Afonso V of Portugal departs for France…
1476 CE
Afonso V of Portugal departs for France in August 1476 after signing a truce with Isabella and Ferdinand.
There he tries to persuade Louis XI to involve France to a greater extent in the war.
Louis refuses, as he is focused on defeating his main enemy, Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.
He does, however, send the fleet of Norman pirate Guillaume Coullon as aid to Portugal.
Afonso sends two Portuguese galleys loaded with soldiers along with the eleven ships of Coullon to come to the aid of the castle of Ceuta.
This fleet on August 7 encounters five armed merchant ships from Cadiz heading for England: three Genoese carracks, a galley, and a Flemish vessel.
Coullon attempts to capture the merchants through a ploy, but fails, and is forced to engage in combat.
The Franco-Portuguese side emerges victorious.
Due to the use of incendiary weapons by the French, fire razes two Genoese ships, the Flemish vessel, two Portuguese galleys, and two of Coullon's ships.
According to Palencia, some twenty-five hundred French and Portuguese died.