The Battle of Gibraltar

On 25 April 1607, thirty Dutch ships took the Spanish fleet by surprise in the Bay of Gibraltar. The Spanish vessels, which threatened Dutch trade with Asia, were destroyed. Four thousand Spaniards and one hundred Dutchmen lost their lives in the battle. Among the dead were both the Dutch and Spanish admirals. This was the first great victory of the Eighty Years War for the Dutch fleet. The painting has been attributedAttributionAn unsigned work of art can often identified through comparison with other works by the artist on which a signature does appear and can then be 'attributed' to that artist. An attribution to a particular artist is generally accepted, provisionally, as fact until convincing arguments are presented to show that it would have been impossible for the artist concerned to have produced the work or that another artist was the maker. to Cornelis Claesz. van Wieringen. He has triumphantly depicted the Dutch victory with the explosion of the Spanish flagship.