Battles of La Naval de Manila

The Battles of La Naval de Manila were a series of five naval battles fought in the waters of the Philippines in 1646, between the forces of Spain and the Dutch Republic, during the Eighty Years’ War. The Spanish forces, which included large contingents of native Filipino volunteers, consisted of only two, and later, three Manila galleons, a galley and four brigantines, against a Dutch fleet of eighteen warships, in three separate squadrons. Heavy damage was inflicted upon the Dutch squadrons by the Spanish-Filipino forces, forcing the Dutch to abandon their invasion of the Philippines.

The victories against the Dutch invaders were attributed by the Spanish and Filipino troops to the intercession of the Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila. On 9 April 1652, the victories in the five sea battles were declared a miracle by the Cathedral Chapter of Manila after a thorough canonical investigation, giving rise to the centuries-old festivities of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila.