Spanish Armada Flashcards
what was the Spanish Armada?
When Philip II decided to gather a fleet of Spanish ships to fight tirelessly against the English as a result of religion, wealth, power and many other things. The English won.
Give some reasons why the English and Spanish were rivals.
RELIGION- England was Protestant and Spain was Roman Catholic
DIFFERENCES + OPINION- Both had strong rulers with different viewpoints
THRONE + POWER-Philip II had been involved in plots against Elizabeth. Mary had left her claim to the English throne to him.
POLITICS
Name some of the causes why the Spanish Armada set sail in 1588.
Philip had engaged in plots to overthrow Elizabeth
Religion
Spain keen to expand empire. England was rich.
Spain in good position to launch attack.
Marriage, religion, head of state, power, wealth,economics
What are the key events during the battle of the Spanish Armada?
-Spanish sailed in crescent formation (weaker ships on inside)
-Spanish called in to pick up additional soldiers but weren’t there and England launched attack. Spanish had to cut anchors. They had not many soldiers on board ships.
-Weather made Spanish sail all round GB + Ireland
-fire ship by England was used to destroy Spanish boats.
-third of Spanish survived
-England successfully won
How many ships did the Spanish and English have?
-Spanish had 130 ships
-English had 55 ships
Who were the commanders of the Spanish and English fleets?
Spanish commander was medina sidonia. He was inexperienced.
English commanders were Lord Howard (cousin of Elizabeth)+ Sir Francis drake(famous English pirate).
What are the reasons why the armada was defeated?
1) original plan was poor
2) crescent formation broke
3) poor leadership
4) English ships were more powerful
5) duke of Parma’s army never used. Soldiers were stranded.
6) use of fire ships at Calais.
7) weather
8) missed opportunities