naval engagement, notable, early modern
Battle of the Downs
Battle of the Downs was a naval engagement fought on 21 October 1639 at English Channel, in what is now United Kingdom. It was part of the Eighty Years' War, which ran from 1568 to 1648. The recorded result: Dutch victory. Recorded strength: 22 galleys, 29 galleons, 13 frigates, 6,500 sailors, 8,000 marines,; 30 transports carrying 9,000 soldiers against 95 warships.
See it on the globe Read the article
Record
| Date | 21 October 1639 | |
|---|---|---|
| Place | English Channel, United Kingdom 51.200N, 1.500E | |
| Part of | Eighty Years' War (1568 to 1648) | |
| Kind | Naval engagement, early modern | |
| Result | Dutch victory | |
| Belligerents | Habsburg Spain; Kingdom of Portugal | Dutch Republic |
| Commanders | Antonio de Oquendo; Lope de Hoces; Miguel de Horna | Maarten Tromp; Witte de With; Joost Banckert; Johan Evertsen |
| Strength | 22 galleys, 29 galleons, 13 frigates, 6,500 sailors, 8,000 marines,; 30 transports carrying 9,000 soldiers | 95 warships |
| Casualties and losses | 35–40 ships; 5,000 sailors or marines; 3,000 soldiers captured or interned in England | 100–1,000 men; 1–10 ships lost |
Nearest engagements
- Battle of Goodwin Sands 1652, 8.2 km
- Battle of Sandwich (1217) 1217, 9.6 km
- Battle of Sandwich (1460) 1459, 9.8 km
- Siege of Dover Castle 1216, 15 km
- Battle of Dover 1217, 15 km
In the same war
- Before: Action of 18 February 1639 18 February 1639
- After: First Battle of San Salvador August 1641
- All 126 engagements of Eighty Years' War
Elsewhere in 1639
- Battle of Chemnitz Germany
- Relief of Thionville France
- Siege of Salses France
- Siege of Jonvelle France
- Battle of Salses-le-Château France
Battle of the Downs is one of 979 engagements of the 17th century in the atlas and one of 599 in present-day United Kingdom.
Sources
Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q675999, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Downs, revision 1385058961, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.