part 3: conflict with spain Flashcards
What political tension was there with Spain?
- philip ruled spain, the netherlands, and parts of italy and portugal
- he also had a large empire in the americas
- england wanted to build its own empire, leading to rivalry between them
- elizabeth rejected philip in marriage, bitter feelings
- elizabeth signed the treaty of nonsuch
what religious tension was there with spain?
-phillip was a strong catholic and didn’t like the settlement
-he saw elizabeth as a heretic
-he became involved in plots against elizabeth in 1570s/80s which damaged their relationship
what economic tension was there with spain?
- elizabeth encouraged privateers to illegally trade with spanish countries and spanish ships carrying treasure
- John Hawkins illegally traded with spanish colonies
- attacks on spanish treasure ships by drake
What part did the Netherlands play in the beginning of the Armada?
- in 1581, Protestant rebels in the Netherlands declared independence from Spain. In 1584 the rebel leader (William the Silent) was assassinated, weakening the rebellion
- In 1585 Liz signed the Treaty of Nonsuch, which promised military assistance to the rebels
- Philip saw the Treaty of Nonsuch as a declaration of war on Spain. In response, he began building an Armada to invade England.
Who did Elizabeth send to disrupt spanish preparations for the Armada?
Francis Drake
Which port in Spain did Drake attack? When? What did he do?
The port of Cadiz in 1587. He destroyed 30 ships and seized many supplies
How did Drake’s attack on Cadiz help England?
- delayed the Armada by more than a year. It was expensive for Spain to source new supplies.
- Drake captured planks made form seasoned wood that were needed to make barrels to hold food and water
- so Spain had to make barrels from unseasoned wood, which didn’t preserve food well, causing supply issues for the Armada and affecting the morale of the Spanish soldiers
What was Philip’s Enterprise of England?
His plan to remove Elizabeth from the throne.
Describe what the Armada was made from
130 ships, 8000 sailors, 18,000 soldiers
Who did Philip choose to lead the Armada and why, did he accept?
He appointed the Duke of Medina Sidonia, because he obeyed instructions and had a high social status.
The Duke had little military experience, so unsuccessfully tried to turn down the command.
What was Phillip’s plan regarding the armada and collecting more soldiers?
- he had thousands more soldiers stationed in the Netherlands under the Duke of Parma.
- he thought that his armada would meet the Duke’s army at Dunkirk
- the combined forces would then sail across the channel to england under the protection of the Armada’s warships
When did the Armada reach the English channel?
July 1588
Describe the Armada’s journey to England
- set out in april 1588, but hit a storm so many ships were damaged and they had to return back home
-finally set sail in july 1588, planned to meet more soldiers in the netherlands - The Armada sailed in a crescent formation, and it was a defensive strategy which used the larger armed ships to protect the weaker supply and troop ships.
-on the journey, they realised their food had rotted as the new wooden barrels had not been dried properly (drake destroyed original ones in attack on calais) - It was sighted off the Cornish coast, and beacons were lit along the South Coast to send the news to London. English ships sailed from Plymouth to meet the Armada.
- francis drake took out a fleet of ships from plymouth and attacked but didn’t inflict much damage. Only 2 Spanish ships were lost
Describe how the English attacked the Spanish ships at Calais/dunkirk
-the wind helped the spanish to move along the coastline to the netherlands but there wasn’t a port big enough so they anchored at Calais to wait for Parma’s troops, but Parma’s ships were being blockaded by Dutch ships and couldn’t reach the coast in time
- in the middle of the night the English sent 8 fireships (hellburners: ships loaded with anything that could burn well and they set them on fire) among the anchored Spanish ships
- the spanish saw them coming so move out of the way, they panicked so they cut their anchor lines, breaking their defensive formation (crescent) and headed towards the open sea.
- now weak against attack
Describe how the English attacked the Spanish ships at Gravelines, what happened after calais attack, date of graveline, how many ships/men sunk and died/injured?
- after the attack at Calais, the spanish ships regrouped at Gravelines but the weather made it impossible for them to reform their defensive positions of a crescent-shape
- 8th august 1588, the english moved in with the wind and currents in their favour
- they launched a ferocious and relentless attack and the battle lasted nine hours
- 5 spanish ships were sunk, and the rest of the fleet retreated away from the French coast to the North sea
- 1000 men died, and 800 injured
Describe the Armada’s journey back to Spain
- An English fleet followed as far as Scotland to ensure the Spanish didn’t regroup and join Parma’s ships and to block them from going back down the english channel
- the Duke of Medina Sidonia decided to call off the attack on England and return to Spain by sailing round Scotland and Ireland.
- The Spanish sailors were unfamiliar with this very dangerous route, and they encountered powerful atlantic storms (called protestant winds)
- Many ships were sank or wrecked on the Irish and Scottish coasts, and local inhabitants showed the survivors little mercy
- The ships that completed the journey ran low on supplies, and many men died of starvation and disease, some reduced to eating rope
- Less than half the fleet (67 out of 127 ships), and 10,000 men made it back to spain
- 20,000 soldiers and sailors were killed
How did English Strengths help to defeat the Armada?
- they improved their ships, making them longer and slimmer so they were faster and easier to handle. Their cannons could also be reloaded more quickly than the Spanish ones
- their tactics were effective. Spanish ships aimed to come alongside their opponents, board their ships and engage in hand-to-hand fighting. The English used their greater mobility to stay out of range. Instead of boarding the spanish ships, the english fired broadsides which sank them
How did Spanish weaknesses help england defeat the armada?
- most of Spain’s men lacked experience in naval warfare, and the English fleet were manned by experienced sailors
- The Spanish plan to meet Parma at Dunkirk was flawed. They didn’t have control of a deep water port, so they were vulnerable to an attack whilst they wait for Parma’s ships to escape the Dutch Blockade
How did luck help England defeat the armada?
- the death of Spain’s leading admiral (Santa Cruz), in Feb 1588, led to the appointment of the inexperienced Duke of Medina Sidonia to lead the armada
- the 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
Describe the impacts of England’s victory over the Armada
- contributed to England’s becoming a strong naval power to rival Spain. English ships went on many voyages of discovery and established new trade routes, especially in India and the far East.
- boosted Liz’s popularity and strengthened the Protestant cause and people saw it as God favouring protestantism
- Phillip tried 2 more Armadas in the 1590s, and both failed.
why did philip want to marry elizabeth?
to control england: expand his empire, and convert it to catholic
why did philip launch his crusade against elizabeth, 6 details?
-elizabeth supported privateers who attacked spanish treasure ships in the new world
-she helped dutch rebels in the netherlands who were fighting against spanish rule
-she made herself head of the church, seen as a heretic when excommunicated
-she sent help to the huguenots (french protestants)
-she expelled spanish ambassadors who were involved in catholic plots against her
-she executed mary queen of scots, who philip saw as the rightful heir to the throne
describe philip II (strengths and weaknesses)
strengths:
-became king of spain in 1556
-governed spain in their golden age
weaknesses:
-his reign saw the economic decline & disastrous decade from 1588-1598
-due to himself: he mistrusted his own judgement, relied on advice of others
-however distrusted advice of his advisors
-took ages to make decisions
-many believed he had a chronic lack of self-confidence
describe santa cruz (strengths and weaknesses)
strengths:
-foremost spanish naval commander
-prominent in many successful naval engagements
-appointed commander of the armada
-succeeded in assembling and fitting out nearly the entire armada
weaknesses:
-untimely death before armada
describe duke of parma (strengths and weaknesses)
strengths:
-brilliant soldier
-best known for successful campaign against the dutch revolt
-talents as a field commander, strategist and organiser
describe duke of medina sidonia (strengths and weaknesses)
strengths:
-spanish noble from a powerful family
-loyal, well organised
-appointed as commander of armada after death of santa cruz
-worked hard to ensure armada was well prepared and he reorganised much of the fleet
weaknesses:
-reluctance to accept position
-problems with seasickness
-english implied he was a fool and a coward
when did the armada finally set sail?
1588
what did the conflict with the spanish armada represent?
the height of the long struggle between protestant england and catholic spain
how many men did the english lost and how?
100 in battle
200 from disease
effect of storms at start
- less ships, men and supplies so weaker
- mental effect, left them discouraged
effect of armada being spot in cornwall
- england had time to prepare themselves and ships for their upcoming attack
- made them stronger, gave them an advantage
consequences of armada
- philip bittery disappointed at humiliating defeat
- celebrations in england
- victory had enormous propaganda value for elizabeth (armada portrait created)
- national pride boosted
- england’s independence safeguarded and protestantism preserved
- role of wind taken as a sign of god’s approval of protestantism
- victory paved the way for england to establish itself as a major naval power
- showed elizabeth’s strength and power
why did the armada fail?
- flawed plan
- leadership
- ships
- guns
- weather
