Vigo

Vigo , city (1990 pop. 279,986), Pontevedra prov., NW Spain, in Galicia, on an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. A naval base and one of the most active ports of Spain, it has the country's most important fishing fleet. It also has shipyards, canneries, petroleum and sugar refineries, and various light industries. In 1702 a Franco-Spanish fleet, escorting galleons loaded with American gold and precious stones, was destroyed in the Bay of Vigo by the British and the Dutch; several galleons were sunk, and it is believed that much of the treasure is still at the bottom of the bay. The port was captured by the British in 1719.

Vigo Seaport city on Vigo Bay, Galicia, nw Spain, near the Portuguese border. It was the scene of a naval battle in 1702, when an Anglo-Dutch fleet attacked Spanish galleons carrying a cargo of gold from the New World. Industries: fishing, fish processing and canning, boat-building. Pop. (2000) 285,526.

Vigo Bay, battle of, 1702. In August 1702, at the outset of the War of the Spanish Succession, Sir George Rooke and the duke of Ormond led an abortive expedition against Cadiz. On the way back they received news that a large Spanish treasure fleet and its escort was harboured in Vigo Bay, protected by a heavy boom. On 12 October they breached the boom and annihilated the enemy, sinking 11 men-of-war and taking 10 war vessels and 11 galleons. Though most of the treasure had been landed, the gains were enormous.

J. A. Cannon