Finisterre: the convoy concealed the escort's weakness

Hawke initially mistook the distant convoy for a much larger warship force and formed a line of battle. The French commander also misidentified the British ships at first, taking them for part of his own convoy. Separating the escort from the merchants clarified how few French warships Hawke actually faced. Keeping some larger merchantmen, including the East Indiaman, with the escort might have preserved that impression of strength and deterred an attack, depending on how convincing their size made the formation. That option went unused, and once the escort's size was clear, Hawke could concentrate several smaller British ships against individual French opponents.