Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1337) Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1337) The Battle of Cape St Vincent of 1337 took place on 21 July 1337 between a Castilian fleet commanded by Alfonso Jofre Tenorio and a Portuguese fleet led by the Luso-Genoese admiral Emanuele Pessagno (Manuel Pessanha). The fledgling Portuguese fleet was defeated, bringing a quick end to the brief Luso-Castilian war that begun in 1336. In 1328, the Alfonso XI of Castile married his cousin, Maria of Portugal, a daughter of his maternal uncle King Afonso IV of Portugal. But the marriage soon turned to scandal, when, shortly after, Alfonso XI dispatched Mary to
Sagres Point a shelter for ships before attempting the dangerous voyage around Cape St. Vincent (could be Belixe Bay, between Sagres Point and the Cape, or Sagres Bay, to the east). Given the dangers of being blown onto the coastal rocks, captains preferred to wait in the lee of the point until favourable winds allowed them to continue. There is some question whether Sagres Point, whose name derives from "Sacrum Promontorium", or neighboring Cape St. Vincent, was the ancient sacred promontory. Strabo believed the promontory was the most westerly point of the "whole inhabited world." In fact Cape St. Vincent is more