Martín de Bertendona
Encyclopedia
Don Martín de Bertendona (d. 1604) was an important officer of the Spanish Navy
under Philip II
and Philip III
. He participated in the Spanish Armada
, and is perhaps most famous for his role in the capture of the iconic English galleon Revenge in 1591.
. They had a shipyard and a merchant fleet, but they also played a prestigious role in the Spanish navy. One of their ships served as the royal flagship in 1522 and 1554. The young Martín de Bertendona was bred to naval warfare from boyhood, seeing his first campaign in 1546.
By 1583, Don Martín had risen to command the fleet that guarded the Atlantic coast while the commander-in-chief was securing the Azores. In 1587, he played a senior role in planning, organizing and leading the Spanish Armada
. In the campaign itself, he commanded the Levant Squadron, a force of huge Mediterranean cargo ships carrying troops and equipment for the projected campaign in England; his flagship was the largest vessel in the campaign, but she was lightly armed, best suited for a close-range boarding action.
Although Don Martín had correctly predicted the key challenges that the campaign would face - the lack of a secure deep-water anchorage, and the ability of the English galleons to refuse close-quarters battle - he believed that the Spanish would still had won if they had pressed the attack at Gravelines.
Bertendona brought his flagship safely home to Spain, and in 1589, he participated in the successful defence of A Coruña
against the invasion attempt
of Sir Francis Drake.
as a heroic rearguard action by a single English ship against fifty Spanish galleons, but Spanish reports tell a different story, portraying the battle almost as a single-ship action between Don Martín and Sir Richard Grenville
.
They show that fleeing English fleet was overhauled by the two ships of Don Martín's Bilbao squadron; the larger San Felipe reached the Revenge first, but failed to grapple close, and was driven off by English gunfire; then Don Martín's flagship, the smaller San Bernabé, caught up - slowing the English ship by slicing his bowsprit through her foresail, then grappling close alongside.
Don Martín then settled into a long, grim duel, using artillery and musket fire, and keeping his men under cover; he did not attempt to storm the English ship's decks, a tactic that proved disastrous for three other Spaniards that attempted it as dusk fell.
By the next morning, the San Bernabé had pounded the pride of the English navy into surrender.
in support of the Catholic League
, with the repaired San Bernabé as flagship. In 1596-7, Don Martín was involved as a senior subordinate commander in renewed preparations to invade England, but these were hindered by delays and bad storms.
Early in 1598, he assumed overall command, and successfully led the Spanish fleet up the English Channel - but now their destination was the Spanish Netherlands, and the priority was the war with Holland. Bertendona argued unsuccessfully for a campaign against England, and after the Peace of Vervins
, he returned to Spain.
Further expeditions in 1601 and 1602 were called off by his superiors, but since 1588, Don Martín had also commanded the naval forces of his home province of Vizcaya, and he focused his energies on the construction of a new fleet, including fast ships inspired by the Dunkirk frigates
.
Don Martín de Bertendona lived to see England sue for peace in 1604; almost immediately afterwards, he hauled down his flag, and died.
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
under Philip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
and Philip III
Philip III of Spain
Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...
. He participated in the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
, and is perhaps most famous for his role in the capture of the iconic English galleon Revenge in 1591.
Origins and early career
Don Martín de Bertendona came from a prominent seafaring family in BilbaoBilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
. They had a shipyard and a merchant fleet, but they also played a prestigious role in the Spanish navy. One of their ships served as the royal flagship in 1522 and 1554. The young Martín de Bertendona was bred to naval warfare from boyhood, seeing his first campaign in 1546.
By 1583, Don Martín had risen to command the fleet that guarded the Atlantic coast while the commander-in-chief was securing the Azores. In 1587, he played a senior role in planning, organizing and leading the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
. In the campaign itself, he commanded the Levant Squadron, a force of huge Mediterranean cargo ships carrying troops and equipment for the projected campaign in England; his flagship was the largest vessel in the campaign, but she was lightly armed, best suited for a close-range boarding action.
Although Don Martín had correctly predicted the key challenges that the campaign would face - the lack of a secure deep-water anchorage, and the ability of the English galleons to refuse close-quarters battle - he believed that the Spanish would still had won if they had pressed the attack at Gravelines.
Bertendona brought his flagship safely home to Spain, and in 1589, he participated in the successful defence of A Coruña
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
against the invasion attempt
English Armada
The English Armada, also known as the Counter Armada or the Drake-Norris Expedition, was a fleet of warships sent to the Iberian Coast by Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1589, during the Anglo-Spanish War...
of Sir Francis Drake.
Capture of the Revenge
English sources present the last fight of the RevengeBattle of Flores (1591)
The Battle of Flores was a naval engagement of the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585 fought off the Island of Flores between an English fleet of 22 ships under Lord Thomas Howard and a Spanish fleet of 63 ships under Alonso de Bazán...
as a heroic rearguard action by a single English ship against fifty Spanish galleons, but Spanish reports tell a different story, portraying the battle almost as a single-ship action between Don Martín and Sir Richard Grenville
Richard Grenville
Sir Richard Grenville was an English sailor, sea captain and explorer. He took part in the early English attempts to settle the New World, and also participated in the fight against the Spanish Armada...
.
They show that fleeing English fleet was overhauled by the two ships of Don Martín's Bilbao squadron; the larger San Felipe reached the Revenge first, but failed to grapple close, and was driven off by English gunfire; then Don Martín's flagship, the smaller San Bernabé, caught up - slowing the English ship by slicing his bowsprit through her foresail, then grappling close alongside.
Don Martín then settled into a long, grim duel, using artillery and musket fire, and keeping his men under cover; he did not attempt to storm the English ship's decks, a tactic that proved disastrous for three other Spaniards that attempted it as dusk fell.
By the next morning, the San Bernabé had pounded the pride of the English navy into surrender.
Later career
In 1592, Bertendona led a squadron across the Bay of BiscayBay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
in support of the Catholic League
Catholic League
Catholic League may refer to:*Catholic League , created by Henry of Guise, in 1576 during the French Wars of Religion*Catholic League , a confederation of Catholic German states formed to counteract the Protestant Union...
, with the repaired San Bernabé as flagship. In 1596-7, Don Martín was involved as a senior subordinate commander in renewed preparations to invade England, but these were hindered by delays and bad storms.
Early in 1598, he assumed overall command, and successfully led the Spanish fleet up the English Channel - but now their destination was the Spanish Netherlands, and the priority was the war with Holland. Bertendona argued unsuccessfully for a campaign against England, and after the Peace of Vervins
Peace of Vervins
The Peace of Vervins was signed between the representatives of Henry IV of France and Philip II of Spain, on 2 May 1598, at the small town of Vervins in Picardy, northern France, close to the territory of the Habsburg Netherlands...
, he returned to Spain.
Further expeditions in 1601 and 1602 were called off by his superiors, but since 1588, Don Martín had also commanded the naval forces of his home province of Vizcaya, and he focused his energies on the construction of a new fleet, including fast ships inspired by the Dunkirk frigates
Dunkirkers
During the Dutch Revolt the Dunkirkers or Dunkirk Privateers, were commerce raiders in the service of the Spanish Monarchy. They were also part of the Dunkirk fleet, which consequently was a part of the Spanish Monarchy's Flemish fleet ...
.
Don Martín de Bertendona lived to see England sue for peace in 1604; almost immediately afterwards, he hauled down his flag, and died.
Sources
- C.R. Boxer, "The Papers of Martín de Bertendona, a Basque admiral of Spain's Golden Age, 1584-1623", Indiana University Bookman 10 (1969), pp. 3-23
- D. Goodman, Spanish Naval Power, 1589-1665: Reconstruction and Defeat (Cambridge 2003)
- C. Lloyd, "Further English Voyages to Spanish America, 1583-1594" (book review), Mariner's Mirror 38-40 (1952), p. 160
- M. Gracia Rivas, "La campaña de Bretaña (1590-1598): una amenaza para Inglaterra", in Ix jornados de historia maritina después de la Gran Armada, la histroria desconocida, 1588-16--: ciclo de conferencias, abril 1993 (Cuadernos monográficos del Instituto de Historia y Cultura Naval 20, Madrid 1993), pp 41-56
External Links
- John Barratt, Sir Richard Grenville and the last Fight of the Revenge, 1591, at MlitaryHistoryOnline.com, accessed 10th July 2011