Spanish Armada Flashcards
What were the religious reasons for the launch Spanish Armada?
- Philip II wanted to get rid of heresy
- The papacy had wanted Elizabeth overthrown since excommunicating her in 1570
- The Pope promised to forgive the sins of those taking part in the Armada and offered Philip a reward if the invasion was successful
- Spain and the Papacy had backed Catholic plots against Elizabeth
What were the ‘revenge’/ provocation reasons for the launch Spanish Armada?
- Drakes’ actions in the New World deprived Spain of resources and trade opportunities, looting Spanish Colonialist countries
- Elizabeth’s support of the Dutch rebels, providing £100,000 in aid and an expeditionary force* to the Netherlands to help ensure that the Pacification of Ghent was carried out.
What were the politics reasons for the launch Spanish Armada?
• Treaty of Joinville 1584
• Treaty of Nonsuch 1585
• England would be a useful addition to Philip Il’s empire.
What were the ‘circumstances’ reasons for the launch Spanish Armada?
• Spain acquired Portugal in 1580
• Duke of Parma’s success in the Netherlands since 1579
• Elizabeth I’s hesitation indicated England’s weaknesses compared with Spain.
What was King Philip’s strategy for the Spanish Armada?
- 130 ships, 2431 guns and 30,000 men
- Commanded by Duke of Medina-Sidonia; ordered to sail along the English Channel to the Netherlands where it would join the Duke of Parma
- Together they would send 27000 troops to Kent, Parma would march to London and depose Elizabeth
- From there, a new Catholic government in England would be created
- The Armada would form a crescent shape, making it difficult to attack
What were 5 reasons fro Spanish defeat of the Armada?
- English ship design
- Spanish supplies
- Planning and Communication
- English tactics
- The weather
How did English ship design and Long term planning result in the defeat of the Armada?
- The treasurer of the navy, John Hawkins, had advised Elizabeth years before that English warships needed to be fast and easily manoeuvrable so they could turn their guns on the enemy quicker.
- New ships, known as galleons, were built from the early 1570s. They were designed to be easier and faster to manoeuvre.
- cannons were mounted on smaller gun carriages than on Spanish ships. The decks on English ships had enough space for cannon to recoil, be quickly reloaded by a small team of men and then pushed back through the gun port. This meant that English ships could fire more cannon balls at the Spanish with more speed.
- By 1588 England only had 24 galleons but also had fireships
What were fireships?
Empty ships that would be set on fire using tar and oil to confuse, threaten or damage enemy ships
How did Spanish supplies result in the defeat of the Armada?
- Provisions stored in barrels made of inferior wood due to Drake’s raid on Cadiz which destroyed so many barrels that new ones had to be made quickly.
- Delays in setting sail and bad weather meant that by the time the English engaged the Armada, it had already been at sea for over ten weeks.
- When the English boarded the first Spanish ship they captured, they found its food supplies already rotting.
- Documents written by Medina-Sidonia also indicate that the Armada was low on supplies of the necessary cannon balls, while archaeological evidence suggests some were also of very poor quality.
- Damp conditions may also have caused wood to rot
How did Planning and Communication issues result in the defeat of the Armada?
Philip I’s plan required Medina-Sidonia to join with Parma, who was to command a fleet from the Netherlands. This was a weakness for two reasons:
- The Duke of Parma did not control any deep-sea ports (which large war ships needed) in the Netherlands. Instead he had to use lots of small ships. This meant it would take 48 hours to load, man and set sail once word came from the Duke of Medina-Sidonia to join his fleet.
- Communications between Medina-Sidonia and Parma had to go by sea and were therefore unreliable. It took a week for word to reach Parma that Medina-Sidonia was in the Channel. By this time, Medina-Sidonia was off Calais waiting to engage the English. Although his message got through to Parma eventually, it was too late.
How did English tactics result in the defeat of the Armada?
- The Armada was spotted in the English Channel on 19 July 1588. The English, having set sail from Plymouth, opened fire on 31 July and captured two ships. The English fleet, however, generally kept at a safe distance and chased the Armada down the Channel. However, there were some exchanges of heavy cannon fire off the Isle of Wight on 3-4 August.
- This exchange proved useful. Medina-Sidonia had hoped to anchor safely off the Isle of Wight. Stopping for a couple of days might have meant that Parma received Medina-Sidonia’s messages in enough time to get the Dutch fleet ready for his arrival.
- During the engagement off the Isle of Wight, the English were able to fire as many as six times more cannon balls than the Spanish and from further away. The Earl of Nottingham, a commander of the English fleet, realised the advantage this gave England and decided to conserve cannon balls for the decisive battle.
When was the Armada first spotted?
The Armada was spotted in the English Channel on 29 July 1588.
How did the weather result in the defeat of the Armada?
- Windy and rainy conditions which the Spanish hadn’t planned for- many believed this acted as poor religious influence
- ‘Protestant wind’ against Spanish increased difficulty sailing, particularly away from the English
What were early Spanish difficulties for the Armada?
- Spanish invasion delayed by over a year by Francis Drake’s read on Spanish ships at Cadiz
- Duke of Medina Sardonia had no experience of being at sea
- Fleet quickly ran into storms losing supplies and forcing ships back for repair
- Given the size of the Armada, they couldn’t go unnoticed
- Mission poorly planned as communication between Parma and Medina Sidonia was impossible
What occurred when the Armada were first spotted?
- The English first spotted the Spanish on 19th of July of lizard point in Cornwall
- A system of beacons built across the south coast were lit to send news of the Armas arrival church bells also rung out in warning
Whats er early English attacks on the Armada?
- as the Spanish sailed up the channel, they were followed by the English fleet
- Armada successfully maintained the crescent shape and only three Spanish ships were lost
- A key part of Philip’s plan relied on close communications between Medina Sadonia and Parma in the Netherlands this of course was impossible
What was the attack on Calais on the Armada?
- The Armada anchored at Calais
- On the night of 28th July 8 old English ships were filled with tar and oil and set on fire
- The fire ships were allowed to drift into the Spanish fleet terrifying the Spanish fleet no ships were burnt causing them to cut anchor ropes fleeing out to sea
- Someone crashed into each other and others ran around
- Spanish ships became scattered by the wind and were blown towards dangerous sand banks on the coast of Netherlands breaking the Cresscent formation
What was the Attack on the Armada at Gravelines?
- The next day to fleet engaged in combat at the battle of Gravelines of the coast of Flanders
- English had the advantage as the Crescent formation had been broken and manoeuverable English ships were at a tactical advantage
- spanish provoked into firing it English out of range guns poorly designed and little deck space
- English would quickly reload and aim low to hit enemy ships below waterline English didn’t lose a single ship, but about 1000 Spanish lives were lost and lost five ships many, more damage
What occurred as the Armada flees?
- Medina Sidonia knew they were beaten with God’s ‘Protestant wind’ blowing from the south-west damaging many Spanish fleet into North Sea
- The change in direction meant there was no chance of the Armada meeting with Palmer troops. The fleet no choice but to head home
- With the channel manned by English, the only way back to Spain was to sail north
- Armada chased by English as far as Scottish border until English turned back
- In September the Spanish sailed around coast of Scotland and Ireland
- Battered by storms and short of supplies, many fell ill and boats were weakened
- Retard made it back about 20,000 Spanish killed- waste of life and resources
