The Battle of Ameixial, was fought on 8 June 1663, near the village of Santa Vitória do Ameixial, some north-west of

Estremoz Estremoz () is a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 14,318, in an area of 513.80 km². The city Estremoz itself had a population of 7,682 in 2001. It is located in the Alentejo region. History The region around Estremoz ...

, between

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

as part of the

Portuguese Restoration War The Portuguese Restoration War ( pt, Guerra da Restauração) was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a formal end to the Iberian Union. The ...

. In Spain, the battle is better known as the Battle of Estremoz. In the spring of 1663, the Spanish had undertaken their most successful attack on Portugal, since the beginning of the war. Under command of

John of Austria the Younger John Joseph of Austria or John of Austria (the Younger) ( es, Don Juan José de Austria; 7 April 1629 – 17 September 1679) was a Spanish general and political figure. He was the only illegitimate son of Philip IV of Spain to be acknowledged b ...

, son of

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered ...

(and the conqueror of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

and of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

and winner of the French in Italy), the greater part of the south of Portugal was overrun. The important city of

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old ...

was taken on 22 May, opening perspectives for a march on Lisbon, to the west. But the lack of ammunition, food and money paralysed the Spanish army. The Portuguese raised a 17,000 men strong army led by

Sancho Manoel de Vilhena Sancho Manuel de Vilhena, 1st Count of Vila Flor (1610–3 February 1677), was a Portuguese aristocrat and military leader, of royal background. He participated in several battles in Central Europe and fought the Dutch in Brazil between 1638 an ...

, aided by

Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg, 1st Count of Mertola, (french: Frédéric-Armand; pt, Armando Frederico; 6 December 1615 – 1 July 1690) was a Marshal of France and a General in the English and Portuguese Army. He was ...

, Fernando de Meneses, Count of Ericeira and other senior officers, and marched against the Spanish. The Spanish commander decided to retreat to a strategic position at the north east of Évora and wait for the enemy, leaving a garrison of 3,700 in Évora. The Portuguese army was reinforced by three regiments (1 cavalry & 2 infantry) of about 3,000 troops, from England (mostly from around the British isles) which were put under the command of the Duke of Schomberg. Also included were a small number of mercenaries from France. Of this foreign contingent, almost 2,000 English fought in Ameixial, about 1600 incorporated in the infantry and 300 in the cavalry. The

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

of Don John of Austria was captured when his squadron was almost totally killed.''The Manuscripts of J. M. Heathcote'', pp. 111-12 The standard was later presented to King

Afonso VI of Portugal Afonso VI (; 21 August 164312 September 1683), known as "the Victorious" (), was the second king of Portugal of the House of Braganza from 1656 until his death. He was initially under the regency of his mother, Luisa de Guzmán, until 1662, whe ...

himself. The Spanish casualties were very high, all of their artillery and baggage was captured, and the army was forced to retreat to

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populati ...

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

. When the Spanish garrison of Évora of 3,700 men capitulated on 24 June 1663, the whole expedition was a complete failure. The independence of the Kingdom of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

was saved while the military career of John of Austria ended. A memorial stone was placed on the site of the battlefield. The battle is memorialized in a prominent

azulejo ''Azulejo'' (, ; from the Arabic ''al- zillīj'', ) is a form of Spanish and Portuguese painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. ''Azulejos'' are found on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, res ...

of the Room of the Battles () in the

Palace of the Marquises of Fronteira The Palace of the Marquesses of Fronteira ( Portuguese: Palácio dos Marqueses de Fronteira) is a Portuguese palace located in Lisbon, Portugal. History The Palace of the Marquesses of Fronteira was built in 1671 as a hunting pavilion to Don J ...

, created in 1671-1672.The inscription in Portuguese reads as follows:

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Ameixial Ameixial Ameixial 1663 in Portugal Conflicts in 1663 Ameixial Estremoz

See also

References

Bibliography