What do you do when a rival royal is helping rebel subjects? And she's a woman with differing
religious beliefs? If you're King Philip II of Spain you gather every ship you can find and
plan an invasion. His target was England and the troublesome monarch was Elizabeth I. The Spanish
Armada of 1588 was supposed to solve several of Philip's problems - but it all went terribly awry.
When Philip II of Spain married Queen Mary of England in 1554, it was the coming together
of two devout Catholics. Philip became King of Spain two years later, while Mary had taken the
throne in England when her father, Henry VIII, died in 1553. Philip and Mary were only married
for four years as Queen Mary died in 1558. Her successor, Elizabeth I, was a Protestant and,
within several years, began supporting rebels within the Spanish-controlled Netherlands.
As Philip watched on, British privateers also attacked ships traveling back and forth from Spain
to the country's colonies in the Americas, seizing large amounts of gold and silver in the process.
Sir Francis Drake, often subsidized by Queen Elizabeth herself,
was especially problematic. By 1587, Philip was over it! He decided to embark upon his "Enterprise
to England" - with Pope Sixtus V's blessing - and bring the heretical island back in line.
King Philip gathered more than 130 ships to take part in his Armada - all loaded with munitions.
Not as many as he’d hoped for, but financial difficulties and continued attacks by the English
hindered his efforts. More than 17,000 soldiers and 7,000 seamen participated from the outset
as the group departed from Spain in May 1588. Philip's plan was to rendezvous with Spanish
forces in the Netherlands - adding an additional army and some English turncoats to his force.
The Spanish army in the Netherlands was led by the Duke of Parma, who'd enlisted - and
hired - additional Italian, German, and Burgundian troops. By the time Philip's forces were complete,
Spain had nearly 9,000 sailors and more than 21,500 soldiers.
England was well aware of what Philip had in mind. In anticipation of the Armada, Queen
Elizabeth began prepping for a possible invasion as early as 1587. She had Sir Francis Drake attack
the Spanish port of Cadiz in 1587, a successful endeavor that sank more than 100 Spanish ships.
Drake was still heading up the English fleet in 1588, benefitting from quicker, better armed
vessels than those sailed by the Spanish. England had roughly 200 ships at the ready for the Armada,
commanded by skilled naval men like John Hawkins and Lord Howard of Effingham.
When the Armada left Spain in May 1588, it immediately encountered storms and had to detour
to port. It wasn't until two months later that the Spanish fleet reached the English Channel.
And England had been alerted to their path via letter! Well we’re not off to a great start there,
now are we? Once the Spanish got to the Channel, it was them, vs. the English on July 20th. A
series of battles over the following weeks, had the Armada pushing ahead in a crescent formation.
The English kept their distance, shooting from afar, crossing their fingers that their superior
ships would prove successful. The crescent tactic, however, let the Armada to move forward with
minimal damage. The T-1000 of Naval Strategies. Unfortunately for the fleet, reinforcements led
by Duke Parma were delayed in meeting them. After making port at Calais on the northern coast of
France on July 27th, Drake pounced! He sent six, unmanned ships - full of explosives - into the
anchored Spanish fleet. Once fire broke out, flames overtook many of the Spanish vessels!
Many attempted to flee into open water. It was very dark, with ships colliding into one another
during the confusion. With the weakened Spanish fleet, struggling to regroup, the English didn't
hold back. They moved toward Gravelines, near the Flemish coast, on July 29th. Which if it’s not
self explanatory by now, BAD NEWS for the Spanish Armada! In a back and forth at Gravelines, the
Spanish couldn’t hold its crescent shape and were barraged by cannon fire. Due to the fire ships
sent at the fleet the previous night, numerous anchors had been cut from Spanish vessels,
creating a lack of maneuverability. Once winds hit, Spain had no choice but to retreat north.
While the two fleets fought it out on the water, Queen Elizabeth gathered a force at Tilbury,
Essex, to combat an invasion. More than 16,000 cavalry and infantry troops were lined up to
stave off the Spanish. In anticipation of the fight, Elizabeth addressed the men on August 9th.
Elizabeth didn't yet know that the sea battle was over and the Spanish were on the run. After their
defeat at gravelines, the Armada sailed north. English commander John Hawkins reported back to
Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's secretary, "Spaniards are sailing towards Scotland,
and [our ships are] following them. If God is on our side, we will prevent them from landing. Food,
money, gunpowder and shot must be ordered and sent to us." As the Armada sailed toward Scotland, the
English pursued until they ran out of supplies. Spain continued around Scotland, however,
eventually rounding the top of Britain and sailing around Ireland. Numerous damaged ships struggled
in the water, while others couldn't resist winds and waves, only to be wrecked on the Irish coast.
The Armada limped its way back to Spain, but by the time it arrived, only about half of the ships
were still intact. Similarly, roughly 15,000 men had died in the failed endeavor. England lost a
fair number of men as well, many of whom succumbed to diseases like typhus. Disease similarly took
a toll on Spain, especially on the crews return! The end result of the Armada was humiliating for
Philip. Not only had he neglected to secure the Spanish Netherlands, he'd failed to rid England of
its heretical faith. The English celebrated their victory, even commissioning a medal reading, "God
blew, and they scattered." This moment secured England's role as a dominant naval power. Conflict
between Spain and England didn't end in 1588, though. The following year, Elizabeth launched
her own "English Armada," but it failed due to lack of leadership and a cohesive objective.
Philip funded Catholics in Ireland to foster discontent among Elizabeth's subjects. It wasn't
until 1604 that Spain and England entered into a military treaty to put an end to the fighting.
What do you think? Did the Spanish Armada ever stand a chance? Or was Philip just being petty?
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