Battle of Salga The Battle of Salga occurred on 25 July 1581 , along the Bay of Salga and around the coastal part of the parish of Vila de São Sebastião , island of Terceira in the Portuguese Azores , between Spanish and Portuguese forces . The latter , in the name of António , Prior of Crato , successfully defended the island against personal union with the Spanish crown , during the War of the Portuguese Succession . Background . After a successful conquest of the Kingdom of Portugal , Philip II of Spain was confronted with a new conflict with António , Prior of Crato , forcing him to delay his acclamation and recognition of Prince Diogo , his son , as heir and legitimate successor to the Portuguese Crown . Philip had opened the " Junta dos Estados " ( ) on 17 April 1581 , with the objective of establishing guarantees to the Portuguese Crown , and in order to facilitate this he published an amnesty for those implicated in supporting the Prior of Crato , during the succession crisis . But , it was not a general amnesty and contained many artificial clauses , that the King refused to alter , and who refused to pardon many , including António , the Count of Vimioso , the Bishop of Guarda ( son of the Count ) , as well as 52 others . When he eventually arrived in Almada , the King was advised of the bad disposition that existed on the island of Terceira towards his reign , and that they had refused to accept Ambrósio de Aguiar Coutinho as the new governor . Consequently , he ordered the preparation of an armada that could potentially secure the island of São Miguel , place locals under the obedience of the Crown , and facilitate shipping to the Indies . The fleet , under the command of Pedro de Valdez , was ordered to take Terceira until greater forces could be sent to assist the control the Azores . With Pedro , Phillip sent letters for the government in Angra do Heroísmo and particular instructions for the residents of the island , that with peace the new restrictions would be alleviated . Armada . From his base on the island of Santa Maria , Pedro de Valdez awaited the arrival of reinforcements from the continent , where he trained his crews , and continued repairs on the fleet . By spring he left Santa Maria with seven large carracks and 1000 troops . His small armada arrived in São Miguel where he took on provisions that were supplied by Governor Ambrósio de Aguiar Coutinho , and his cousin , Juan de Valdez , who was a knight / horseman joined the fleet . The group included eight galleon s , one " patache " and a fire - ship , that was there initially to observe ; it was with this detachment that they embarked for Terceira . Angra . On the morning of 5 July 1581 the armada appeared along the horizon , visible from Angra Bay to the east . There was mixed reaction in the populace on the fleets arrival , as the island ' s residents were equally divided between the two factions . Some believed the fleet to be António ' s supporters from France ( he had petitioned Catherine de Medici for help ) and England , with much promised aid , while the remaining nobles hoped that it brought Philip II ' s armies to subjugate the island and put an end to António ' s reign . His supporters , confident in support from their allies , were not as vigilant as the ships appeared on the horizon ; their hopes of triumph and confidence in their cause blinded them to the true nature of the fleet , and they were not prepared for an attack . This immediately changed as the ships crossed in front of the port and began to shell the city and the ships in the harbour . At the time , the fortress of Santo António did not exist , and troops from the ships disembarked the next morning near Monte Brasil , confiscated a fishing boat that could have been used to alert the local residents , and strengthened their positions overlooking the city by the third night . The commander , Valdez sent a dispatch to Governor Ciprião de Figueiredo e Vasconcelos and the rest of the landed gentry instructing them to surrender in the name of King Philip II , and advising them that monarch was willing to pardon them for their rebellion and provide them with other favours with the King ' s peace . Valdez finally noted that should they refuse , he was ready to send 1 , 000 troops to take the island , without providing quarter to anyone . Reaction . Most islanders reacted belligerently towards the Castilian , seeing the threats of force and favorable promises as nothing more than bluster . Terceirenses , although small in number , were not interested in reconciliation with Lisbon , unless their patron António was willing to accept them . António was popular with the island residents , who embraced him as their sovereign and swore fealty . This reaction , although expected , also indicated the degree of support of rural islanders , and he was forced to wait in Angra Bay for news from Philip II . Philip II of Spain heard of the state of Terceira and its dependents , and , except for São Miguel and Santa Maria , its residents rejected the installation of the new Governor that he sent to the islands . Without losing any time he prepared and armed a few ships necessary to conquer the rebel islands , under the command of Lopo do Figueiroa , in order to join Pedro Valdez ' s small flotilla . When Pedro heard that Lopo was on his way and , more importantly , had become the commander of the fleet , charged with conquering the renegade islands , he was incensed . Motivated by ambition , a potential victory and the glory associated with it , Pedro Valdez decided to disembark his forces in a pasture used by some of his troops to collect fruit or parlay with the local Portuguese . Valdez believed that the following tactic would end the rebellion : dispatch troops to join some of his men on the mainland , take Angra and refortify the enclave until Lopo de Figueiroa arrived to support ( which was expected ) . He gave orders and prepared for the surprise attack for the following day . Island defense . The islanders had constructed posts along the coast to watch for enemy attacks ; these posts were guarded by elements of the local militia and , in some cases , cannon . Consequently , on the morning of 24 July , Governor Ciprião do Figueiredo determined that the enemy , because of a few movements , intended to create a beachhead in the parish of Santo António do Porto Judeu . He ordered a contingent of the militia under Domingos Onsel to rendezvous in the area with 10 pikemen and 20 musket - armed infantrymen and to melt into the local population . In addition , the group was charged with defending the port and coast at the Casa da Salga , an area frequented by many of the Castilians in the days before the attack . Onsel and his militia marched from Angra with a well - armed , munitioned group , and arrogantly believed his superiority to the unprepared Spanish . As a result , after arriving at Port Judeu , realizing that the local population and coastal defenses were adequate , he dismissed his 10 pikemen and ordered them to return to Angra . Fearful of the consequences , the Governor sent to Port Judeu a second contingent that included a few infantrymen and horsemen along with the nobles Martim Simão de Faria , António de Ornelas Gusmão , Manuel Pires Teixeira , Manuel Gonçalves Salvago , ou Salgado , Pantaleão Toledo , Domingos Fernandes , and André Fernandes de Seia . The group , in counsel with Domingos Onsel , deliberated that their best option was to divide into smaller groups and stake out points along the coast , with some armed soldiers and members of the local population . Each team dispersed into an area of about a league , from Port Judeu ' s fort to Salga Bay , an act that dispersed their forces considerably . Battle . On the morning of the feast day of Santiago ( 25 July ) , finding the waters peaceful and wind favourable , Pedro de Valdez ordered troops to set out on small launches and the seized boat , with his first column of 200 well - armed men some artillery . Pedro de Valdez ' s plan was to disembark his men at Casa da Salga , in the valley of Porto Judeu ( a mile from Vila de São Sebastião ) . As he recognized , Salga Bay was a relatively large bay with a deep channel that allowed easy offloading of men and munitions , and which extended inwards along the valley into a vast plain that reached towards Pico de Garcia Ramos ( at the parish ' s northern limits ) . In the early hours , the lookout sounded the alarm from Ponta dos Coelhos to warn that the enemy was drawing near . The bell was rung by Vicar Pereira in the bell - tower of the parochial church of Santo António to awaken the residents to the Spanish intervention . Domingos Onsel and his troops quickly reformed , but arrived too late to impede the Spanish landing at Port Judeu . Finding no resistance , and led by João de Valdez , the Spanish offloaded their artillery and men , including Juan de Bazan ( nephew of the Marquese of Santa Cruz ) , the nephew of the Count of Alba , and many other experienced men , advanced into the valley , while 50 men remained behind to defend the beachhead . As the battle progressed , a small group of local defenders captained by Baltasar Afonso Leonardes arrived in the valley and joined the battle . Meanwhile from Valdez ' s carracks another 200 men and arms had offloaded , so that " " from daylight there could be on land 400 men , illustrious people , and old soldiers , who surely was fearful ; and its order and force exemplified grande soldiers . " " The Spanish forces expanded into the plain of Vale , while the defenders gathered in the high ground near a spring and manor owned by the farmer Bartolomeu Lourenço , his wife Brianda Pereira ( a nobleman ' s daughter ) , and their children . Brianda was the object of Spanish attention , and the family home was the first conquest of the battle : her husband was gravely wounded along with one of his sons during the defense , but nonetheless arrested by the advancing Spanish , as she escaped . The family home was sacked , destroyed and the wheat store was ransacked . But unfortunately for the Spanish , she was able to motivate and exhort the women in the nearby villages to stand alongside their men in the defense of the island . By this time , Pedro de Valdez had finally made it to shore , with the rest of his 1 , 000 troops and made camp at the beachhead . At about 9 : 00 in the morning reinforcements arrived from Angra under the command of Sebastião do Canto , Pedro Cota da Malha , Bernardo de Távora , Gaspar Cavio de Barroso and Francisco Dias Santiago ; from Praia contingents under Gaspar Camelo do Rego and Simão de Andrade Machado ; from Vila de São Sebastião Baltasar Afonso ( as the Captain - major in the jurisdiction ) and André Gato ( captain of the forces in Porto Judeu ) ; a contingent of French troops onboard António Eschalim ' s carrack ; and many other people that swelled their ranks to 6 , 000 combatants . This group slowly advanced on the Spanish in the plain and towards the coast . Captain Artur de Azevedo de Andrade arrived with an artillery piece , marching along the coast toward the beachhead , intent on creating confusion in the Spanish ranks , but was attacked and shamefully retreated . The Spanish dragged the cannon to their camp , and began singing songs of victory , secure in the belief that they had the advantage , protected the beachhead and ensured the safety of the armada . By midday , the Spanish on the coast had not seen any Portuguese soldiers and believed their leaders to be arrested or hiding in the mountains , or that the islanders had realized the folly and inevitable losses from Valdez ' s 1 , 000 troops . This quickly changed as the Portuguese arrived within sight of the beach , forcing Valdez to escape to his ship .