ESPAGNOLS SUR MER, LES, the name given to the naval victory of King Edward III. of England on Aug. 29, 135o, over a Spanish fleet commanded by Don Carlos de la Cerda, a Castilian freebooter, who had recently captured several English ships and murdered their crews. The English fleet assembled at Winchelsea early in August, King Edward commanding in chief in the cog. "Thomas" ; the prince of Wales, Henry earl of Lan caster, Lord Scrope of Bolton and other members of the court also commanded ships. Their object was to cut off de la Cerda on his return from Sluys, where he had gone to collect merchan dise. On the afternoon of Aug. 29 he appeared, running down the Channel with the north-east wind, with about 4o sail in all. Edward commanded about 5o ships, but they were inferior in build and size to the Spaniards who could fling missiles on them from their upper-works and tops. In addition, de la Cerda car ried a strong force of Spanish cross-bowmen and Flemish mer cenaries. He could easily have avoided action, as the English were close inshore when first sighted, but he had no wish to do so, and steered straight for them as they ran out from Winchelsea. King Edward's "Thomas" was severely injured on colliding with the first enemy, but he was able to grapple another and board and capture her just as the "Thomas" was about to sink.
The Spanish fire was very galling and did great damage, the prince of Wales being hard pressed till relieved by Henry of Lancaster, when the prince also boarded a Spaniard as his own ship was sinking. The ship carrying the king's household, com manded by Robert de Namur, was grappled by an enemy which began to tow her away. She would undoubtedly have been cap tured had not Hannekin, a squire of the commander's, boarded the Spaniard and cut her halliards and several shrouds and stays with his sword, thus bringing down her mainsail, so that she was brought to a standstill and captured instead. By night time the English had had the best of the action, the number of ships they captured varying in different accounts from 54 to 26. They suf fered heavily, however, in casualties and had at least two ships sunk.
See Sir N. H. Nicolas, A History of the British Navy (1847).