 His best remembered actions were the capture of two merchant convoys totalling 79 ships between 1780 and 1782, including the capture of 55 ships from a convoy composed of Indiamen, and other cargo ships 60 leagues off Cape St. Vincent.In 1782 he battled the Royal Navy to a stalemate at the Battle of Cape Spartel, but failed to prevent the British relieving the Great Siege of Gibraltar.Córdova was born in Seville to don Juan de Córdova Lasso de la Vega y Puente, a mariner, navy captain, and knight of the Order of Calatrava, and doña Clemencia Fernández de Córdova Lasso de la Vega Veintimiglia, daughter of the Marquis of Vado del Maestre and first-cousin of her husband.