4.4 The Defeat of the Spanish Armada

            The story of the Spanish Armada is set on the background of the great religious conflict of the sixteenth century.  The Protestant Reformation had unleashed social, economic, and political forces that threatened the traditional order of a society based on the spiritual truth of the Roman Catholic Church.  The Protestant "heresy" in its various forms was readily adopted by the commercial middle classes of northern Europe.   Protestantism served as a vehicle for ambitious princes to strengthen their sovereignty at the expense of Rome.  Protestantism was also a means whereby rulers sought to counter the extensive political influence of Europe's most powerful Catholic rulers, the Hapsburgs of Austria and Spain.         

           In 1568 the Calvinist Netherlands rebelled against the authoritarian rule of their hereditary and Catholic monarch, King Philip II of Spain.  Philip saw himself as the political embodiment of the Catholic Counter-Reformation and was resolved to destroy the heresy that was causing rebellion among his Dutch subjects.  He likewise sought to secure the Netherlands as a source of commercial wealth for a Catholic crusade against Protestantism in northern Europe.  Spanish armies were sent to subdue the rebellion and a bitter war ensued.

            The prospect of a powerful Catholic Spain in control of the Netherlands was alarming to the government of Queen Elizabeth I of England.  The English woolen trade with the Dutch was highly profitable.  England had only recently secured its Anglican supremacy linking the future well-being of the crown to Protestantism.  The strategic defense of England was dependent upon a weak or friendly political presence in the Low Countries.  For these reasons Elizabeth in 1585 recognized Dutch independence and sent English troops to the Netherlands to aid the Dutch in their war with Spain.

             Philip, annoyed by raids by English "sea dogs" on Spanish shipping in the Americas and distressed with Elizabeth's meddling in the Netherlands, became increasingly determined to rid himself of the English nuisance.  In 1586 - 1587 he encouraged a plot to assassinate Elizabeth and replace her on the throne with her Catholic cousin, Mary (Stuart) Queen of Scots.  The conspiracy was discovered, and Elizabeth ordered the beheading of the unfortunate Mary.  Following Mary's execution Philip won papal approval of a plan to assemble an invasion force to remove Elizabeth from the throne and restore England to the true faith.  Thus began the story of the Armada.            

            All the resources of Spain were to be mobilized for the great "Enterprise of England," as the invasion plan was called.  Materials and supplies from all parts of the country were assembled at the port city of Cadiz.  Knowing what was coming, English strategists planned and executed (April 1587) what would be called today a "preventative first strike."  Sir Francis Drake, already by reputation one of the most heroic English "sea dogs," organized a fleet of warships and secretly sailed to Cadiz to (as Drake put it) "singe the Spanish king's beard."  In a surprise raid, Drake's fleet sailed unopposed into Cadiz harbor and opened fire on the unprotected vessels, dockyards, and sheds housing the supplies. The damage was devastating.  Valuable Spanish ships were destroyed and thousands of tons of necessary supplies went up in smoke before the English escaped.   Philip was furious.  Nothing, he vowed, would be allowed to delay the invasion.  Among the losses were the many hundreds of barrels to be used to store drinking water for the sailors and soldiers that would man the invasion force.  Immediately, new barrels were ordered constructed. The wood for barrels, however, must be aged and cured before they can safely carry fresh water. In their haste to keep the invasion plan on schedule, Spanish authorities ordered the new barrels constructed of freshly-cut wood. The results, once the fleet sailed, would be agonizingly demoralizing.  The water was tainted.

            By the early summer of 1588 Philip had assembled a massive fleet of some 130 warships ranging from great 1000-ton galleons and graceful Mediterranean galleys to cumbersome transports and nimble and speedy pinnaces.  Manned by 8000 seamen, the Armada would carry some 20,000 soldiers and 1000 Jesuit priests.  Its commander was the Duke of Medina Sidonia, a soldier known for his logistical and administrative talents but with little combat experience and no experience at sea.  In fact, for most of the voyage he was seasick and remained isolated in his cabin. His orders, however, were not to engage the enemy at sea.  Philip's strategy required the Armada to avoid open battle with the English fleet, rendezvous in the southern Netherlands with the 17,000 Spanish troops led by the Duke of Parma, cross the Channel, sail up the Thames estuary, and disembark the invasion forces near London.

            In July 1588, Medina Sidonia's "Invincible Armada" sailed from the Spanish port of Corunna.  Once at sea, the impact of Drake's 1587 raid soon became clear. The thousands of Spanish sailors and soldiers aboard the ships became violently ill with vomiting and diarrhea. The new barrels were having their effect.

           The English were ready.  Preparations for a Spanish invasion had been in effect for almost two years.  Fortifications had been erected along the southern coasts and a system of signal towers with bonfires ready for ignition stretched from Cornwall to Kent and inland.  The English fleet was equal in size and superior in firepower to the Spanish force.  The English fleet was under the command of Lord High Admiral Charles Lord Howard of Effingham whose captains included some of the most famous names in British maritime history:  Martin Frobisher, John Hawkins, and Sir Francis Drake.

            The English strategy was to meet the Armada at sea, break up its battle-convoy formation, and prevent a landing on the Channel coast.  To do this successfully required skillful maneuvering in order to take advantage of the prevailing westerly winds and narrow reaches of the Channel.  From July 29 to August 5, the English fleet shadowed the advancing Spaniards, four times engaging the highly armed flanks of the Armada's distinctive crescent formation.  These several battles were inconclusive but served to raise English spirits while straining and demoralizing the Spanish.  Followed by the English and anchoring his exhausted forces off Calais, Medina Sidonia sent word to Parma to begin preparations to board his armies.  Parma, uninformed of the Armada's schedule, was not ready.  Medina Sidonia would have to wait.

         The wait would prove fatal.  Forced to take action before the Spanish could be reinforced, Howard resorted to the use of fire ships to disperse the Armada.  On the night of August 7, the English towed eight hulks specially loaded with pitch and resin upwind of the Spanish anchorage.  Set afire and cast adrift, the "devil ships" floated toward the Armada.  The Spanish captains panicked.  Ignoring Medina Sidonia's precautions for just such an event, they hastily slipped their anchors, set sail, and in total disarray, made for the open sea.  Medina Sidonia was unable to restore unity of command over his scattering fleet.  The English now set upon the confused Spaniards.