Castilian attack on Gravesend
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Castilian attack on Gravesend
| place = Gravesend
| partof = Hundred Years' War
| date = Summer of 1380
| result = Castillian victory
| combatant1 = 18px Crown of Castile
| combatant2 = 18px Kingdom of England
| image = Ofensivas Tovar-Vienne contra Inglaterra 01.jpg
| caption = Other raids on the south English coastline that occurred during the Hundred Years' War
| image_size = 280px
| units1 = 20 galleys
| units2 = Unknown
}}
The forces of Juan I of Castile attacked Gravesend in the summer of 1380. During the raid on the town, the Castilian admiral Fernando Sánchez de Tovar ordered soldiers to loot the town and set it ablaze. The attacks were part of the Hundred Years' War, and led to concerns for the safety of London, just 20 miles away.
Context
Henry II of Castile was crowned king of Castile after defeating his half-brother in the first Castilian civil war. The new Trastámara king joined with the French under Jean de Vienne in a series of naval attacks and incursions into England. During these attacks, the towns of Dartmouth, Folkestone, Hastings, Lewes, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Rottingdean, Rye, Southampton, Wight, and Winchelsea{{cite book |access-date=2023-11-20 |date=1988 |first=Fernão |language=en |last=Lopes |title=The English in Portugal, 1367-87: Extracts from the Chronicles of Dom Fernando and Dom João |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-85668-341-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0CsDEAAAQBAJ&dq=wight+1374&pg=PR16}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.eldebate.com/historia/20210930/dia-espanoles-invadieron-inglaterra.html|title=El día que los españoles invadieron Inglaterra|access-date=2023-11-16|last=Togores|first=Luis E.|date=2021-09-30|website=El Debate|language=es}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.todoababor.es/historia/cuando-era-costumbre-ir-inglaterra-vacaciones/|title=Cuando era costumbre ir a Inglaterra de vacaciones|access-date=2024-03-06|last=babor|first=Todo a|date=2015-04-15|website=Todo a babor|language=es}}{{cite book |first=JESÚS ÁNGEL |last=ROJO PINILLA |title=CUANDO ÉRAMOS INVENCIBLES 2: DUEÑOS DEL MUNDO}} were looted, and many were burned. In 1379, Henry II died and left his throne to his son, Juan I of Castile, who soon ordered a naval raid in 1379 against the Kingdom of England.Elorza, Juan C.; Vaquero, Lourdes; Castillo, Belén; Negro, Marta (1990). Junta de Castilla y León. Consejería de Cultura y Bienestar Social, ed. El Panteón Real de las Huelgas de Burgos. Los enterramientos de los reyes de León y de Castilla (2.ª edición). Valladolid: Editorial Evergráficas S.A. {{ISBN|84-241-9999-5}}
Sequence of events
The raiding fleet, a combined Spanish-French fleet of 20 galleys{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.elconfidencial.com/alma-corazon-vida/empecemos-por-los-principios/2013-09-14/fernando-sanchez-de-tovar-el-castellano-que-remonto-el-tamesis-y-saqueo-londres_28113/|title=Fernando Sánchez de Tovar, el castellano que remontó el Támesis y saqueó Londres|access-date=2023-11-16|last=Brule|first=Álvaro Van den|date=2013-09-14|website=elconfidencial.com|language=es}} under the command of Fernando Sánchez de Tovar
, which previously departed from Seville in late 1379/early 1380, arrived in the Thames Estuary in early summer of 1380. Before it moved to attack the eastern English seaboard, the islands of Jersey and Guernsey were also subject to raids by the fleet.{{Cite web|url=https://www.labrujulaverde.com/2017/05/mas-alla-de-la-armada-invencible-todas-las-veces-que-tropas-espanolas-desembarcaron-en-las-islas-britanicas|title=Más allá de la Armada Invencible: todas las veces que tropas españolas desembarcaron en las Islas Británicas|access-date=2024-02-16|last=Álvarez|first=Jorge|date=2017-05-04|website=La Brújula Verde|language=es-es}}{{clarify|date=March 2024|reason=debatable, see talk page}}
The fleet attacked Winchelsea and towns in Kent, before entering the mouth of the River Thames and attacking Gravesend,{{Cite book |last1=William |first1=Hunt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0ESAwAAQBAJ&dq=Gravesend+Tovar+Castilian&pg=PA6 |title=The History of England. Volume 4 |last2=Poole |first2=R. L. |last3=Oman |first3=C. |publisher=Рипол Классик |isbn=978-5-87804-823-1 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Martín |first=José Luis Ortigosa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Bo3DwAAQBAJ&dq=La+marina+de+Castilla+gravesend&pg=PA107 |title=La Cuestión Vasca: Desde la Prehistoria hasta la muerte de Sabino Arana |date=2013-04-10 |publisher=Vision Libros |isbn=978-84-9011-615-9 |language=es}} with some sources even claiming that the fleet advanced to within sight of the English capital of London. At Gravesend, Castilian soldiers disembarked and proceeded to loot the town and set it ablaze.{{Cite book |last=Forcelledo |first=Guillermo Nicieza |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vJ-3EAAAQBAJ&dq=La+marina+de+Castilla+gravesend&pg=PT13 |title=Anclas y Bayonetas: La Infantería de Marina española en el siglo XVIII |date=2023-04-20 |publisher=EDAF |isbn=978-84-414-4232-0 |language=es}}{{Cite book |last=Rodríguez |first=Ignacio Ruiz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S9LbEAAAQBAJ&dq=La+marina+de+Castilla+gravesend&pg=PA276 |title=Desmontando la leyenda negra antiespañola |date=2023-07-12 |publisher=ESIC |isbn=978-84-1170-384-0 |language=es}}