Topic 6 - Spanish Armarda

Question 1

When did Spain go to war with England? When did the armada invade?

Answer 1

War = 1585
Armada = 1588

Question 2

Who was king of Spain? Who was captain of the Armada?

Answer 2

King = King Phillip II
Captain = Duke of medina sidonia

Question 3

Who was the captain of the English fleet? Who was second in command?

Answer 3

Charles Howard was the captain.
Sir Francis drake was second in command.

Question 4

Name 4 strengths of the Spanish Armada

Answer 4

• They had 130 galleons and supply ships.
• In total they had 30,000 men, most of them very well trained / experienced.
  -They had 1900 cannons and small guns.
• The Duke of Parma was waiting with 17,000 well trained soldiers from the Netherlands.

Question 5

Name 3 strengths of the English fleet.

Answer 5

1. England had an Army of 20,000 men which were split into 3 and positioned in the most likely areas that the armada would invade.
2. England’s navy was strong - it was commanded by Lord Charles Howard and Francis drake was an experienced sea captain.
3. England had 54 battleships that were light, fast moving and fitted with long range cannons.

Question 6

Name 3 of Phillips personal reasons that led to his invasion of England.

Answer 6

1. Phillip was the co - ruler of England when he was married to Mary Tudor. He asked to marry Elizabeth but she rejected him. He felt slighted by this.
2. Phillip was the strong catholic. He wanted to stop the spread of Protestantism and believed his plans to invade England were a ‘Holy Crusade’.
3. Phillip wanted to ensure that Spain remained the largest and strongest empire in Europe.

Question 7

Name three weaknesses of the Spanish Armarda.

Answer 7

1. The Spanish cannons were ineffective - many exploded when fired. Whereas the English ships had heavy firepower and superior long range cannons.
2. The Spanish commander - the duke do medina sidonia was inexperienced and made poor decisions compared to Lord Charles Howard.
3. The duke of Parma’s forces were delayed for a week. Lord Howard was able to launch an attack on the armarda in Calais because of this.

Question 8

Explain the events in the Netherlands and why it contributed to the invasion of England.

Answer 8

• Elizabeth supported the Protestant rebels in the Netherlands.
• She signed the Treaty of Nonsuch and agreed to fund the Dutch Protestant rebel leader fighting against the Spanish duke of Parma.
• Elizabeth became the protector of the Dutch protestants and sent a force of 5000 troops and 1000 cavalry to help maintain the rebellion.

Question 9

Explain the actions of English privateers and why they contributed to the invasion of England.

Answer 9

1. Elizabeth encouraged English privateers to attack Spanish treasure ships.
2. Sir Francis drake attacked a Spanish port in 1572 and ambushed Spanish treasure ships.
3. In 1577, Drake took a 3 year world journey and launched several surprise attacks on Spanish treasure ships. He took an estimated £200 million (today’s money) in gold and silver.
   Elizabeth knighted him on his return (1581). All of the looting was having a bad financial impact on Spain.

Question 10

Name 2 ways how the weather negatively impacted the Spanish armarda.

Answer 10

1. When the armada first tried to set sail, they were hit by a storm and were forced to undertake repairs.
   - The armada was spotted by the English.
   -This gave them time to prepare for the invasion.
2. After the battle of gravelines the Spanish fleet was blown northwards.
   - This meant they had to return to Spain by going around Scotland and Ireland.
   - These seas were renound for being rough.
   - The Spanish ships didn’t have enough food for the extra long voyage.

Question 11

What was the significance of the crescent formation that was used by the armarda?

Answer 11

1. The Armada sailed through the English channel in a crescent formation.
2. This made it difficult for the
   English to attack - Slow unarmed store ships were in the middle, protected by heavily armed galleons.

Question 12

What did the armarda plan to do at Calais?

Answer 12

1. The armada was supposed to be anchored off Calais.
2. Here, they would pick up 17,00 experienced soldiers from the duke of parma.
3. Parma’s army would land in Kent and travel to London and overthrow Elizabeth.

Question 13

What actually happened at Calais?

Answer 13

1. The armada was anchored off of Calais but they had to wait for the Duke of Parma’s forces for a week as they were delayed.
2. Lord Howard took ad of this and launched an attack in the armarda in Calais.
3. They filled 8 unmanned ships with gunpowder and loaded cannons and set fire to them. They drifted towards the Spanish fleet.
4. When the Spanish saw the fireships heading towards them, they cut their ropes and broke the crescent formation.

Question 14

Explain what happened during the battle of gravelines.

Answer 14

1. English battleships attacked the scattered armada near Dunkirk.
2. The attack lasted 8 hours until the English ran out of ammunition.
3. Three Spanish ships were lots but no English ships.
4. 1,000 Spanish sailors were killed, but only 50 English.

Question 15

Roughly explain Phillips invasion plan.

Answer 15

1. The armarda was supposed to sail into the English Channel and destroy the English fleet.
2. They would then be anchored off of Calais.
3. They would collect 17,000 experienced soldiers from the duke of parma.
4. The armada would collect Parma’s soldiers and they crossed the Englishness channel from Dunkirk to England.
5. Parma’s army would then travel to London and overthrow Elizabeth.

Question 16

Name 3 problems with Phillips invasion plan.

Answer 16

1. Francis Drake delayed the Armarda attack by a year and allowed England more time to prepare - he attacked the Spanish fleet at Cadiz and destroyed 37 ships and tonnes of timber supplies.
2. The duke of medina sidonia was inexperienced and confessed to struggling with sea sickness.
3. Shortly after the Armarda set off, it was hit by a storm and was forced to undertake repairs. This gave England even more time to prepare.