Download the defeat of the spanish armada

THE DEFEAT
OF
THE SPANISH ARMADA.
By
Graham Anthony
How Elizabethan England became self-confident
and safe from invasion
The Legend.
T
he vision of Sir Francis Drake completing his game of bowls
on Plymouth Hoe before going out to defeat the Spanish
Armada has stirred the hearts of English school children for
centuries. Historians have found no evidence of this romantic
gesture, yet it remains a very powerful myth even today. It
conjures up the realities of the time, that of a small poor country
using to good effect its swashbuckling sea going entrepreneurs to
destroy the force of the mighty and wealthy Spanish Empire.
The reality of why England, under the young Queen Elizabeth, was
so perfectly placed to play havoc with the Spanish ships is worth
deeper understanding. It is a complex and fascinating story, which
helps to explain the enduring fascination of the Armada campaign.
Henry VIII's break with Rome.
The Reformation in Europe during the 1 6th century was stimulated by the
ideology and thundering oratory of Luther and Calvin. It was supported by Henry
VIIIth for the more mundane reason that he wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon
because he needed a male heir. Catherine had born a daughter, Mary, then Henry’s
mistress Anne Boleyn, became pregnant and bore the baby Elizabeth. Henry did
marry Anne, but she could not produce a son and was executed.
Thus on Henry’s death in 1547, the succession of the English throne
was through Mary to her half-sister Elizabeth. Two young women
each with a thoroughly unhappy childhood. ‘Bloody’ Mary remained
a fanatical Catholic. She married Philip of Spain and set about
reimposing her faith on the country. Hundreds of martyrs were burnt
at the stake before she died in 1558. She was childless and unloved
and had brought England very close to Civil war.
During this time the young Elizabeth had to use all her intellect and
political skill keep her head. Mary put her in the Tower but could not
find sufficient proof of treason to have her executed. So Elizabeth
was kept detained in a country house.
Mary, Queen of Scots
On attaining the throne in 1558, Elizabeth was faced with daunting problems. To the
Pope she was illegitimate. She had no heir, and so could expect both the French
and the Spanish to back conspiracies for their favoured successor. The French
already had an army in Scotland in support of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots.
The mercurial shrewd and skilful Elizabeth.
Amazingly she was able to buy herself some time because the
Catholic Philip of Spain wanted to marry her. She played for time
and strung him along. By taking a cautious line with religion she
was also able to keep the Pope at bay. And all the time this
remarkable young woman courted her people and skilfully built up
her power base.
Unlike the Continental countries, the various factions in
Elizabethan England became cohesive, not separate. England’s
feudal centre, the Monarchy, the mercantile fringe of sea-going
entrepreneurs were cohesive. The politicians like Burghley and
Leicester, the officials of the Navy Board and the Admiralty were
linked with the merchants and bankers of London in a web of
piracy, smuggling, slavery, and legal trade.
It was in this environment that Hawkins, Drake, Frobisher, Raleigh, Wynter,
Lovell and others were to flourish with their amazing exploits.
Early in her reign, Elizabeth had sent Wynter to eject the French from Scotland, which he did
brilliantly. He was under orders not to involve the Queen, but to be seen to act on his own
initiative. In the same way for 20 or more years our sea captains plundered and pillaged Spanish
possessions, whilst Elizabeth kept Philip at bay.
During this time the English were making farsighted and radical changes to both their ships and
their naval infrastructure. Instead of huge cumbersome defensive ships our buccaneers needed low,
agile, fast Ships with smaller crews. Pay was increased and the quality of our sailors rose. England
seafarers were now ready to defend our shores from the most favourable place, and that was on the
enemy’s own coasts. England had the most effective Navy of the day. They exacted a heavy
toll on the Spanish Empire.
Philip was first defied in 1585, when Leicester led English forces into the Netherlands
against the Spanish.
By 1580 militant Jesuits, trained in Rome, were landing in Britain with the
intent of promoting the true faith. Elizabeth’s aim of being moderate in her
religious policy was compromised and many Catholic and Jesuit priests were
executed. Mary Queen of Scots, by now in England, was involved in the
conspiracies. She was also now Philip’s choice as Queen.
In 1587 she lost her head. The final break with Philip had been made.
Spanish ambitions.
One year later, at the end of July 1588, the first sightings
of the Spanish Armada were made off the Isles of Scilly.
By mid August a shambles of Spanish ships was running
away up the North Sea, defeated.
The English had been preparing for an attack for years.
When the news first reached Plymouth our ships were
pinned down by a fresh SW wind. Some were moored
in the Cattwater, others at the quays, and some on the
mud for maintenance. At once the very hard labour began
to pull these ships out into the safety of the open sea.
Had Medina Sidonia been not have had specific
instructions from his King, he would have been able to
surprise the English fleet penned up in Plymouth by wind
and tide. Then he could have changed the course of
history in a matter of hours.
Drake may have been playing bowls, but the English
commanders were in fact alert, flexible and decisive in
their actions.
The fleet of over 70 large armed Spanish merchantmen and
warships was slow. Philip II, sitting in the Escorial palace,
virtually dictated the course of action. So from the minute battle
was joined, The Armada never was a match against the English
sea-dogs with their fast ships and superior sailors. Even though
Medina Sidonia was a military man, not a sailor, he had an
impossible task.
In fact historians have never discovered for certain what was the key objective
of this huge and expensive maritime venture. It is generally agreed that the most
likely intention was to reinforce the 19,000 soldiers in the Armada by embarking
the 30,000 force that Parma had assembled in the Netherlands. The combined
fleet would invade England through one of the deep-water harbours such as
Harwich. The aim was to restore Catholicism in England.
The hostile North Sea.
Anyone who has sailed in the waters of the North Sea,
especially in the autumn when gales are common, will
know that such a plan would have been totally impractical.
The coast of Flanders has no natural deepwater harbours,
ships are often tide-rove because the currents run at 3
knots, extensive sandbanks stretch out to sea. Above all
the prevailing winds are on-shore.
Even if the 49,000 soldiers had made it across the 100 or so miles to England, many would have
been violently sea-sick. Elizabeth was on the East Coast rallying her Army, who would have
decimated the invaders.
On top of all these hazards lurked the most effective navy of the day. Under the command of the
Lord High Admiral, Charles Lord Howard of Effingham in ‘Ark Royal’ was supported by some of
the most successful pirates the world has seen such as Sir John Howard, Sir Martin Frobisher and
Sir Francis Drake.
The end for the Armada came on 8’’ August 1588 off
Gravelines. Clever use of fire-ships by the English
caused panic amongst the anchored Spanish fleet. They
scattered northwards to meet a variety of fates. Medina
Sidonia returned to Santander on 21St September, some
2 months after he had embarked from Corunna on an
impossible mission which was doomed from the start.
Just over two thirds of the Spanish ships returned home.
Some 11,000 of her men were lost, drowned or
massacred on the coasts of Ireland.
In the aftermath of the campaign, Lord Howard was very concerned for his
men. While Elizabeth wrangled over who should pay them, the mariners
starved. They also fell prey to a fatal sickness 'of the nature of typhus', as
their commander described it. Howard drew heavily on his own resources
to help the men, and wrote pleadingly to the queen on their behalf. She,
however, was not keen to pay up, and thousands of sailors died in pitiful
circumstances. Howard was so distressed he helped set up a fund known
as the 'Chatham Chest', for the relief of seafarers.
What happened next.
There was virtually no political fall out in Spain. Its Empire was still wealthy and it’s King a
dictator. In fact several other Armadas were despatched northwards in the following years, none of
which achieved any significant results.
England and Wales remained relatively poor. The population of just over 3 million was subject to
outbreaks of the plague and failure of the harvests.
Under Elizabeth the glorious age of art, literature, music, and architecture blossomed forth. Our
sea dogs continued their plunder of Spanish possessions, promoted slavery, and moved their
attentions to North America. This was not a time for moralising.
The beginnings of Empire.
Elizabeth died in 1.603, having ruled for 45 years. Amsterdam became the greatest trading city of
the world and the Dutch controlled the seas around Africa towards the Spice Islands in the East.
James I brought Scotland into the Union. Charles I was executed in 1649 by Cromwell and his
Puritans. During our Revolution, the English started their rise to world power by cutting the Dutch
sea routes. Spain and Portugal gradually declined.
The French gained a foothold in Louisiana whilst the 13 British Colonies thrived on America’s
seaboard. The French fleet and army helped the Yankees to remove us from the East Coast when
Cornwallis was finally defeated at Yorktown in 1781. Then in 1798, Nelson destroyed Napoleon’s
fleet in the Battle of the Nile. He did it again at Trafalgar 6 years later. This forced Napoleon to
sell Louisiana in 1803, thus assuring the success of the fledgling United States. For the next 120
years until 1914, the British Navy had control of the world’s oceans.
Our military might was all-powerful and the British Empire thrived.
The real benefits for England.
The success of the young Queen Elizabeth in bringing cohesion to the various factions and vested
interests within English Society did not make England rich. Yet by securing control of the seas
around our Island, she made England safe from invasion. England became self-confident.
Drake was clearly the greatest spin-doctor of his day. Nevertheless the story of his game of bowls
is one which I tell my grandchildren. It sums up beautifully the spirit of enterprise and adventure
that was typical of Elizabethan England.
Copyright Graham Anthony, Cambridge, 2002.