The Spanish Armada

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saints and key figures. Phillip responded with ruthlessness. The Duke of Alba was sent by Philip 11 along with 10,000 troops to quell the rebellions of the Dutch. Resistance continued. Their treatment of the Dutch was brutal and as Protestant allies the English were outraged at Phillip's behaviour. Philip 11 believed Elizabeth had a hand in supporting the rebels and so he issued a trad e embargo that meant that the English could not trade in Antwerp. Elizabeth did not seek war with Spain, however she agreed to send money to help the Dutch and permitted English volunteers to go and help. There was a Peace Party in the Privy Council that used subtle tactics to try to help whilst avoiding war. They allowed the Dutch rebel ships known as the sea beggars' in English ports right up until 1572 which infuriated Phillip. Political Economic Religion Conflict Between Spain + England ● Elizabeth had sent soldiers to help Protestants rebelling against the Spanish in the Netherlands. Phillip was disliked by the English during his marriage to Elizabeth's sister, Mary Tudor, and wished to marry Elizabeth but she would not agree. • People like Drake and Hawkins wanted Elizabeth to attack Spain. Philip 11 had been involved in the plots against Elizabeth. ● Sir Francis Drake + other English sailors had spent years stealing treasures in the 1570s. ● England was Protestant and Spain was Catholic. The Pope called all Catholics to challenge Elizabeth's rule after he excommunicated her in his Papal Bull in 1571 called Regnans in Excelsis. • Following plots against her, Elizabeth was very strict with the Catholics and Phillip wanted a stop to this. ● Treaty of Joinville Treaty of Nonsuch The Execution of MQS Triggers ★ Between France and Spain (both are Catholic countries). ★ This worried England that there might be a Catholic invasion + prompted the Treaty of Nonsuch as a result. ★ Between England and the Netherlands (both are Protestant countries). ★ She was agreeing to send troops - under Dudley's command to aid the rebels in the Netherlands. ★ She was officially declaring war against the Spanish. ★ Prompts the assassination of William of Orange by a Spanish Catholic in 1584. ★ In 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was executed. ★ This angered the Spanish as Mary Queen of Scots was a Catholic ally. A declaration of war 1584 The leader of the Dutch rebels, William of Orange, was assassinated by a Spanish Catholic. More chaos ensued in the Netherlands and Elizabeth decided to send troops, including the Earl of Leicester, in 1585 to support the Protestant rebels. Elizabeth did not want Spain to get too powerful and was also concerned about France becoming increasingly involved. She sent the Earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley, with 7000 soldiers. Dudley achieved little but Elizabeth had sent a clear message to the Spanish. Who ruled the sea? The reign of Queen Elizabeth was one which saw technological advances and stronger ships. It was a time of tactical advances from those countries who wished to rule the seas. Spain had a long history of naval success + Tudor England had been a time where ships were seen as useful for both attacking and defending England's coastline. Elizabeth put John Hawkins in charge of developing the navy to rival and surpass that of the Spanish. Meanwhile, King Phillip was doing the same and spared no expense to try and maintain Spain's naval supremacy. Singeing of the King's Beard Raiding and stealing supplies was the most common tactic used by sailors in the sixteenth century. Francis Drake + John Hawkins were infamous for seizing Spanish ships and raiding Spanish ports. The most notable of these was Drake's raid of the Spanish fleet at Cadiz in 1587, which is known as the singeing of the King of Spain's beard'. In any case, Elizabeth supported such acts and provided licences to her sailors to act as privateers. Phillip was furious + fully expected Elizabeth to punish her sailors as pirates. This never happened and England + Spain were set firmly on a collision course. The Spanish Lost: Impact: ● ● 24 ships (£750 000-£137,000,000 in today's money). A year's supply of iron hoops and wooden staves used to make barrels that were to store the food for the Armada. The Spanish now had inadequate supplies; the replacements they could muster were leaky and resulted in leaky water supplies and quickly rotting food. It was a devastating attack on the Spanish navy, sinking warships and ruining the supplies Phillip had built up in preparation for an attack on the English. He was also able to capture the San Felipe, laden with expensive exotic spices, silks and precious stones worth £108 000. Making this highly profitable for Drake's investors. This increased Spanish fear and was humiliating. It bolstered the English who welcomed Drake back as a national-hero. New barrels had to be made quickly and they were not as good quality. The food inside them rotted quicker than it would have done had Drake's plan not worked. Drake also stole silver from one of the ships. This would affect funding of the Armada + put the Spanish back by one whole year. Privateers Elizabeth's fleet was never large and she never had permanent officers or sailors. She relied heavily on merchant ships. Of the 226 ships facing the Armada only 34 were Elizabeth's. Privateers needed to design better ships to carry larger hauls, especially when Phillip II stopped English trade in Antwerp. They knew they needed ships that could reach new trading posts much further afield. Cargoes from voyages often raised fifty times more than the ships were worth so more people were keen to invest the money needed to build these impressive and expensive ships. However, travel was often uncomfortable and unhealthy (scurvy, contaminated water, crowding, rats, fleas, vermin) but it was more democratic and less hierarchical than any other element of Elizabethan society. These voyages were also dangerous, which meant that merchant ships began to think up better ways to arm themselves against pirates. Over half of the ships seized between 1579-1590 had weapons on them but Elizabeth was cautious not to be harsh with these men who could help her if there were to be a battle at sea. England and Spain's naval superiority can be best summarised in the following 3 ways: • Henry VIII had spent a fortune building a huge navy to protect his island nation. ● Before 1500, ships had simply been a way to get to battle, but Tudor ships were designed to fight. • During Elizabethan's reign, under the command of John Hawkins, England's navy continued to grow. The Size of the Fleet The Tactics The Technology ● At the same time, Philip 11 of Spain spared no expense in trying to make his navy the largest, and most powerful in the world. • When full scale battles were fought, a tactic called the line of battle was sometimes used. Ships formed into a single line + fired together on the enemy. The aim was to sink as many as possible. Raids were a common form of attack. They took enemy ports by surprise and destroyed as many ships as possible before the enemy had the chance to fight back. This kind of attack also allowed for treasure to be stolen. Fireships were an effective tactic used in the 16th century. An old ship would be set alight and sent into the middle of the enemy fleet. This would send panic across the wooden ships and cause great damage at little risk to the attacker. • Faster + more manoeuvrable ships - Lateen, a new type of triangular sail allowed for much faster travel + new ships focused on both speed + manoeuvrability. This allowed greater distances to be travelled and perfect for raids + battles. • More powerful weapons - Whereas previously sailors would have to try + board enemy ships it was now possible to fire at them from a distance. Ships were built specifically for battle + for use in the line of battle' tactic. Stronger, sturdier ships allowed for heavier + more powerful weapons to be carried. • More accurate navigation - New inventions like the astrolabe allowed for greater accuracy when planning voyages + working out location. This allowed explorers to embark on journeys with a much higher level of accuracy + to be more prepared for passing through hostile waters. Charles Howard leader of the English Fleet • An Elizabethan courtier and admiral. He was Lord Admiral of England, despite having only limited experience at sea. • He was not as talented a seaman as his second in command (Sir Francis Drake) but his prudent leadership, including deferring to Drake contributed to the eventual defeat of the Armada. • He was chosen as he was more rational than Drake. • He knew to save England's firepower for the final offensive at Gravelines. He was able to stop the Spanish from stopping at the Isle of Wight. ● 1. The Plan 2. The English Strike First 3. The Battle 4. The Storm Leadership • • • Duke of Medina-Sidonia Leader of the Spanish Fleet ● He served in several military campaigns and Philip 11 considered him the best administrator in the country. ● He was inexperienced in naval battle and so made some fatal errors in his planning and tactics. ● The Spanish commanders had wanted MS to attack the English at Plymouth - had he done this the English might not have had the tactical advantage of the wind. ● In 1588, Philip 11 of Spain launched his great Armada: 151 ships, 7000 sailors and 34,000 soldiers along with 180 priests and monks (who delivered mass every day) would sail to the Netherlands and collect the Spanish soldiers in the Netherlands under Duke of Parma (who had replaced the Duke of Alva in 1578) before invading England. They would sail in an unbreakable crescent formation. The ships would land on the Kent Coast and the soldiers would march on London. Philip was so confident that he would defeat the English navy that he filled the ships with weapons for land battles that would follow once the fleet arrived in England. • They thought there wouldn't be much opposition from the English Navy so only brought enough weapons for the final attack. • By 6th August, the Armada was anchored off the Dutch coast. • They were delayed for several days waiting for additional soldiers to arrive. ● At this moment, the English - commanded by Sir Francis Drake - chose to strike. Early on 7th August, eight fire ships were sent into the Spanish fleet. There was massive panic and the well-organised Armada was plunged into chaos. On 8th August the Battle of Gravelines began. ● The English fired constantly from a distance of 100 metres. The Spanish ships were badly damaged but none were sunk. Recognising how bad the situation was, the Spanish commander, the Duke of Medina-Sidonia tried to lead his battered ships home. The English gave chase. • A great storm blew the retreating Armada way off course. Their their water pollu and with no maps for the waters around northern Britain, many ships were wrecked. Survivors who made it to shore were slaughtered by the Scots or the Irish. ● Of 151 ships, only 65 returned to Spain. 28th May 1588 19th June 1588 21th July 1588 29th July 1588 31st July 1588 4th August 1588 6th August 1588 7th August 1588 8th August 1588 9th August 1588 Tactics August 1588- September 1588 September 1588 October 1588 The Weather • • ● ● ● Armada leaves Lisbon Arrives at Corunna ● Set sail for England Sighted off Cornwall Attacked by English ships Arrives at Calais Fireships sent into Calais harbour Battle of Gravelines Armada sails into North Sea Sails last Scotland +Ireland Returns to Spain Why did the Armada fail? The Spanish ships had largely survived the battle with the English but many could not survive the journey home. They were battered by storms off the Scottish + Irish coasts and many were wrecked. They ran out of food + water + many of the sailors became too sick to sail. The lack of a secure port where the Spanish could take shelter meant that the Spanish ships were buffeted by the wind. 19th June while at Corunna weather stuck and ships were thrown into the Atlantic Bay and Bay of Biscay. • England often had the advantage of being windward. ● August 8th, the Weather and the current went in England's favour. August 9th, the wind forced the Spanish to go North where many of the ships were wrecked and conditions on board made the survivors very ill indeed, many died. The thinking was that God intervened and the windy weather was a sign that God was on Elizabeth's side. ● • They travelled in a crescent formation meaning it was hard to move and to use their weapons. The use of fireside by the English worked brilliantly as it broke the tight formation of the Spanish fleet, made individual ships vulnerable to attack + the ships could not have done much damage but splitting formation would. Their Galleons were heavy, hard to manoeuvre, slow and carried weapons that were hard to fire. They needed time to be reset - unlike the British which was able to fire much more ammunition in a short space of time. Planning Ships Weapons Philip 11's leadership was poor. ● • They had the firepower 3/4 of the English and 1/3 fewer long range guns. ● Artillery was slow and mismatched so some didn't even work. The ships were hard to sink but many were abandoned or ran aground. ● ● The constant bombardments by the English cannons made it impossible for the Spanish to regroup. Their tactic was usually to get close enough to board the English boats. The English ships were fast and could move away from the Spanish easily, they also kept their distance so that the Spanish couldn't do this. The delay in getting soldiers on board in the Netherlands was disastrous for the Spanish, the Spanish plan relied on stopping to pick up the Duke of Parma's army to boost their numbers, but the fleet was unable to anchor and so never picked them up.but their biggest mistake was not being fully prepared for a sea battle. • Most of the cannons they had on board were designed to be used once they had landed in England and they had brought a number of the wrong cannons, making the cannons they had brought for naval warfare useless. The strength of the Spanish fleet came from its crescent formation plan - but when the English broke this up with their fire ships, the Spanish became vulnerable and exposed to attack. The Spanish had some of the most effective warships in the world but they were designed for the Mediterranean. • They struggled to cope with the English Channel + the North Sea. ● They were slow, much less manoeuvrable + less equipped for the bad weather than the English ships. ● The English ships had cannon they could fire at a safe distance and could be reloaded quickly. The design of the Spanish cannon meant that they could only fire over short distances and were slow to reload. He chose Medina-Sidonia to lead the Armada but he had no maritime experience and so made some fatal errors in his planning and tactics. Medina-Sidonia only had three months to prepare but still had the largest force that had ever been put to sea. Philip 11 ignored Medina-Sidonia when he said that they were not prepared following the storms off Corunna. • Made the mistake of trying to carry out two tactics at the same time which stretched his forces. • Ignored the Duke of Parma when he warned him that they did not have the right type of ships. There was poor communication between all of them due to the distance between Spain and the Netherlands. The Duke of Parma took a week to prepare once he had news that the Armada had arrived; they needed to know when the Armada was on its way. MS panicked when he saw the fireships and told them to cut anchors. Impact Elizabeth was seen as a heroine, she had defeated the most powerful country in the world. National Pride was boosted and this further pushed the idea that this was a ‘Golden Age' for England. English Protestantism had been safeguarded and they remained independent. It had brought many Catholics on board who, although loyal to their religion, were more loyal to Elizabeth. England had established itself as a naval power. There were further attempts between both sides to continue to attack but all were driven back by storms. Elizabeth continued to help the Dutch Rebels. What made the defeat of the Armada so significant? Having defeated the Armada, England was safe for the time being but it could not rest. The country had become very close to being invaded and it was important to ensure that did not happen again. Elizabeth continued to build up the navy for the rest of her reign. One significant consequence of the defeat of the Armada was that England had proved it could be a major naval power + it quickly set about making this the case. For numerous reasons, this Spanish Armada' failed and proved a turning point in English history. England, led by a woman, defeated the most powerful and wealthy country in the world. England's global standing was transformed and Elizabeth went down in history as one of the great leaders, perhaps the greatest monarch of all.