The defence of Cadiz against the English attack took place at the beginning of November 1625 with an English squadron made up of 100 ships and 10,000 men under the command of Henry Cecil, Viscount Wimbledon. The defence of the square was under the command of Fernando Girón y Ponce de León, a military veteran of the Flanders campaigns and war councillor who was appointed governor by the king. Sick with gout and practically incapacitated, he had to direct the operations, as the painting shows, seated in an armchair. He was assisted in the operations by the Duke of Fernandina (García de Toledo y Osorio) in command of twelve galleys, the Marquis of Coprani and Pedro Rodríguez de Santisteban, among others. The British entered the port of Cádiz on 1 November and, after cannonading and achieving the surrender of Fort Puntal, they landed a total of 10,000 men who took the Almadraba de Hércules but saw their advance halted by the Marquis of Coprania. A few days later, they left the Spanish coast with a total of 2,000 casualties (between battlefield and drowning).
Collection: Images
Project: 5. Power and powers in the history of Europe: oligarchies, political participation and democracy., 6. Under a cloak of terror: violence and armed conflict in Europe.
Chronology: XVII
Scope: Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, University
Resource type: Image
Format: Oil on canvas (302 x 323 cm)
Source: Museo Nacional del Prado (Madrid)
Language: Spanish
Date: 1634-35
Owner: Álvaro Romero González (Modernalia)
Identifier: P000656
Copyright: Museo del Prado (Madrid)
Abstract: Representation of the defence of Cadiz against the English, which forms part of the Military History and the Thirty Years' War waged by the Spanish Monarchy, whose victories were commemorated on various canvases in the Salón de Reinos of the Buen Retiro Palace
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