| |
| | [ information-center.be | Battle_of_the_Downs Resources ] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-24) |
 | | The naval Battle of the Downs took place on 31 October 1639 (New style) during the Eighty Years' War and was a decisive defeat of the Spanish, commanded by Admiral Antonio de Oquendo, by the United Provinces, commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp. |
 | | The Spanish, whose first priority was to protect the troops, not to endanger them by continuing the battle, were driven to take refuge off the coast of England, in the anchorage known as The Downs between Dover and Deal, near an English squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral John Pennington. |
 | | However, for England the Battle of the Downs was a humiliation: a flagrant violation of English neutrality within sight of the English coast, with England's navy unwilling to intervene. |
| information-center.be /Battle_of_the_Downs.html (1699 words) |
|