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Battle of Cadiz

Battle of Cadiz
Date March 13, 1525 Location Cadiz, Spain Result Portuguese Victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Portugal Colony of Brazil Colony of Morocco	Spanish Empire Kingdom of Aragon Kingdom of Valencia Kingdom of Majorca Kingdom of Sicily Catalan Counties Dutch Republic
Commanders and leaders
Joao Machado King Alexandre I Pedro de Braganca Jona de Viseu Ferdinand de Oliveira  † Garcia de Pereira	Maria-Victoria von Habsburg Charle de Barcelona  † Francisco de Lara Miguel de Camondo  † Alejandro de Silva  † Leonor de Enriquez  † Manuel de Corazon Jan Lucas van Achterberg  †
Strength
9,000 men: 5,000 sailors 4,000 soldiers 15 Galleons 17 Carracks 4 Galleys 24 Armed Trading Ships	15,000 men: 8,000 sailors 6,000 soldiers 29 Galleons 20 Galleys 27 Carracks 13 Flutes
Casualties and losses
2,000-3,000 men killed 4,000-6,000 wounded 14 ships sunk or destroyed	6,000-8,000 men killed 3,000-5,000 wounded 16 ships captured 18 ships sunk or destroyed All Dutch ships destroyed
1,000-1,500 Traders killed or captured

The Battle of Cadiz was a large naval engagement between the Kingdom of Portugal and Spanish Empire on March 13, 1525, which would result in a major Spanish defeat near the Gulf of Cadiz. The Portuguese Armada with reinforcements from their colonies in Brazil and Morroco sailed near the gulf from their station in Lisbon when the Spanish Armada met them on their way to Seville.

The Portuguese fleet consisted of 60 ships with many around 24 being from Brazil. Admiral Joao Machado led the main flotilla with King Alexandre I, while Captains Nuno Alvaro de Pereira, Pedro de Braganca, Jona de Viseu, and Ferdinand de Algarve led the flanks and reserves. The Spanish fleet on the other hand consisted of 89 ships with most being designed for warfare while the Portuguese fleet was mostly repurposed trading vessels, the main Spanish Navy was commanded by Maria-Victoria and Admiral Charle de Barcelona, the flanks and reserves were commanded by captains Francisco de Lara, Miguel de Camondo, Alejandaro de Silva, Leonor de Enriquez, and Manuel de Corazon, With Jan Lucas van Achterberg arriving shortly with a reinforcement of 13 Dutch Flutes.

The Battle of Cadiz marks the first time the Portuguese and Spanish Armadas met in over 60 years. this would also mark the first effective usage of the Galleons and the final battle of the Galleys before they were retired weeks later by the Spanish navy due to being outmatched and outmanuevered by the newer Portuguese ships.

The Portuguese victory was incredibly important in securing the entrance to the Mediterannean, blocking the Spanish from supporting their colonial holdings any further, it also secured Portuguese Morocco which was under threat of a Spanish invasion. This would not only halt Spanish domination of America for the duration of the war but also lower Spain's prestige and reputation after being defeated by a "Lowly power". This great victory would not only show Spain's rivals that it was weaker than thought before but also challenged its title of "Defender of Christendom".

Background

The Portuguese were soon becoming the trading power in Africa, Asia and even in America, while still an underdog militarily, they were soon filling their coffers with treasures that made even the Spanish jealous, because of this Queen Maria-Victoria von Habsburg, under pressure from not only her family in Austria but most of her allies, sent a warning to the young and recently ascended King Alexandre. The Spanish sent a threatening and insulting letter expecting the Portuguese to obey and lose their dominion, its expectations were brutal, it listed as follows

"Letter to his majesty, The King of Portugal.

Your majesty, under the pretense of defending Christendom and the interests of the holiest Kingdom of Spain, I Queen Maria-Victoria von Habsburg, implore you to follow these guidelines lest a quick response be awaited.

* The Kingdom of Portugal must pay tribute of 50,000,000 Spanish reals to the Kingdom of Spain as a sign of respect and friendship. This tribute is to be paid annually without delay or resistance.

* The Kingdom of Portugal is to surrender its colonial holdings of Angola, Mozambique, Porto Rico and the Islands of Cape Verde. This must be complied in a sign of friendship and devotion to the protection of Christendom.

* The Kingdom of Portugal will be subject to strict limitations on its trade activities. All trade routes and commercial activities must be sanctioned and monitored by The Kingdom of Spain. Failure to comply will result in complete trade embargo and severe economic consequences.

* The Kingdom of Portugal is to immediately disarm its naval forces share any existing naval technologies to the Kingdom of Spain.

Failure to follow these guidelines will result in significant consequences"

The young and somewhat impulsive king quickly sent back a response, it read "To the Holiest of them all, Queen of Spain, what an arsehole"

The Spanish feeling insulted and angered declared war on Febuary 12, 1521, The Portuguese responded by blockading the entrance of the Mediterranean and the Spanish armada was soon assembled in Cadiz. The Portuguese seeing the massive assembly of warships sent a fleet of ships under Admiral Joao Machado to support the blockade and discourage a Spanish response, unfortunately on the route there the Spanish armada intercepted the large fleet of mostly rearmed trading vessels.