Naval battle near Gibraltar in 1476 during Castilian succession war.
The Battle of Gibraltar (1476) was a naval battle during the War of the Castilian Succession. A Castilian and Aragonese fleet intercepted and defeated a Portuguese fleet near the Strait of Gibraltar, achieving a Castilian victory. The action was part of wider struggles for maritime control and Atlantic routes.
The Battle of Gibraltar (1476) was a naval battle during the War of the Castilian Succession. It took place near the Strait of Gibraltar and ended in a Castilian victory. The Castilian and Aragonese side deployed Biscayan naos commanded by Juan Martínez de Mendaro, Pedro de Salazar and Ortún Pérez de Gaviola, five Castilian caravels armed by Mossèn Diego de Valera and commanded by his son Carlos de Valera, and four Catalan galleys under Andreu Sunyer. They assembled at the mouth of the Guadalquivir to fight the Portuguese for control of the strait. In April or May the fleet intercepted a Portuguese force commanded by Álvar Mendes, who captained the galley La Borralla, described as having 500 crew members and regarded as the best of its time. The Castilian side captured one galley and two caravels, while La Borralla and a Genoese carrack returning from Pisa with armor for the war with Castile were burned or sunk to avoid capture. Although victorious, the outcome provoked conflict between the Castilian caravels and the Catalan galleys over the rich Genoese prize, valued at 300,000 morabatins, which was ultimately sunk to prevent its seizure.
