April 25th, 1607 - The Battle of Gibraltar

Conflict: Eighty Years' War (1566-1648)

Combatants: Dutch vs. Spanish

Location: Netherlands

Outcome: Dutch victory

On this day in 1607, a Dutch fleet under Admiral Jacob van Heemskerck surprised a Spanish fleet at anchor. Most of the Spanish ships were sunk. The Spanish agreed to a temporary truce soon afterward.

Battle of Gibraltar 1607 by Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen

Points of Interest:

• Despite declaring independence from Spain in 1581, the Netherlands would not be recognized officially until 1648.

• Spain's peace treaties with England and France had by 1604 left the Dutch without allies. Only mastery of the seas allowed the Netherlands to stave off defeat by the Spanish.

Jacob van Heemskerk by an unknown artist

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Sources:

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.