Fourth Spanish Armada

Fourth Spanish Armada
Part of Anglo-Spanish war & the Nine Years' War
Map of the Siege of Kinsale by Abraham Hogenberg
Date August 1601 - 13 March 1602 Location southwestern Kingdom of Ireland Result English victory
Belligerents
Spain Irish alliance	Kingdom of England  Kingdom of Ireland
Commanders and leaders
Philip III Diego Brochero Juan del Águila   Alonso de Ocampo   Pedro López de Soto Pedro de Zubiaur Hugh O'Neill Hugh Roe O'Donnell	Elizabeth I Charles Blount George Carew Richard Leveson Amyas Preston Donogh O'Brien
Strength
Irish alliance 7,600[1] Spanish 4,432 soldiers 36 warships 2,000 sailors[2]	12,000 soldiers and sailors 6 galleons 6 armed merchantman
Casualties and losses
Spain 1,500 killed, wounded, sick to disease[3] 3,700 surrendered[4] 8 ships captured, sunk or scuttled[1][5] Irish Alliance 1,200 killed (many executed)	~200 killed or wounded 6,000 deserted, sick or dead to disease[6]

The Fourth Spanish Armada,^[7] also known as the Last Armada, was a military expedition sent to Ireland that took place between August 1601 and March 1602 towards the end of Anglo-Spanish war. The armada – the fourth and smallest of its type, was sent on orders from the Spanish king Philip III to southwestern Ireland to assist the Irish rebels led by Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, who were fighting to rid Queen Elizabeth I of England's rule over Ireland. Don Juan del Águila and Don Diego Brochero commanded the expedition that consisted of 36 ships and 4,500 soldiers, and a significant amount of arms and ammunition. The Spanish were also planning to establish a base at Cork from which to strike at England.

Bad weather separated the ships and some had to turn back but the remaining 1,800 men under Águila disembarked at Kinsale on 22 September. Further reinforcements the following month brought the total to 3,500. Admiral Pedro de Zubiaur landed another 700 men in early December at Castlehaven, and sent part of that force commanded by Alonso de Ocampo to Baltimore occupying the castles in the area, Dunboy, Dunasead and Dúnalong (Sherkin Island). The English led by Charles Blount, the Earl of Mountjoy and George Carew, responded in force and were able to besiege Kinsale on 2 October. A small fleet led by Richard Leveson were able to blockade the Spanish at Kinsale by late November. The Irish under Tyrone and clan chief Hugh Roe O'Donnell made their way to Kinsale in a 300 mile march and were joined with 200 Spanish under Alonso de Ocampo.

Leveson went out to Castlehaven and defeated Zubiaur's small fleet, leaving the Spanish stranded there, and unable to help Águila. On 24 December, the Irish arrived at Kinsale, and a pitched battle during a storm was fought. Águila was however unable to intervene, and the English defeated Tyrone's forces. The English resumed the siege and Águila was forced to seek terms, and surrendered Kinsale in January 1602. The other garrisons at Dunboy, Castlehaven, Dunasead and Dúnalong also surrendered as part of the terms. This resulted in bitter recriminations in Spain, especially for Águila.

This was to be the last Spanish armada sent, and the last major campaign against the British Isles during the war. The defeat thus weakened Spanish resolve in the war against England which subsequently led to peace negotiations that terminated with the Treaty of London in 1604.^[2]