Sagres Point Sagres Point Sagres Point ("", , from the Latin "Promontorium Sacrum" ‘Holy Promontory’) is a windswept shelf-like promontory located in the southwest Algarve region of southern Portugal. Only 4 km to the west and 3 km to the north lies Cape St. Vincent (), which is usually taken as the southwesternmost tip of Europe. The vicinity of Sagres Point and Cape St. Vincent has been used for religious purposes since Neolithic times, to which standing menhirs near Vila do Bispo, a few miles from both points, attest. The promontory of Sagres has always been important for sailors because it offers
Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1641) but was unexperienced in sea battles. Gijsels fleet was sighted off Cape St. Vincent on 4 November. The Duke of Ciudad Real immediately ordered to attack the major Dutch vessels. After suffering severe casualties he stopped the attack and the ships to fall back to Cádiz. This conduct dissatisfied King Philip IV, who severely reprimanded, among other officers, Don Martín Carlos de Mencos, Admiral Don Pedro de Ursúa, and Captains Pedro Girón, Gaspar de Campos and Adrián Pulido. Michiel de Ruyter was present at this battle as Rear Admiral of the Dutch fleet. Some of the Dutch ships under Artus