Battle of Cabrita point

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The London Gazette, dated 14–17 May 1705 detailing the return of Leake from Gibraltar after the battle.

The Battle of Cabrita point, usually referred to as the Battle of Marbella, was a naval battle that took place while a combined Spanish-French force besieged Gibraltar on 10 March 1705 (21 March 1705 in the New Calendar) during the War of Spanish Succession.

The battle was an allied victory (English, Dutch and Portuguese) which effectively ended the Franco-Spanish siege of Gibraltar.

Prelude

The allies had conquered Gibraltar on behalf of the Archduke Charles of Habsburg on 1 August 1704. The Spanish besieged the city by land, and in that year, the French had made a first failed attempt to attack from the sea in the Battle of Vélez-Málaga.

In January 1705 Philip V of Spain was determined to reconquer the city and had Villadarias replaced by Marshal de Tessé. Tessé realized that Gibraltar would never be retaken as long as the allies could access it from the sea. He therefore ordered Admiral Pointis to block up the place by sea with his squadron of 18 ships of the line. Some of these ships were Spanish under José Fernández de Santillán. Gibraltar was not a permanent harbour yet for the English fleet, which was anchored in Lisbon at the time.

The commander of Gibraltar, Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, despatched an express to Lisbon, desiring Sir John Leake to sail to his assistance. This admiral set sail immediately with five sail of the line and a body of troops. By the morning of 10 March, he had a squadron of 23 English, four Dutch and eight Portuguese ships of various sizes.

The battle

Arriving at Gibraltar, he found five French ships hauling out of the bay. Admiral Leake had every advantage and he pressed home his attack with speed and vigour. In a swift and skilful action near Cabrita Point, 9 miles south-west of Marbella, the Dutch took two of the French ships, Leake a third. Pointis had no other option than to run the two remaining ships ashore and burn them to avoid capture.^[1]

The remaining part of the French squadron had been blown from their anchors by a gale, and taken shelter in the bay of Malaga; but now they slipped their cables and made the best of their way to Toulon.

Aftermath

The Marshal de Tessé, in consequence of this disaster, turned the siege of Gibraltar into a blockade, and withdrew the greater part of his forces on March 31. Pointis retired from active service after this battle.

Leake had not only scored a remarkable victory, but had saved Gibraltar from attack and had enhanced his already high reputation.

References