This battle took place on 24 June 1618 at the Strait of Gibraltar, when 12 Dutch ships which had been hired by Venice and were flying Venetian colors, under the command of Melcior van den Kerchove, fought their way through against 10 blockading Spanish ships, commanded by Miguel de Vidazabal. About 10 Dutch ships, commanded by Mooi Lambert (although his full squadron consisted of 13 ships), stood aside during the battle. The battle lasted from 3pm til nightfall. The Venetians suffered 40 casualties and the Spanish 70. The Spanish account mentions only 10 ships under Venetian colors and 8 under Dutch. June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... Events March 8 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion (he soon rejects the idea after some initial calculations were made but on May 15 confirms the discovery). ... The Strait of Gibraltar as seen from space. ... Venice (Italian Venezia), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto, population 271,663 (census estimate 2004-01-01). ...