![]() ![]() ![]() At that time Castlehaven Castle was held by the O'Driscoll clan and they welcomed the Spanish. Eventually Zubiar arrived with a total force of 2000 men near Castlehaven on 1 December. Zubiaur with six ships became separated from the main fleet. On 23 September 1601, a Spanish Fleet under Don Juan del Águila arrived in Kinsale harbour. Five out of six Spanish ships, commanded by General Pedro de Zubiaur were either sunk, captured, or run aground in the battle, while the English fleet lost no ships. The Spanish convoy was protected by fortified positions on shore, a castle, and 600 Spanish and Irish footmen. Though only one Spanish ship was burned, the English had achieved their goal of breaking up Medina Sedonia’s fleet.The Battle of Castlehaven was a naval battle that took place on 6 December 1601 in the bay off Castlehaven on the south coast of Ireland during the Nine Years' War between a Spanish naval convoy of six ships and an English fleet, commanded by Admiral Richard Leveson and consisting of four warships. Afraid that the fireships would set the ships of the Armada on fire, many of the Spanish captains cut their anchor cables and scattered. At midnight on July 28, the English ignited eight fireships and sent them downwind towards the Armada. ![]() On July 27, the Armada anchored at Calais, and attempted to contact Parma’s forces at nearby Dunkirk. Though the attack had failed to scatter the Armada, it prevented Medina Sedonia from using the Isle of Wight as an anchorage and forced the Spanish to continue up the Channel without any news of Parma’s readiness. While the English enjoyed initial success, Medina Sedonia was able to reinforce those parts of the fleet that were in danger and the Armada was able to maintain formation. Off the Isle of Wight, the English launched an all-out assault on the Armada, with Sir Francis Drake leading the largest contingent of attacking ships. ![]()
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