Castilian attack on Gravesend

The forces of Juan I of Castile attacked Gravesend in the summer of 1380. During the raid on the town, the Castilian admiral Fernando Sánchez de Tovar ordered soldiers to loot the town and set it ablaze. The attacks were part of the Hundred Years' War, and led to concerns for the safety of London, just 20 miles away.

Castilian attack on Gravesend
Part of Hundred Years' War
Other raids on the south English coastline that occurred during the Hundred Years' War
Date Summer of 1380 Location Gravesend Result Castillian victory
Belligerents
Crown of Castile	Kingdom of England
Units involved
20 galleys	Unknown

Context

Henry II of Castile was crowned king of Castile after defeating his half-brother in the first Castilian civil war. The new Trastámara king joined with the French under Jean de Vienne in a series of naval attacks and incursions into England. During these attacks, the towns of Dartmouth, Folkestone, Hastings, Lewes, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Rottingdean, Rye, Southampton, Wight, and Winchelsea^[1][2][3][4] were looted, and many were burned. In 1379, Henry II died and left his throne to his son, Juan I of Castile, who soon ordered a naval raid in 1379 against the Kingdom of England.^[5]

Sequence of events

The raiding fleet, a combined Spanish-French fleet of 20 galleys^[6] under the command of Fernando Sánchez de Tovar , which previously departed from Seville in late 1379/early 1380, arrived in the Thames Estuary in early summer of 1380. Before it moved to attack the eastern English seaboard, the islands of Jersey and Guernsey were also subject to raids by the fleet.^{[7][1][clarification needed]}

The fleet attacked Winchelsea and towns in Kent, before entering the mouth of the River Thames and attacking Gravesend,^[8][9] with some sources even claiming that the fleet advanced to within sight of the English capital of London. At Gravesend, Castilian soldiers disembarked and proceeded to loot the town and set it ablaze.^{[9][10][11][8][12][13][14][6]}

References

1. Lopes, Fernão (1988). The English in Portugal, 1367-87: Extracts from the Chronicles of Dom Fernando and Dom João. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-85668-341-1. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
2. Togores, Luis E. (2021-09-30). "El día que los españoles invadieron Inglaterra". El Debate (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-16.
3. babor, Todo a (2015-04-15). "Cuando era costumbre ir a Inglaterra de vacaciones". Todo a babor (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-03-06.
4. ROJO PINILLA, JESÚS ÁNGEL. CUANDO ÉRAMOS INVENCIBLES 2: DUEÑOS DEL MUNDO.
5. Elorza, Juan C.; Vaquero, Lourdes; Castillo, Belén; Negro, Marta (1990). Junta de Castilla y León. Consejería de Cultura y Bienestar Social, ed. El Panteón Real de las Huelgas de Burgos. Los enterramientos de los reyes de León y de Castilla (2.ª edición). Valladolid: Editorial Evergráficas S.A. ISBN 84-241-9999-5
6. Brule, Álvaro Van den (2013-09-14). "Fernando Sánchez de Tovar, el castellano que remontó el Támesis y saqueó Londres". elconfidencial.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-16.
7. Álvarez, Jorge (2017-05-04). "Más allá de la Armada Invencible: todas las veces que tropas españolas desembarcaron en las Islas Británicas". La Brújula Verde (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-02-16.
8. William, Hunt; Poole, R. L.; Oman, C. The History of England. Volume 4. Рипол Классик. ISBN 978-5-87804-823-1.
9. Martín, José Luis Ortigosa (2013-04-10). La Cuestión Vasca: Desde la Prehistoria hasta la muerte de Sabino Arana (in Spanish). Vision Libros. ISBN 978-84-9011-615-9.
10. Forcelledo, Guillermo Nicieza (2023-04-20). Anclas y Bayonetas: La Infantería de Marina española en el siglo XVIII (in Spanish). EDAF. ISBN 978-84-414-4232-0.
11. Rodríguez, Ignacio Ruiz (2023-07-12). Desmontando la leyenda negra antiespañola (in Spanish). ESIC. ISBN 978-84-1170-384-0.
12. Duro, Cesáreo Fernández (1894). La marina de Castilla desde su origen y pugna con la de Inglaterra hasta la refundición en la Armada española (in Spanish). El Progreso editorial.
13. Redacción, G. D. "La conquista de Londres por la Marina de Castilla". www.guadalajaradiario.es (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-03-06.
14. "Reales Atarazanas: las galeras sevillanas remontan el Támesis para atacar Londres en 1380". Dr. César López Gómez (in Spanish). 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2024-03-06.