Jean-Paul de Saumeur, often called Chevalier Paul was a French admiral and naval officer who served in several Mediterranean campaigns. Despite his very modest origins, he was attracted to the Navy from a young age. After having been a simple seaman on behalf of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, from which he was excluded for having killed his corporal, he became a privateer in the Mediterranean Sea then joined the Royal Navy at the request of Cardinal Richelieu and fought during the entirety of the Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659). His numerous victories earned him the appointment of lieutenant-general and vice-admiral of the Levant. He was named a knight of grace and a commander by the Grand Master Martin de Redin. He ended his career in 1666 by transporting the princess of Savoie-Nemours to Lisbon, who would later become the queen of Portugal. A skilled courtier, he did not forget his modest origins and knew how to be generous.

The Battle of Getaria was fought on 22 August 1638 during the Franco-Spanish War (1635–59), at Getaria, in northern Spain. A French naval force commanded by Henri de Sourdis attacked and destroyed a Spanish squadron under Lope de Hoces, who survived but was killed at the Battle of the Downs in 1639.