Conflicts & Resolutions · Battle

Battle of the Downs

1639 · 17th century · Part of the Dutch Revolt

The Battle of the Downs was a naval battle fought on 21 October 1639 off the coast of Kent, during the Eighty Years' War. A Dutch fleet under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp destroyed most of a large Spanish armada carrying troops to Flanders, which had sheltered in English waters. The victory ended Spain's attempts to reinforce the Army of Flanders by sea and marked the passing of naval supremacy to the Dutch.

Battle of the Downs
Image: Willem van de Velde the Younger · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

Dutch RepublicMilitary

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Battle of the Downs. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/battle-of-the-downs
MLA
“Battle of the Downs.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/battle-of-the-downs. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Battle of the Downs.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/battle-of-the-downs.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Battle of the Downs’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/battle-of-the-downs (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻