Battle of Formentera (1529)

Battle of Formentera (1529) Date 1529 Location Formentera Result Ottoman victory Belligerents Spanish Empire  Ottoman Empire Commanders and leaders Rodrigo Portuondo † Aydın Reis Strength 8 galleys unknown Casualties and losses 7 galleys captured and soldiers taken as prisoner unknown

The Battle of Formentara occurred on 28 October 1529 when an Ottoman fleet under Aydın Reis routed a small Spanish fleet of eight galleys off the island of Formentera near Ibiza.^[1][2]

Habsburg emperor Charles V had sent a small Spanish fleet of eight galleys under the Spanish commander of the Castilla fleet, Rodrigo Portuondo, to eliminate Barbary ships from Algiers under Caccia Diavolo which were raiding the coast of Valencia and ferrying Moriscos from Spain to Algeria.^[3]

Portundo was killed in the battle, seven of his eight galleys were captured, and his soldiers were taken as slaves to the recently conquered city of Algiers.^[2]

Notes

1. Pillaging the empire: piracy in the Americas, 1500-1750 by Kris E. Lane p.15
2. Garnier, p.27
3. Garnier, p.26

References

• Garnier, Edith L'Alliance Impie Editions du Felin, 2008, Paris ISBN 978-2-86645-678-8 Interview

Coordinates: 38°42′N 1°27′E / 38.700°N 1.450°E