DUTCH ARMOUR
This preserved suit was worn during fighting off Gibraltar
By 1607, the Dutch Republic had been fighting Spain for almost 40 years and the conflict was only halfway through what would become known as the Eighty Years’ War. After being defeated at the Siege of Ostend in 1604, the Dutch increased their naval campaign by disrupting Spanish shipping, particularly along the southern coast of Spain. On 25 April 1607, a Dutch fleet of 26 warships commanded by Admiral Jacob van Heemskerck attacked 22 anchored Spanish ships (including ten galleons) in the Bay of Gibraltar. Van Heemskerck commanded the Dutch flagship Aeolus and targeted his opposite number in the Spanish vessel San Augustin. As the two ships engaged, a cannonball smashed through Van Heemskerck’s left leg while he was wearing this suit of armour, killing him. His second-in-command, Pieter Verhoeff, took command of the Dutch fleet but did not reveal the death of Van Heemskerck for the duration of the battle.
The Spanish commander, Juan Álvarez de Ávila, was also killed as the Dutch wreaked havoc on the Spanish ships. One vessel exploded, spreading fire to other ships and causing the Spanish fleet to disintegrate. The San Augustin raised the white flag but the Dutch refused to accept the surrender. They instead rowed among the wreckage of the Spanish ships and killed enemy survivors in the water.
The Spanish suffered heavy casualties, as many 4,000 sailors, and the majority of their ships were destroyed. Gibraltar became a famous Dutch naval victory and Van Heemskerck was buried with full military honours in Amsterdam. His armour was hung above his tomb, although the left cuisse (thigh defence) was – and remains – missing after it was shattered by the cannonball that killed the admiral.