Battle of Chios (1621)
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| Battle of Chios (1621) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Spanish–Ottoman wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spanish Empire Republic of Genoa.svg){kind=small} Grand Duchy of Tuscany Order of St. John |
.svg){kind=small} Ottoman Empire.svg){kind=small} Eyalet of Tunis Regency of Algiers | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Carlo Doria Clemente Hidalgo |
Ali Rostan Sampson Denball Mahomet Escabrig | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
13 galleys 1 galleon 1 nao |
12 galleys 4 galiots 6 naos 3 tartane | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 84 dead |
362 dead Many captured 1 galiot, 2 naos and 2 tartanes captured | ||||||
The Battle of Chios of 1621 was a naval battle between a Spanish and Italian fleet and an Ottoman-Barbary fleet near the island of Chios. It concluded with a Christian victory.[1]
In March 1621, six galleys from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany took refuge in the island of Hospitaller Malta against a sizable Ottoman armada sighted nearby. They came out joined by three galleys and a galleon from the Order of St. John, of which Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt had given command to Spanish knight Clemente Hidalgo to escort them.[2] Two days later, they were also joined by a Flemish nao from the Spanish Netherlands, which thanks to its artillery and a timely wind had escaped from an encounter with the Ottoman fleet. The following day, the growing Christian fleet found two Spanish galleys from the Viceroyalty of Sicily and two Genoese galleys captained by Carlo Doria. The ships gathered in parliament and, judging their forces now enough to face the Ottoman armada, decided to seek and destroy it.[2][3]
During the search, approaching the Aegean Sea, they captured an Ottoman tartane sent to scout their movements. From its crewmen they found out the enemy fleet was composed by 12 Ottoman galleys captained by Ali Rostam, 6 naos from English renegade Sampson Denball, and 4 galiots and 3 more tartanas by Mahomet Escabrig, a Turkish corsair based in the Regency of Algiers and known as the Bravo de Argel ("The Brave Algerian") among the Spanish, all of them carrying by Janissaries.[4] On 20, the Christian armada found its Ottoman counterpart in front of the harbor of the Chios island.[5]