Battle of Alcântara (1580)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Alcântara

Part of the Habsburg control of Portugal

Date	August 25, 1580
Location	Alcântara (Lisbon), Portugal
Result	Decisive Habsburg victory

Belligerents

António, Prior of Crato

Philip II of Spain

Commanders

António, Prior of Crato and the Count of Vimioso

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva

Strength

6,500 infantry
750 cavalry
30 guns

8,000 infantry
1,800 cavalry
22 guns

Casualties and losses

4,000 dead, wounded, or captured

500 dead or wounded

The Battle of Alcântara took place on August 25, 1580, near the brook of Alcântara, in the vicinity of Lisbon, Portugal, and was a decisive victory of the Spanish Habsburg King Philip II over the Portuguese pretender to the Portuguese throne, António, Prior of Crato.

In Portugal, the death of King Sebastian of Portugal in 1578, without any heirs to succeed him, had plunged the country into a dynastic crisis. King Philip II of Spain was one of seven who laid claim to the Portuguese throne, and in June 1580 a Spanish army invaded Portugal, under the command of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba.

The Duke of Alba met little resistance and in July landed his forces at Cascais, west of Lisbon. By mid-August, the Duke was only 10 kilometers from the city. West of the small brook Alcântara, the Spanish encountered a Portuguese force on the eastern side of the it, commanded by António, Prior of Crato (a grandson of King Manuel I of Portugal who had proclaimed himself king as António I) and his lieutenant, the Count of Vimioso.

The battle ended in a decisive victory for the Spanish Habsburgs, both on land and sea. Two days later, the Duke of Alba captured Lisbon, and on March 25, 1581, Philip II was crowned King of Portugal as Philip I. Spain and Portugal would remain united in a personal union of the crowns (remaining formally independent and with autonomous administrations) for the next 60 years, until 1640. This period is called the Iberian Union.