Battle off the Downs

E411399

The Battle off the Downs was a major naval engagement in 1639 during the Eighty Years' War, in which a Dutch fleet decisively defeated a Spanish fleet anchored in English waters near the Downs.

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Label Occurrences
Battle off the Downs canonical 1

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf military engagement
naval battle
alsoKnownAs Battle of the Downs
associatedWith Dutch Golden Age naval warfare
belligerent Dutch Republic
Spain
category 17th-century naval battles
Conflicts in 1639
Military history of the English Channel
Dutch–Spanish naval war of the 1630s
surface form: Naval battles of the Eighty Years' War
combatant Spanish Empire
commander Antonio de Oquendo
Maarten Tromp
conflict Eighty Years' War
countryInWhoseWatersItOccurred Kingdom of England
date 21 October 1639
DutchCommander Maarten Tromp
era 17th century
fleetInvolved Dutch fleet
Spanish fleet
historicalRegion Kent
involvedNeutralPower Kingdom of England
location English Channel
The Downs
near Dover
off the coast of Kent
navalPowerAffected Dutch navy of the Republic
surface form: Dutch navy

Spanish Navy
surface form: Spanish Atlantic fleet
navalTacticsUsed line-of-battle tactics
notableFor Dutch attack on a Spanish fleet anchored in neutral English waters
violation of English neutrality by the Dutch attack
outcome destruction of most of the Spanish fleet
partOf Eighty Years' War
politicalContext rivalry between Dutch Republic and Spanish Empire for control of Atlantic trade routes
precededBy Battle of the Downs campaign of 1639
relatedConflict Anglo-Spanish War (1625–1630)
relatedEvent Dutch–Spanish naval war of the 1630s
surface form: Dutch–Spanish naval operations of 1639
result decisive Dutch victory
significance ended Spanish attempts to maintain a major oceanic fleet in the English Channel
strengthened Dutch control of sea lanes to the Netherlands
weakened Spanish naval power in the Eighty Years' War
SpanishCommander Antonio de Oquendo
theatre English Channel theatre of the Eighty Years' War
European waters
tookPlaceIn English territorial waters
tookPlaceNear Goodwin Sands
year 1639

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Slag bij de Downs hasAlternativeName Battle off the Downs