| Action of San Mateo Bay | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Anglo–Spanish War (1585) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of England |
 Spain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Richard Hawkins (POW) |
Beltrán de Castro | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
1 galleon 1 pinnace prize |
1 galleon 1 galley-zabra | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1 galleon captured 1 pinnace recaptured 27 killed 17 wounded 93 captured[2] |
28 dead 22 wounded[1] | ||||||
The action of San Mateo Bay or action of Atacames Bay was a naval engagement which took place from 29 June to 1 July 1594 between the galleon Dainty under the command of English privateer Richard Hawkins and a Spanish squadron of three galleons commanded by Beltrán de Castro at the mouth of the Esmeraldas river, nowadays Ecuador.