Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1833) 1836) Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1833) The fourth Battle of Cape St Vincent was fought on 5 July 1833 and was a decisive encounter in Portugal's Liberal Wars. A naval squadron commanded by the British officer Charles Napier, on behalf of Dom Pedro IV, regent for the rightful Queen Maria II, defeated the navy of the usurper Dom Miguel. While serving in the Azores, Napier had come to know members of the exiled Portuguese liberals, who had offered him command of the small fleet serving Dom Pedro, which largely consisted of a few old men-o'-war and some East Indiamen
St Vincent Cotton was named after his godfather, the Earl of St Vincent (who had taken his title from the Battle of Cape St Vincent). Cotton had an elder brother who had died in infancy, two elder sisters, Philadelphia and Maria, and a younger brother, Charles. In 1812 Cotton's father, who was by then commander-in-chief of the Channel Fleet, collapsed and died at Plymouth, and 10-year-old Cotton inherited the baronetcy. Cotton was educated at Westminster School and in 1820 enrolled at Christ Church, Oxford although he didn't graduate. In the summer of 1820 he toured Scotland on horseback with a cousin and a