Battle of the Saltes Island

The naval Battle of the Saltes Island or Battle of Saltes (Spanish: Batalla de la Isla Saltés) took place on 17 July 1381, off Saltes Island, between the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal during the Third Ferdinand War. The Castilian fleet commanded by Don Fernando Sánchez de Tovar defeated decisively the Portuguese fleet led by João Afonso Teles de Menezes, Count of Barcelos. The result of the battle was the destruction of the naval offensive capability of Portugal, achieving the Castilian naval supremacy in the Atlantic Ocean.

Background
Ferdinand I of Portugal, following the death of Peter I of Castile, declared war on Kingdom of Castile for the possession of the Castilian throne. This series of conflicts were known as Ferdinand Wars. In 1381, breaking the Treaty of Santarem (1373), which brought peace to the second war, Ferdinand I decided to attack back to Castile, thus initiating the Third Ferdinand War. For this, he signed an alliance with the young Richard II of England. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, also had, since 1371, claims to the Castilian throne, and saw in this deal a means of enforcement of this cause, and sent about 2,000 English soldiers under the command of the Earl of Cambridge to Lisbon, to support a Portuguese incursion into the Castilian territory.

To prevent the English contingent being intercepted at sea by the navy of Castile, the Portuguese monarch planned a naval blockade. In mid-July 1381, from Lisbon, a Portuguese fleet under the command of João Afonso Teles de Menezes, Count of Barcelos, sailed towards the mouth of the Guadalquivir river to prevent the passage of the Castilian fleet, which was anchored in Seville. At the same time, Admiral Fernando Sánchez de Tovar sailed from its base in Seville, heading out to the Portuguese coasts. On 17 July, sailing in opposite directions, the two fleets were sighted each other off the Algarve.

Battle of the Saltes Island
At that time, after assessing the situation, the Castilian Admiral considered very unlikely to obtain a victory under such circumstances, and ordered to tack and return to port. His Portuguese counterpart then saw a unique opportunity to beat the rival, and began the chase of the Castilian fleet. From that moment it became clear the tactical intelligence of the Admiral De Tovar as sailor, and ordered to his men rowing at a fast pace, forcing his Portuguese pursuers maximize the effort to try to overcome the speed of the opponent, and the different speeds at which they advanced, would increase the distance between the Portuguese ships, breaking their formation.

After about two hours, the exhaustion, the thirst and the heat of summer took their toll on the Portuguese rowers, and many of their ships were left behind. Eight of them, the vanguard of the Portuguese fleet, attacked the small island of Saltés and destroyed the property of the fishermen in the vicinity. Then, De Tovar, seeing that the Portuguese had fallen into his trap, launched their ships against the enemy in a compact formation, and captured easily the Portuguese galleys. The rest of the Portuguese fleet, approached in disarray one by one, and were captured by the Castilians without difficulty. Eventually, only one of the 23 Portuguese galleys, avoided being captured by the men of Fernando Sánchez de Tovar. The Castilian fleet obtained a brilliant victory.

Consequences
Admiral Fernando Sánchez de Tovar entered triumphantly with his 22 galleys captured in the port of Seville, with great joy of its inhabitants. This fact allowed the English to dock in Lisbon without problems. Later, the English men of the Duke of Lancaster, arranged their boats to face off against the fleet of Sánchez de Tovar, but knowing that he had returned to Seville, the English ships returned to England, leaving in Lisbon to the English land forces.

The resounding victory of Don Fernando Sánchez de Tovar had obvious implications for the Third Ferdinand War. Annulled the naval offensive capability of Portugal, achieving the Castilian naval supremacy in the Atlantic Ocean. That year, the Portuguese could not build more fleets against Castile, who, in turn, did not need to do the same, and the Castilians exercised an effective control of the sea. Therefore, the battle ended the naval Portuguese campaign of 1381.

The effects of the Portuguese defeat also felt in the following year, when the Kingdom of Portugal had to face, militarily weaker than usual, a vigorous attack by sea and land from the Crown of Castile. The Castilians came to the gates of Lisbon, forcing the King of Portugal to sign peace in August with John I of Castile, by the Treaty of Elvas.