Description

Plate 15 of 'Historia de la marina real española episodios maritimos' lithographed by J. J. Martinez and others. The print depicts the Battle of Muros Bay between the French fleet and Spanish fleet under Don Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Viso during the Italian War of 1542-46. According to the description at the bottom of the print, 26 Spanish ships fought against a French fleet of now fewer than 40 ships on the Coast of Cantabria, in front of the town of Muros. 35 French ships were destroyed and the rest were boarded. The battle was a decisive Spanish victory that gave them complete control of the Cantabrian Sea.

In the center of the print, a group of French and Spanish ships are heavily engaged in combat while engulfed in clouds of smoke. The Spanish armada is identified by the Cross of Burgundy flag (a red, jagged-edged saltire on a white field). A fire rages in the right background on one of the ships. In the foreground, men find refuge on floating pieces of debris.

The complete digitized bound series can be found at the Biblioteca de Catalunya: http://mdc.cbuc.cat/cdm/ref/collection/materialsBC/id/5755