The Spanish Armada
EVENT NUMBER TWO: Crescent
-Armada sailed in a crescent formation along the south coast of England and up the English Channel -The formation made it difficult to attack
EVENT NUMBER ONE: Cadiz
-Drake attacked the Spanish port at Cadiz, destroying supplies Philip was using to assemble his fleet -The attack was said to have "singed the king of Spain's beard"
REASONS FOR FAILURE: Ship size
-English ships were smaller and faster than the massive Spanish ships -English ships had better long range cannons, allowing them to safely fire at the armada
BACKGROUND
-Philip was powerful: ruled Spain, Netherlands, parts of Italy and South America -Initially, he was friendly with Elizabeth -Became more concerned as she imposed stricter Protestant ideas -Clear that England would not easily convert back to Catholicism -England's army and navy was much smaller than Spain's
SUCCESSES
-Philip's soldiers prevented from crossing Channel and landing in England -Country remained Protestant and continued to be ruled by Elizabeth -English Catholics did not rise up in support of Spain in 1588 -No further Catholic plots or rebellions for the rest of Elizabeth's reign
CAUSES: Privateering
-Sir Francis Drake was an English privateer -Drake was sent by Elizabeth to attack Spanish treasure ships sailing between Europe and America -Drake captured over £140,000 of Spanish treasure
CAUSES: The Netherlands
-Spain ruled the Netherlands and there had been a Protestant revolt there -Elizabeth had signed the Treaty of Nonsuch - promised support to Dutch Protestants fighting Spain
REASONS FOR FAILURE: Cannons
-Spanish cannons were poorly made -Many exploded when fired
REASONS FOR FAILURE: Weather
-Spanish were not prepared for the long voyage round the British Isles -More ships and men were lost to disease and shipwrecks than fighting
EVENT NUMBER FIVE: Escape around Scotland
-The Spanish fleet fled around the north coast of Scotland and Ireland, but were battered by terrible storms -Of 130 ships in the armada, only 67 made it home to Spain -Spain also lost 20,000 men to fighting, disease and drowning
REASONS FOR FAILURE: Fire ships
-Turning point for English was the use of fire ships which broke the Spanish crescent formation, which the English had struggled to attack -Once it was broken, the Spanish ships were vulnerable
FAILURES
-War against Spain continued for 10 years -Spanish army in Netherlands remained -Risk of Spanish invasion: Philip made new armada of over 100 ships; on two occasions it tried to invade but was stopped by storms -English continued to support Dutch Protestants in their rebellion against Spain -English sailors continued to attack Spanish treasure ships and ports across Spain -Increased anti-Spanish feeling within England but no major arrests
EVENT NUMBER THREE: Calais (Fire ships)
-While the armada was anchored at Calais, the English sent fire ships towards the Spanish fleet -The armada panicked and cut their anchors, fleeing in all directions
EVENT NUMBER FOUR: Conflict (Gravelines)
-Without the crescent formation, the armada was attacked at Gravelines (north of Calais) -By the end of the Battle of Gravelines, 1000 Spanish sailors were dead and 800 wounded -Only 50 English sailors had been killed
Fleet
A big group of ships
Privateer
A legal pirate
Crusade
Holy war, supported by God
CAUSES: Religion
Philip believed he was on a holy crusade to bring Catholicism back to England
REASONS FOR FAILURE: Unqualified
Philip put the Duke of Medina Sidonia, who hated sailing and felt he was not qualified for the job in charge of the armada
CAUSES: Marriage rejection
Philip was co-ruler of England with Mary Tudor, and asked Elizabeth to marry but she rejected
Armada
Spanish word for fleet of ships
English Channel
The sea between England and France
Fire ships
Unnamed ships filled with gunpowder and oil
