8-1SpanishArmada

 Alex D  The Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada was a large group of ships that were ordered to take over England and overthrow the Protestant queen. King Phillip of Spain who was Catholic and wanted to make his daughter the queen of England sent the ships. Originally, relations had been fine between the two countries and King Phillip had even wanted to marry Queen Elizabeth. She turned him down, however, because he was Catholic. This issue became personal between England and Spain and relations quickly got worse. The Spanish were the most powerful country in the world at the time and they had many territories. The English should have been easy to defeat. The Spanish had built up a huge fleet, but suffered some setbacks early on. According to __Marrin, Albert. //The Sea King Sir Francis Drake and his times//. New York: Pixel Press, 1995. Print__, the original leader of the Navy died. Sir Francis Drake, an English pirate who often helped England without being directly tied to the military, burnt down many of the Spanish ships while they were still in harbor. A formal army would have never been able to burn down ships because that would have been perceived as dishonorable, but this was not the case for a pirate. Despite these setbacks, the Spanish Armada sailed to England in 1588. The English were aware of this and prepared for a big battle. The English had people constantly watching the coast and when the Spanish were spotted, they were ready. Even though they did not have as many ships, they knew how to sail the English Channel better, which was even more treacherous than usual due to a storm. This made it harder for the Spanish who did not know these waters. The De Sousa 2 plan of the Spanish was to get close to the English ships and engage the crews in hand-to-hand combat. This had worked before, but the British were expecting this tactic so they relied on their canons to avoid hand-to-hand combat. The Spanish were not as well trained in this type of combat and they did not reload their canons because they were too busy getting ready to board the opposite ship. According to //__Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada__//__," Web.19 Apr 2009. http://www.elizabethi.org/us/armada/__, Queen Elizabeth went to shore on the day of the battle on a white horse to deliver a speech that gave her country energy to fight. The whole country rejoiced when the English won the naval battle. The Spanish were forced back and continued to lose many ships on the treacherous voyage home. The English also chased them down to make it hard for them to get to safety. The Spanish had a miserable time getting back. Many of their ships were in horrible shape and were held together by ropes. The Spanish were also running out of rations and even throwing cavalry horses overboard to keep the ships light. Unfortunately, they also made a horrible error that caused them to travel a little bit off course. In addition, they were hit by a strong storm. When they got back to Spain, the Armada had only half of its original fleet left. The English lost no ships, but some of their soldiers died of disease. In addition, many of the soldiers went without pay because the government had nothing to give them. This battle gave the English more power and made them a first rate naval power. It also reaffirmed that Queen Elizabeth was a very good leader and not to mess with her or her country. This battle also crushed the Spanish as a world superpower because it  De Sousa 3 showed that they could be defeated by a much smaller country. After this battle, you saw their status decline. Even thought the English had won, however, they continued to worry about the Spanish because England could really do nothing to stop them from regrouping and attacking England again and possibly getting a victory. De Sousa 10 Works Cited __ Adams, Simon //Elizabeth// //1 The Outcast Who became England’s Queen//. Washington DC: Marshall Editions, 2005 __ __Boyce, Charles. //Shakespeare the Essential Reference//. New York: Charles Boyce and Rountable Press, 1990. Print__ __Elain, Kathy //Elizabethan England A Hostory of Fashion and Costume//. New York: Bailey Publishing Associates, 2005. Print__ __"Guy Fawkes a Biography." Web.8 Apr 2009. []__ __Hinds, Kathryn. //The Countryside//. new York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2008. Print__ __Marrin, Albert. //The Sea King Sir Francis Drake and his times//. New York: Pixel Press, 1995. Print__ //__Shakespare's Strattford__//__. Web.14 Apr 2009. []__, //__Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada__//__," Web.19 Apr 2009. []__

The Defeat of the Spanish Armada // Answer prepared by Michelle T // Perhaps one of the greatest and most famous events in English history led by Queen Elizabeth I was the defeat of the Spanish Armada which shocked many. According to “The Spanish Armada” from //Queen Elizabeth I //, “Spain was the most powerful country in the world. Philip II ruled vast territories of land, and had unparalleled wealth from the New World. England was a small country, with little wealth, few friends, and many enemies.” This same website also notes that Spain, ruled by Philip II, had rocky relations with England, mostly due to the fact that Spain was a Roman Catholic country while England was a Protestant one. Queen Elizabeth also added to the tense relations by supporting English pirates who would raid Philip’s ships and steal his treasures. Many historians believed that the growing tensions between the two countries would inevitably have resulted in some type of battle.

“The Spanish Armada” from //Queen Elizabeth I // writes, “as early as 1585, Philip had begun to prepare a great fleet that, under the Spanish commander Santa Cruz, would invade England.” Philip’s goal was to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and put Infanta Isabella, who he thought would be more “appropriate” for the role, in place to make England Roman Catholic once again. “The Spanish Armada” of //Queen Elizabeth I //, also states the setbacks of Spain’s planning; they say “that from the start, the Spanish faced problems. Santa Cruz died, and his successor, the Duke of Medina Sedonia, was not at all suited to the post. He had little faith in the enterprise and little experience.”

Over time, Queen Elizabeth I had heard rumors about the proposed invasion by Spain but didn’t think much about them. Soon later, Elizabeth realized that Spain was actually going to send a fleet of ships to battle. In preparation, Queen Elizabeth I sent soldiers to wait at the shores to foresee Spain’s arrival. When the Spanish finally came, on the cliffs of England and Wales and near the English Channel, an even battle between the two countries began.

In the English Channel, Spain was emerging towards an embarrassing defeat. The weather was terrible, including thunderstorms and strong winds, and the Spanish were somehow not able to compete with English ships and war strategies. “The Preliminary Skirmish with the Spanish Armada” from //Elizabethan Era // states, “the wind was from the west, so that the English fleet were able to keep to the windward, giving them an increased advantage over their antagonists… but the [Spanish] ships were too strongly built to be easily destroyed, and so the monsters continued to receive fearful blows, and sailed wearily and helplessly on.” James Anthony Froude, author of //History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth //, states “that [Medina Sedonia] had been forced by contrary winds out of his course.” Spain finally fled when fire ships were aimed in their position; England had won the battle.

The people of England were extremely happy and somewhat dumbfounded. Many could not believe that their small country defeated Spain, a well-known world power, at sea battle. Although this was not the only defeat of Spain’s armada, none were as significant and none boosted English nationalism as much as the original defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.



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Works Cited:  Froude, James Anthony. History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1881. Unknown Author, “The Preliminary Skirmish with the Spanish Armada.” __Elizabethan Era__ 2005 9 Mar 2009 .

Unknown Author, “The Spanish Armada.” __Queen Elizabeth I__ 9 Mar 2009 .