Capture of Cadiz The Capture of Cádiz in 1596 was an event during the Anglo - Spanish War , when English and Dutch troops under Robert Devereux , 2nd Earl of Essex and a large Anglo - Dutch fleet under Charles Howard , 1st Earl of Nottingham , with support from the Dutch United Provinces , raided the Spanish city of Cádiz . Due to the Spanish commander ' s lack of foresight and organisation , the Anglo - Dutch forces met little resistance . In order to deny the raiders their prize the Spanish set fire to their fleet anchored in the Bay of Cádiz ; the attacking forces disembarked , captured , sacked and burned the city and took hostage several of the city ' s prominent citizens , who were taken back to England to await payment of their ransom . The economic losses caused during the sacking were numerous : the city was burned , as was the fleet , in what was one of the principal English victories in the course of the war . Despite its failure in its primary objective of seizing the treasure fleet ' s silver , the raid contributed to Spain ' s declaration of bankruptcy the following year . Preparations . On 13 June 1596 the fleet set sail from Plymouth . The fleet comprised 150 English and Dutch ships , 17 of which belonged to the Royal Navy , divided into four squads with 6 , 360 private soldiers , 1 , 000 English volunteers , and 6 , 772 sailors . Charles Howard , 1st Earl of Nottingham was the admiral commanding the fleet , while the landing forces were under the command of Robert Devereux , 2nd Earl of Essex , Lord Thomas Howard , Sir Walter Raleigh , and Sir Francis Vere each commanding a squad . Anthony Ashley was the Secretary of War . Cristóvão and Manuel of Portugal , sons of António of Portugal , and supposedly Antonio Pérez , were also on board , although without command . These forces were joined by another 20 ships from the United Provinces , with 2 , 000 men on board , who under the command of Admiral John de Duyvenvoorde , Lord of Warmond , were put under English orders . Arrival in Cádiz . The city of Cádiz , with approximately 6 , 000 inhabitants , was one of the principal Spanish ports and point of departure for the Spanish treasure fleet for New Spain . On Saturday , the 29th of June , there arrived in Cádiz news coming from Lagos , Portugal in the Algarve , advising of the presence of an English fleet . At that moment there were in the Bay of Cádiz some 40 Spanish ships , ranging from galleys to galleons , as well as 16 other vessels from the Spanish convoy , which were disarmed and ready to depart for the West Indies . These unarmed vessels immediately fled to Puerto Real for refuge . Juan Portocarrero and Alonso de Bazán weighed anchor in front of the Spanish galleys , intending to prevent the Anglo - Dutch fleet from passing into the interior of the bay . On Sunday , June 30 at 2 o ' clock in the morning , the Anglo - Dutch fleet could be seen from Cádiz , but it could not enter the bay due to bad weather . At 5 o ' clock in the morning , both sides commenced an intense artillery barrage . After two hours , the Spanish fleet , outnumbering the English , had to retreat to the interior of the bay . In the fray , the Spanish galleons " San Andrés " and " San Mateo " were captured , while the " San Felipe " and " Santo Tomás " sank , set fire by their captains in the face of possible capture by the Anglo - Dutch forces . They entered the bay at 8 o ' clock in the morning . By midday , reinforcements sent by the Duke of Medina - Sidonia , Alonso Pérez de Guzmán arrived in Cádiz from Vejer de la Frontera , Jerez , Arcos , Medina - Sidonia , Puerto Real , and Chiclana . For the most part , the soldiers were new and poorly armed . These reinforcements were joined by 5 , 000 men deployed from Santa Catalina and San Felipe . Landing . At 2 o ' clock in the afternoon , no more than 200 Englishmen disembarked on El Puntal , bringing under fire the Spanish forces charged with its defense . The forces had been sent into battle with nobody in command . Before 5 o ' clock in the afternoon , the English advance force took control of the city with scarcely any resistance , while another part of the army advanced toward Point Zuazo in San Fernando , which was defended by Spanish forces . In the skirmishes in front of the city , each side lost approximately 25 men . The fort of San Felipe surrendered the next day . The poor state of the artillery , shortage of ammunition and poor preparation of the Spanish forces and the lack of organization by Spanish authorities all motivated the scant resistance against attacking forces . The defensive tactics had to be improvised by Captain Pedro de Guía , the Mayor of Cádiz - Antonio Girón and the Duke of Medina - Sidonia in Jerez ; for as was stated afterwards : " . . . the disorder had been , after the will of the Lord , the cause of the loss of this city , because all were heads of command and none were feet that would follow , and that is how they lost , for not having either feet or head . " Sacking of Cádiz . Already in possession , the English and Dutch troops dedicated themselves to sacking the city . Churches and people ' s houses were the object of pillaging , although the troops did respect the integrity of the people themselves : " " They treated very well the people and in particular the women , not offending them in any way . " " ( Lope de Valenzuela ) Before it was possible for the English forces to capture the Spanish fleet taking refuge in Puerto Real , Alonso Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno y Zúñiga , the Duke of Medina - Sidonia , ordered its destruction . 32 ships , including the armada ' s galleys and the vessels from the treasure fleet , were burned . The next day , 3 July , the city ' s civil and ecclesiastical authorities made a pact with the English troops allowing the citizens of Cádiz to leave in exchange for a ransom of 120 , 000 ducats and the freedom of 51 English prisoners captured in past campaigns . The " gaditanos " ( citizens of Cádiz ) left the city for Point Zuazo with nothing more than they could carry . In guarantee of payment of the agreed - on ransom , various prominent citizens of the city were kept as hostages , including the president of the Casa de Contratación , the mayor , council members , and religious figures . The Earl of Essex , Francis , Vere , and the Dutch commanders demonstrated support for keeping the city in Anglo - Dutch hands , provisioning and garrisoning it for use as a base of operations . This seems to have been contrary to the wishes of Admiral Howard and the rest of the English officials , who considered it to be a hazardous enterprise and against the orders of the English Queen , frustrating plans for occupying the city . On 14 July , the English burned Cádiz and the next day they left the bay , taking the hostages with them since the Spanish authorities had not been able to pay the ransom . Portugal . On its return trip to England , the fleet disembarked at and burned Faro , Portugal . On the heights of Lisbon , they received news of the imminent arrival of the treasure fleet in the Azores . The Earl of Essex proposed to capture the fleet , but Admiral Howard opposed him , saying that it would be contrary to orders . With that , the fleet resumed its journey to Plymouth , where they arrived a few days later . Consequences . The sacking of Cádiz in 1596 was one of the worst Spanish defeats in the course of the war , together with the attack on Cádiz of 1587 and the loss of the Armada in 1588 . The economic losses produced by the Earl of Essex ' s expedition against the city and the anchored fleet in the port , estimated at 5 million ducats , contributed to the bankruptcy of the royal treasury that same year . Nevertheless , the recuperative capacity of the Spanish Armada was proven with the organization of a fleet that in October 1596 and September 1597 , under the command of Martín de Padilla , set sail against the English coasts . The city of Cádiz remained devastated ; in addition to the churches and hospitals , 290 out of a total of 1 , 303 houses burned . After the departure of the English and Dutch , the Spanish authorities considered the possibility of fortifying the city or dismantling it and relocating it to Puerto de Santa María . The military engineers Luis Bravo de Laguna , Tuburzio Spannocchi , Peleazzo Fratín , and Cristóbal de Rojas all presented plans for these options . Finally , it was decided to follow the plans laid out by Cristóbal de Rojas , who began construction of the fortifications in 1598 . Philip II gave the city a ten - year extension on the payment of taxes . Every attempt to repeat the raid , over the course of the next two centuries , failed . The hostages would not be freed until July 1603 , after the death of Elizabeth I and her succession by James I of England . The next year , Spain and England ended the war with the signing of the Treaty of London ( 1604 ) .