The action of 8 January 1780 was a naval encounter off

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between a British Royal Naval fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney, and a fleet of Spanish merchants sailing in convoy with seven warships of the Guipuzcoan Caracas Company, under the command of Commodore Don Juan Augustin de Yardi. During the action the entire Spanish convoy was captured. Rodney's fleet was en route to relieve Gibraltar, and this action took place several days before Rodney's engagement and defeat of a Spanish fleet at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.

Background

One of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

's principal goals upon its entry into the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

in 1779 was the recovery of

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, which had been lost to

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in 1704. The Spanish consequently planned to retake Gibraltar by blockading and starving out its garrison, which included troops from Britain and the

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. The siege formally began in June 1779, with the Spanish establishing a land blockade around The Rock. The matching naval blockade was comparatively weak, and the British discovered that small fast ships could evade the blockaders, while slower and larger supply ships generally could not. By late 1779, however, supplies in Gibraltar had become seriously depleted, and General George Eliott appealed to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for relief. A supply convoy was organized, and in late December 1779 a large fleet sailed from England under the command of Admiral Sir George Brydges Rodney. Although Rodney's final destination was the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, he had secret instructions to first resupply Gibraltar and

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

Action

On 4 January Rodney parted with the ship of the line under Sir John Hamilton, and the frigates , and under Captains Hyde Parker, H. Bryne and William Dickson respectively, to escort the West Indies-bound merchants. The following day Rodney encountered a Spanish convoy consisting of 22 ships, bound from

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Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

. He closed on them, the

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on some of his ships allowing them to outsail the Spanish. The whole convoy was captured, except for one merchant vessel. Vessels which had been carrying naval stores to the Spanish fleet at Cádiz, and baled goods for the Royal Guipuzcoan Caracas Company were sent back to England, escorted by and .

Aftermath

Rodney found the Spanish ships to be carrying provisions useful to Gibraltar and so used them to relieve the British forces there. In addition Rodney commissioned and manned the captured Spanish flagship, the 64-gun ''Guipuzcoana'', naming her , in honour of

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, who was present at the engagement. Rodney remarked in his despatches to the Admiralty that the loss of the ships "must greatly distress the enemy, who I am well informed are in much want of provisions and naval stores". Several days later Rodney engaged and defeated a Spanish fleet under Don Juan de Lángara at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, on 16 January 1780, before going on to relieve Gibraltar and Menorca. The 16-gun ''San Fermin'' that was captured in this action was also commissioned to serve in the Royal Navy, and then would be recovered by the Spanish in April 1781.

Ships involved

The order of battle is as reported by Beatson.

British fleet

* (90) Admiral Sir George Brydges Rodney, Captain Walter Young * (98) Rear-Admiral Robert Digby, Captain Philip Patton * (100) Rear-Admiral John Lockhart Ross, Captain J. Bourmaster * (74) Captain J. Brisbane * (74) Captain S. Uvedale * (74) Captain Edmund Affleck * (74) Captain George Balfour * (74) Captain J. Peyton * (74) Captain John Elliot * (74) Captain J. Houlton * (74) Captain Adam Duncan * (74) Captain Mark Robinson * (74) Captain J. Douglas * (74) Captain Chaloner Ogle * (74) Captain S. Cornish * (74) Captain James Cranston * (74) Captain T. Penny * (74) Captain S. Wallis * (64) Captain S. Thompson * (64) Captain John MacBride * (32) Captain Henry Harvey * (28) Captain George Montagu * (24) Captain Skeffington Lutwidge * (24) Captain John Bazely * (24) Captain Lord Hugh Seymour * (24) Captain Edward Thomson

Spanish fleet

Caracas Company warships

* ''Guipuzcoano'' (64) Commodore Don Juan Augustin de Yardi, Captain Don Tomás de Malay * ''San Carlos'' (32) Captain Don Firmin Urtizberea * ''San Rafael'' (30) Captain Don Luis Aranburu * ''Santa Teresa'' (28) Captain Don Jose J. de Mendizabal * ''San Bruno'' (26) Captain J. M. de Goicoechea * ''San Fermín'' (16) Captain J. Vin. Eloy Sanchez * ''San Vicente'' (10) Captain Don José de Ugalde

Merchants

* ''Nuestra Señora de L'Oves'' * ''San Francisco'' * ''La Concepción'' * ''San Nicolás'' * ''San Jerónimo'' * ''Divina Providencia'' * ''San Gavilán'' * ''San Pacora'' * ''San Lauren'' * ''La Providencia'' * ''La Bellona'' * ''Esperanza'' * ''Le Cidada de Mercia'' * ''La Amistad'' * ''San Miguel''

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *
The life and correspondence of the late Admiral Lord Rodney, Volume 1
By Godfrey Basil Mundy * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Action of 8 January 1780 1780 in Spain Conflicts in 1780 Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Great Britain Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Spain Naval battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1779–1783)