oquendo ' s flagship started a blaze aboard Prins Willem , which the Spanish admiral cleverly directed his musketeers to fire at , so as to hamper Dutch fire - fighting efforts . The flames gained hold and finally drove Pater into the water , along with a few survivors , where he drowned . About this same time , de Vallecilla ' s vice - flag , San Antonio , broke up and went down by its stern , taking most of the complement , its Dutch foe Provincie Ultrecht was sheered off in flames and later sunk . Thijsen ' s Geunieerde Provintien was battered but in possession of a single prize - Buenaventura of Capt . Alonso de Alarcón y Molina , who had sailed to San Antonio ' s side during the fighting , only to lose his life and ship . The remaining Dutch vessels were content to fire from long range - Hollandia , Amersfoort , and Fortuijn being the only others to become closely engaged - while the Spaniards responded in kind . Aftermath . The day ended in a Spanish victory , although Spanish losses proved to be somewhat greater . A Vice - flagship and galleon were sunk and another was taken , with 585 dead and missing ( 240 of these aboard the captured Buenaventura ) plus 201 wounded . The Dutch flagship and another man - of - war disappeared beneath the waves , leaving 350 dead and missing plus more than 80 seriously wounded . However , Thijssen showed no inclination to renew action the next day , preferring to limp back to Recife with his mauled fleet on 21 – 22 September . De Oquendo meanwhile deposited his reinforcements at Barra Grande of Porto Calvo - only 700 of them actually reach Fort Arrail do Bom Jesus - before continuing toward Europe with his sugar convoy . The Dutch garrison at Pernambuco subsequently evacuated Olinda in November in order to concentrate its strength around Recife .