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Battle of Los Organos
Part of the Eighty Years' War
Date 31 August – 3 September, 1638 Location Off Cabañas, present-day Cuba Result Decisive Spanish victory
Belligerents
United Provinces	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Cornelis Jol	Carlos de Ibarra
Strength
17–18 men-of-war	7 galleons, 7 merchant ships, 1 patache
Casualties and losses
~50 killed, ~150 wounded	82 killed, 134 wounded

The Battle of Los Organos (also known as the Combat of Cabañas) was a major naval engagement of the Eighty Years' War fought from 31 August to 3 September along the coast of Cabañas, in western Cuba, between 7 Spanish galleons of the Tierra Firme treasure fleet under Admiral Don Carlos de Ibarra, and a far stronger fleet of Dutch West India Company men-of-war and other Dutch privateer ships led by Admiral Cornelis Corneliszoon Jol, who had sailed from Olinda two months before hoping to repeat Piet Hein's victory over the Spanish Treasure fleet in the Bay of Matanzas eleven years before. The Dutch Admiral, as well as the Spanish court, noticed that the loss of a second treasure fleet could be a decisive blow to the Spanish economy. The importance of the 1.8 million silver dollars aboard Ibarra's ships was such that Count-Duke of Olivares' fate as prime minister greatly depends on its safe arrival to Spain.

Prior to the battle, many of Jol's ships wrecked in the coast of Cuba during a storm, which called the attention the Spanish authorities. Notices of Dutch presence in the area were therefore sent to the ports where the Treasure fleet was gathering. The vessels in Veracruz and Portobello were put on alert in time, but the warning arrived to Cartagena de Indias after Ibarra had departed the port escorting seven merchant ships fully loaded with silver. While expecting to encounter just a half-dozen Dutch cruisers, he discovered Jol's fleet off Los Organos keys on 30 August. The next morning a bloody battle ensued. Although suffering extensive damage and heavy losses, the Spanish galleons managed to reject every attempt at boarding and forced Jol to retreat. The Dutch Admiral tried to resume the battle on 3 September, but only a ship could be engaged before Ibarra's flagship succored her and forced the Dutch to break the contact again.

Background

On the final years of the Eighty Years' Wars the situation in the West Indies was favourable to the Spanish in the Caribbean while in Brazil and Trinidad had reached a stalemate. The Dutch were aware that a repetition of Piet Hein's victory in the Bay of Matanzas could decide the outcome of the war in Europe. On early 1638 a squadron of 10 men-of-war set sail from the Frisian port of Texel in command of the Admiral of the GWIC Cornelis Corneliszoon Jol with the mission of intercept and capture the Spanish treasure fleet on its return to Spain. Jol, a former pirate who was known as Houtebeen (Peg Leg) among his compatriots and as Pie de Palo among the Spanish, had harassed the Spanish main for several years, raiding Campeche in 1633 and Santiago de Cuba in 1635, but while returning to the Netherlands he had been captured by a squadron of Dunkirkers under Jacob Collaert. Once freed he returned to the Caribbean and tried to capture the Spanish treasure fleet, but the stronger strenght of the escort galleons dissuaded him. Having crossed the Atlantic, on 8 June Jol stopped in Olinda, Pernambuco, to prepare his cruise. In that port, occupied by the Dutch Republic since 1630, his fleet was reinforced by 4 or 6 additional warships, an unspecified number of privateer vessels, and 600 men.

On 22 June Jol got under way again with about 15 sail, 900 sailors, and 600 soldiers. To avoid being detected he decided to enter the routes of the treasure fleets through the Old Bahama Channel, at that time a route considered impracticable because of the lack of visual references on the Cuban coast and the Bahamas reefs. Having been joined by a small squadron under Vice Adm. Abraham Roosendael, a storm surprised the fleet and threw several ships to the Cuban coast, thus calling the attention of Francisco Riaño y Gamboa, governor of Havana, who sent warnings to Veracruz and Portobello to prevent the treasure fleets from sailing. Jol meanwhile, had stationed himself off Florida's Dry Tortugas Bank to await for the passage of the Mexican or Tierra Firme fleets. The large number of privateers that had increased the strenght of his fortmation allowed Jol to divide his fleet with the double aim of mantain watch upon Havana and hide his real strenght. Five ships were detached off Matanzas and another 17 to patrol between Cape San Antonio and the Dry Tortugas, which confused the Spanish.

Riaño's warnings about Jol's threatening presence reached Veracruz in time, thus putting on alert the Mexican treasure vessels, but arrived too late to Portobello and Cartagena de Indias. Carrying aboard his convoy about 1,800,000 silver dollars from Perú, the veteran Admiral Carlos de Ibarra, former lieutenant of Fadrique de Toledo, knight of the Order of Alcántara and Viscount of Centera, had departed the second port in command of seven poorly armed galleons whose crews were incomplete, and several merchant hulks coming from Portobello, being joined at the height of Cape San Antonio by an armed patache. Off Cape Corrientes Ibarra received delayed letters from governor Riaño signaling the presence of no more than a half-dozen Dutch cruisers in his route. The situation of 10 years ago, when Piet Hein caught Benavides in the Bay of Matanzas, was in fact repeating.

Battle

On the afternoon of 30 August the Tierra Firme fleet materialized off Cabañas. 17 or 18 Dutch warships were sighted bearing down in a stiff breeze to windward of the convoy. De Ibarra formed up his ships in a single column, holding the wind with foremast, topsail and sprit-sail, with the aim of protect the more distant convoy, and prepared to give battle. At dawn on the next day, the Dutch fleet approached towards the Spanish divided in two squadrons. Ibarra's 54-gun flagship San Mateo was engaged by Jol's 54-gun flagship Salamander, the 18-gun Wapen van Rotterdam, and the 12-gun Tholen, while De Ibarra's second in command Pedro de Ursúa's vice-flagship San Marcos was grappled by Abraham Roosendael's vice-flagship, and Sancho de Urdanivia's 20-gun Carmen, which had hoisted two pennants thus giving the impression to the Dutch that she was another flagship, was attacked by Rear-Admiral Jan Mast. A bloody eight-hours battle ensued, in which the Spanish galleons succesfully rejected with cannon and musketry fire every attempt at boarding. Having been reinforced by Ursúa's San Marcos, Ibarra obliged Jol to retreat to three miles out of range. The Dutch admiral blamed many of his officers for remaining in middle distance without enter the action and attempted to resume the battle an hour later, but only to observe the same reluctant behavior.

Both fleets sustained severe damaged and losses, which forced them to spent the following days repairing ships within sight of each other. De Ibarra's San Mateo received extensive damage in the hulk and was set fire five times. 23 crewmen were killed and about 50 wounded, among them De Ibarra, seriously injured in the face, arms and legs by a grenade which blown up in his hands while attempting to throw it overboard. He was able, however, to continue leading his fleet. San Marcos lost 16 men killed and 40 wounded, was wounded in her rigging and also set fire. The total loss aboard the Spanish men-of-war amounted to 82 dead and 134 injured. The Dutch also suffered high casualties. Both Roosendael and Mast were killed, as well as Auditor Anthonie Muys and approximately 50 sailors or soldiers, being the wounded more than 150. Jol was wrongly reported to have been killed during the battle in De Ibarra's official letter about the action after the Spanish Admiral had seen a well-dressed senior officer being shot dead by a musket bullet aboard Jol's Salamander.