Outbreak of War With Spain Flashcards
Describe Elizabeth’s Response to the Offer of her Being the Sovereign of the Netherlands
-In June 1585, Dutch Protestant representatives came to England offering Elizabeth I the sovereignty of the Netherlands.
-She refused, as it would mean deposing King Philip II, something she was unwilling to do: Elizabeth refused to depose an anointed monarch.
-Instead, on 10 August 1585, Elizabeth I signed the Treaty of Nonsuch with the Dutch Protestants. It effectively put England at war with Spain.
Describe the Treaty of Nonsuch
-Elizabeth had agreed to intervene directly in the Netherlands on the side of the rebels.
-Philip II thought the English should stay out of the Netherlands as they belonged to Spain.
-England would finance an army 7,400 English troops under a commander of Elizabeth’s choosing, who would work with the rebels’ government, the Council of State.
-The man she chose was her long time favourite, the Earl of Leicester.
Explain why Philip II was Angered in October 1585
-In October 1585, Elizabeth also sent Sir Francis Drake to raid Spanish New World settlements with the aim of disrupting Philip II’s flow of resources and finances.
-However, rather than deterring Philip, Drake only succeeded in angering him. Philip told the Pope he intended to invade England at the end of 1585.
Explain why the English were Originally Unsuccessful in the Netherlands
-England’s intervention in the Netherlands was not a great success. Elizabeth did not want to take the initiative: she was still hoping to negotiate with Spain.
-Leicester was therefore not given enough money for men or supplies to mount a large campaign.
-The campaign started badly too. In January 1586, Leicester accepted the title of Governor General of the Netherlands on Elizabeth’s behalf.
-Elizabeth was furious as this implied that she was deposing Philip II as king of the Netherlands.
Explain why the Dutch Struggled to Trust the Earl of Leicester
-In summer 1586, English forces only managed to slow the Duke of Parma’s advance through the Netherlands. In September, they did take some forts outside the Spanish controlled town of Zutphen.
-In January 1587 however, they lost one, Zutphen fort, when it was handed over by an English captain, Rowland York. He defected to the Spanish along with Sir William Stanley.
-Stanley had been the governor of the town Deventer and gave it to the Spanish. After this, the Dutch found it hard to trust Leicester, especially because he had appointed Stanley.
Describe the Earl of Leicester’s Partial Successes in the Netherlands
-Leicester was called back to England in November 1586 but returned to the Netherlands in June 1587. He still didn’t have enough men or supplies.
-However, he managed to cause the Duke of Parma enough problems to prevent him from taking the major deep-water port of Ostend.
-Parma’s failure to capture any deep water ports proved important in the failure of the Armada in 1588.
Explain why the English Campaign in the Netherlands was Unsuccessful Between 1586-88
-Elizabeth was never fully behind the rebels. She still hoped to negotiate with Spain and did not give Leicester the funds necessary to mount a large campaign.
-Relations between the English and Dutch leaders were poor because of Elizabeth’s lack of commitment.
-Leicester and Elizabeth had different aims. Leicester wanted to liberate the Netherlands, making it independent. Elizabeth wanted to return to how the Netherlands had been governed in 1548.
Describe how Drake Singed the King of Spain’s Beard
-Since January 1586, Spain had been preparing the Armada.
-In March 1587, Elizabeth ordered Francis Drake to attack Spain’s navy.
-On 19 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.
Describe Drake’s Role in Delaying the Armada
-After singeing the King of Spain’s beard, Drake spent several weeks attacking the coast of Portugal before heading to the Azores.
-His aim was to capture Spanish treasure ships bringing treasure from Spain’s New World colonies.
-Although he only captured one, Spain had to breakoff from building the Armada to defend itself against Drake.
-The disruption Drake caused did not stop the Armada but it was delayed by a year. This bought England more time to prepare.
