The Spanish Armada Flashcards
Philip II of Spain
King of Spain and in charge of sending the Armada
Elizabeth I
Queen of England and Armada’s target
Mary I
Elizabeth’s half sister and Philip’s wife (she died)
Mary, Queen of Scots
Elizabeth’s cousin and she left her claim to the throne to Philip
Duke of Parma
He commanded the Spanish army
Duke of Medina Sidonia
He commanded the Spanish navy
Lord Howard
English navy commander
Sir Frances Drake
English pirate and top English sailor
Economic reason why the Armada was sent
English sailors (like Drake) robbed Spain’s ships
Political reasons why the Armada was sent
- Philip wanted to add England to his empire
2. Elizabeth sent help to Dutch rebels
Religious reason why the Armada was sent
Philip was a Roman Catholic and he hated Protestant Elizabeth
Personal reason why the Armada was sent
Elizabeth rejected Philip’s marriage proposal
Legal reason why the Armada was sent
Mary, Queen Of Scots left Philip her claim to England’s throne
Successful English tactics that helped the Armada fail
England attacked in a straight line; fired all canons.
8 fireships broke up the Spanish crescent formation
Weather that helped the Armada fail
Spain was disadvantaged by weather as many ships were last in storms around North Scotland and North Ireland.
England used the wind to their advantage e.g. when using fire ships
Spanish mistakes that helped the Armada fail
The Spanish sailed close together so not all canons could fire.
They didn’t attack the English fleet stuck in Plymouth.
Ship design that helped the Armada fail
England used small, fast ships that were easy to turn.
Spain used large, heavy, slow ships.
Artillery that helped the Armada fail
England fired all their canons once per minute.
Spain had too few trained gunners and fired a canon once every hour.
