Recapture of Bahia
| Recapture of Bahia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Dutch invasions of Brazil | |||||||
The Recovery of Bahía de Todos los Santos, by Fray Juan Bautista Maíno, Museo del Prado. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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| Strength | |||||||
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12,000 men 52 ships |
3,000 to 5,000 men 18 ships | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| At least 71 killed and 64 wounded |
Unknown killed or wounded 1,912 captured 12 ships sunk 6 ships captured 260 guns captured | ||||||
The recapture of Bahia (Portuguese: Jornada dos Vassalos; Spanish: Jornada del Brasil) was a Spanish–Portuguese military expedition in 1625 to retake the city of Bahia (now Salvador) in Brazil from the forces of the Dutch West India Company (WIC).
In May 1624, Dutch WIC forces under Jacob Willekens captured Salvador from the Portuguese. Philip IV, king of Spain and Portugal, ordered the assembly of a combined army and naval task force with the objective of recovering the city. The task force, consisting of Spanish and Italian tercios and Spanish and Portuguese naval units, was commanded by Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Mendoza, who was appointed Captain General of the Army of Brazil. The fleet crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and arrived at Salvador on 1 April 1625. The town was besieged for several weeks, after which it was recaptured. This resulted in the expulsion of the Dutch from the city and the nearby areas. The city was a strategically important Portuguese base in the struggle against the Dutch for control of Brazil.