Relations And War With Spain Flashcards
Religious rivalry
As a Protestant country under Elizabeth I, England’s relationship with Spain soured:
- Philip II, backed by the pope, saw protestantism as a threat to the authority of the Catholic church.
- Many English Protestants saw Spain and Catholicism as a threat
- Philip II of Spain became involved in Catholic plots against Elizabeth
Spanish policy in the Netherlands
The Netherlands had been Spanish since the 1400s, but many Dutch became protestant
A brutal Spanish campaign under the Duke of Alba aimed to restore catholicism there.
Spanish catholics executed many Dutch protestants following the council of troubles in 1568.
Spain’s campaign in the Netherlands angered many in Elizabeth’s government, who now saw Spain as hostile - a direct threat to English Protestantism and to England itself.
The Spanish Fury
By 1576, the Spanish government in the Netherlands found the war there unaffordable. A lack of funds meant spanish troops went unpaid. This resulted in the Spanish Fury, when Spanish troops looted Antwerp.
Response to Spanish Fury: Pacification of Ghent
After the looting, all 17 Dutch provinces (Catholic and Protestant) joined an alliance against the Spanish, drawn up in a document called the Pacification of Ghent. It called for all Spanish troops to be expelled from the Netherlands.
The English response to the Spanish (involvement in the Netherlands)
Elizabeth’s government decided to secretly help Dutch Protestants resist the Spanish:
- It allowed dutch rebel ships (the sea beggars) a safe passage in English ports
- It provided financial support to others fighting the Spanish, including volunteers led by John Casimir, a foreign mercenary.
- English privateers, such as Sir Francis Drake, were encouraged to attack Spanish shipping and colonies in Latin America
Restoring Spanish influence
By late 1584:
• Spanish control of the Netherlands had been restored under the Duke of Parma
• England’s allies, the Duke of Alençon and William of Orange, were dead
• The Treaty of Joinville (1584) united Catholic France and Spain against the Netherlands and England
• Dutch Catholics were ready to make peace with Spain, strengthening Philip Il’s position there.
England and Spain close to war / rising tensions
By 1587, England and Spain were close to war.
• Philip Il blamed English support of the Dutch rebels for making the situation worse.
• Philip Il blamed English privateers for attacks on Spanish shipping.
• Elizabeth’s government blamed Spain for a series of plots against Elizabeth.
What were privateers?
Sailors on privately owned warships who attacked spanish shipping. Because the ships were privately owned, Elizabeth could deny responsibility for their actions
Commercial rivalry
By the 1570s, England and Spain had emerged as commercial (trade) rivals. Both competed against each other for access to the markets and resources of the New World, as well as to markets in Turkey, Europe, Russia, China and North Africa.
English hostility towards Spain (commercial)
• Spanish control of the Netherlands and the Scheldt and Rhine estuaries closed off one of the principal trade routes used by English traders in Europe - this reduced the incomes and profits of English merchants
• Spain’s control of the New World also denied English traders profit-making opportunities, because all trade there had to be licensed by the Spanish government.
Examples of English privateering
In 1572 Sir Francis Drake captured £40000 in Spanish silver (in one raid)
Elizabeth also encouraged dutch rebels, sea beggars, to attack spanish ships sailing between spain and the Netherlands
Effect of Elizabeth knighting Drake
It demonstrated Elizabeth’s defiance of and hostility towards Spain’s commercial interests in Europe and the New World. Her actions showed her support of the financial losses suffered by spanish government due to english privateering.
The campaign in the Netherlands (1585-88)
The campaign was not a great success:
• Elizabeth still hoped to negotiate with Philip II. England was not formally at war with Spain and so Leicester was not given enough resources to defeat the Spanish.
• Dudley and Elizabeth had different aims in the Netherlands. Dudley wanted to end Spanish rule, making the Netherlands an independent country. Elizabeth wanted to go back to how the Netherlands had been governed in 1548 when it remained under Spanish control but with certain freedoms aiven to it.
Results of the campaign in the Netherlands (1585-88)
The campaign achieved very little:
• Dudley could only disrupt Spanish forces in the Netherlands under the Duke of Parma.
He could not defeat them.
• Dudley did manage to stop the Spanish from capturing a deep-water port, Ostend, on the English Channel. This was important because it denied the Spanish Armada the chance to link up with the Duke of Parma’s troops in 1588.
Importance of Drake’s attack on Cadiz (singeing of the king of spain’s beard)
• Spain had to take a break from building the Armada in order to defend itself against Drake.
- The disruption Drake caused did not stop the Armada, but it delayed it by a year.
• This bought England more time to prepare for the eventual Spanish attack and invasion in 1588.
