The Spanish Armada 1588

The Armada reached the English Channel in July 1588

-Armada was delayed for several weeks by bad weather and attempts of an English fleet to intercept it -They were sighted off Cornwall and beacons (signal fires) were lit to send news to Elizabeth in London -English ships set sail from Plymouth to meet the Armada -the Armada sailed up the channel j a crescent formation which was an effective defensive strategy which used the large armed galleons to protect the weaker supply and troop ships -English navy carried out a few minor raids but was unable to influence t much damage. Only two Spanish ships were lost and they were destroyed by accident

Armada planned to meet the duke of parma

-by spring of 1588 the Spanish Armada was complete -Spanish Armada was a huge fleet of around 130 ships manned by 8000 sailors carrying 18.000 soldiers -Philip appoints need duke of medina to lead the Armada as he affected his high status and trusted him to obey instructions however the duke had little military or navy experience -Spanish had thousands more soldiers stationed in the Netherlands under the leadership of the duke of Parma. Philips pan was for the Armada to meet parma's army. The combined forces would then sail across the channel to England under the protection of the armada's warships

The English attacked the Spanish at Calais and gravelines

-medina anchored at Calais to wait for parmas troops but Parma and his men were being blocked by Dutch ships and they weren't able to reach the coast in time,e -in the middle of the night the English sent eight fire ships a month the anchored Spanish ships this caused panic and they broke their crescent for,action -the Spanish regrouped at gravelines but weather made it impossible for the, to return back to their defensive position -the English moved in and the battle lasted many hours five Spanish ships were sunk and the rest of the fleet were forced to sail away from the french coast into the North Sea -an English fleet followed them as far as Scotland to ,are sure they didn't regroup

The armadas journey back to Spain was a disaster

-medina decided to call off the attack on England and return to Spain by sailing around Scotland and Ireland. The sailors were unfamiliar with this route and they encountered powerful Atlantic storms -many ships sank or were wrecked on the Scottish and Irish coasts where the local inhabitants showed survivors little mercy. -the ships that compl ted the journey ran short of supplies and many men died of starvation and disease. -less than half the fleet and fewer than 10,000 men made it back to Spain

How was the Armada defeated?

English strengths: -English improved ship building. Spain relied on large heavy ships whereas the English build long narrow ships which were faster and easier to handle. English cannons could be reloaded more quickly than the Spanish ones -Spanish aimed to come alongside their opponents and board their ships and attack them in hand to hand fighting. The Spanish couldn't use this tactic against the English as they used their greater manoeuvrability to stay out of range. Instead of boarding Spanish ships, the English fired cannonballs which could sink them Spanish weaknesses: -their men lacked experience where as the English fleet was manned by experienced sailors -Spain didn't control a deep water port where the Armada could anchor safely so ships were extremely vulnerable it an attack Luck: -death of Spain's leading admiral Santa Cruz led to the appointment of the inexperienced duke of medina sidonia to lead the Armada -weather made it impossible for the Spanish fleet to return to the channel after the battle of gravelines forcing it to travel into dangerous waters off the Scottish and Irish coasts

Why did the English victory boost Elizabeth's popularity and strengthen the Protestant cause!

Was seen as a sign that god favoured protestantism