2.3 Outbreak of war with Spain 1585-88 Flashcards
Why did Elizabeth decide to become involved in the Netherlands?
because of the treaty of Joinville 1584
What did Elizabeth do instead of deposing King Phillip II from the Netherlands?
she signed the treaty of Nonsuch in August 1585
which effectively put England and Spain at war as Elizabeth had now officially sided with the rebels and decided to officially intervene with the Netherlands
What was agreed under the Treaty of Nonsuch?
- England would pay for an army of 7,400 English soldiers led by Robert Dudley
- a commander of Elizabeth’s choosing would work with the rebels’ government, the Council of State
What did Elizabeth order Drake to do in October 1585 and what was the effect on Anglo-Spanish relations?
sent drake to raid Spanish New World settlements with aims of disrupting Phillips II flow of resources and finances.
this made Phillip II even angrier and he told the pope he intended to invade England at the end of 1585
What did Dudley do in the Netherlands to anger Elizabeth and why did this make Elizabeth angry?
he accepted the title Governor-General to the Netherlands in Jan 1586
this angered Elizabeth as it implied that she was deposing Phillip II as king of the Netherlands
In the Summer 1586, how were the English forces losing to the Spanish?
they couldn’t push back the Spanish, only slow them down.
they lost the Zutphen fort due to Rowlans York defecting to the Spanish side along with Sir William Stanley who gave the Spanish Deventer
this found it hard for the Dutch to trust Leicester as he appointed Stanley
What was the good outcome of the campaign in the Netherlands?
even though Dudley didn’t have enough men or supplies, he stopped the Duke of Parma from taking the major deepwater port of Ostend.
this meant that the Spanish Armada was denied the chance to link up with the Duke of Parma’s troops in 1588
Why was the English campaign in the Netherlands not successful between 1586-88?
- Elizabeth was never fully behind the rebels because she was still hoping to negotiate with Spain, so Leicester wasn’t given the funds necessary to mount a large campaign
- Dudley and Elizabeth had different aims in the Netherlands. Dudley wanted to liberate the Netherlands from the Spanish, making it independent. Elizabeth wanted to a return to how the Netherlands had been en governed in 1549 when it had certain freedoms despite being under Spanish court
- Relations between English and Dutch leaders were poor because of England’s lack of commitment
When was the singeing of the king of Spain’s beard?
1587
What’s the deal with the singeing of the King’s beard aka the raid on Cadiz, 1587?
Since January 1586, Spain had been preparing the Armada.
In March 1587, Elizabeth ordered Francis Drake to attack Spain’s navy. On 19th April, he sailed into Cadiz harbour, Spain’s most important Atlantic port, and over three days, destroyed 30 ships as well as a great deal of the fleet’s provisions.
Drake then spent several weeks attacking the coast of Portugal before heading to the Azores. His aim was to capture Spanish treasure ships bringing silver from Spain’s New World colonies. Although he only captured one, Spain had to break off building the Armada to defend itself against Drake.
The disruption Drake caused did not stop the Armada but delayed it by a year. This bought England more time to prepare.
