Why the Spanish Armada was defeated in 1588.

King Philip of Spain had many reasons to attack England with the Armada in 1588. The first recognizable reason began just after the reformation. Opposing religious beliefs caused England and Spain to become enemies. Ever since King Henry VIII had formed the Protestant church, England’s Religion was Protestant. Spain, on the other hand, was Catholic.

Due to the strong role that religion played at the time. Queen Elizabeth I of England was determined to do all within her power to keep England purely Protestant. She imposed a fine on anyone who did not attend Protestant services. If any English person was found, hearing or reciting a Mass, they would be imprisoned for life. From 1581-1585 more than 18 English Catholics had been executed, by Elizabeth, for committing ‘religious crimes.’ This certainly did not please Catholic Spain.

For almost 20 years, English ships had continuously attacked Spanish treasure ships and raided the Spanish towns and ports situated in America and the New World. The attacks were led by the likes of Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins, and encouraged by Queen Elizabeth. The riches and treasures seized from the Spanish would be given to Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth refused to punish the privateers and would not return the stolen goods.

The Queen encouraged Protestant ideas and had sided with the Spanish enemies in case of attack. By doing this, she was clearly showing that while England was not Spain’s enemy, neither was she an ally.

Philip found Elizabeth’s anti-Catholic actions disturbing and so devised a way to end the rivalry between the two countries: Philip was to propose to Elizabeth. By doing so his power would surge, he would expand his empire and what is more, he would have the chance to turn England Catholic once again. Sticking with his solution, Philip proposed. Elizabeth was highly educated and saw through Philips cunning plan. The proposal was declined.

The declined proposal not only destroyed his plan but it also made him even angrier. He needed to turn England Catholic. To do so he would attempt to invade England with an Armada.

An Armada is a fleet of armed ships. Philip began to construct his Armada in 1586 and had completely finished it by 1588. It consisted of 130 large, ships. The fleet was not just warships but cargo ships, merchant ships, hulks, galleons, galleasses and galleys. Each ship carrying masses of treasure and riches. Smaller vessels sailed in front of the armada acting as scouts and messengers: these were mainly Zabras and Pataches.

With the Zabras and Pataches leading the way, the other ships would follow in a crescent formation with Alonzo Perez de Guzman, the Duke of Medina Sidonia’s, ship at the peak of the curved front line. They were in such formation that would enable them to work as a team when in battle at sea.

The plan and formation were chosen to allow the Armada to be used in the most effective manner. Philip, with the help of his advisors, devised a plan. He was to establish a large army in the Netherlands and prepare them to invade England. Philip left this task to his trusty acquaintance, the Duke of Parma, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. The Duke of Parma was to assemble an army of 30,000 soldiers at Dunkirk and prepare enough barges to carry his troops across to England. Dunkirk was chosen because it is a port that directly faces Kent ...

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The 130 strong fleet of ships, were to carry extra soldiers, equipment, and supplies over to Kent. Philip chose the Spanish admiral, Marquis of Santa Cruz, to lead them. They were to carry 20,000 Spanish soldiers, food, drink, guns, gunpowder, cannons, horses, mules, and all other necessary equipment.

Next, the Spanish warships would clear the straits of Dover of English ships and soldiers. If spotted by the English fleet they were to attack and destroy them in a battle. The Spanish fighter ships would assist Parma’s invasion force on their journey across the channel.

As soon as they arrived in England, Philip planned to force Queen Elizabeth to meet any demands he made in exchange for her country. Philip would demand her to allow English Catholics to worship God in the way they wanted, stop helping the Dutch rebels and hand over money to cover the cost of the invasion and the damage done to Spanish towns in the new world.

Philip thought his plan was flawless, but was yet to discover it certainly was not.

The Armada was due to set sail on July 1st 1587 but in early April, Sir Francis Drake raided several costal towns in Spain, sinking 30 of the Armada's ships and destroyed supplies. This delayed the Armada by a year. Philip stayed positive though, “It is nothing, and he has just singed my beard. It will grow back.1” Meaning that he would rebuild the ships and the delay was just a minor set back. The original captain, Santa Cruz, died and so was replaced by Alonzo, the duke of Medina Sidonia. He had no experience at war or sea, but was a noble with a high status at that time.

Finally, the Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon, Portugal on May 28th. On June 19th, the armada arrived at Corunna to pick up food and drink supplies. Due to stormy weather and rough seas it did not continue to sail until July 21st.

On July 29th, the Armada was spotted whilst approaching the coast of Cornwall. Lord Admiral Howard’s western squadron along with 40 other English ships, made their way into the English Channel.

By July 30th, The English Western Squadron was chasing the Armada towards Plymouth. A battle broke out in the Plymouth port. The Rosario, one of the leading vessels, lost her foremast in a collision with an English ship. Another large ship, the San Salvador, caught on fire when an English cannon shot a firing cannon at it, it then exploded, damaging several other Spanish ships. The soldiers aboard did not have much faith or a positive frame of mind, “We go in search of a miracle.”2 Wrote one captain in his diary, “Your Majesty…believe me when I assure you we are very weak…how do you think we can attack so great a country as England with such a force as ours is now?”3 Duke of Medina, the Armada’s leader.

On August 2nd, a battle took place off Portland Bill. In all the battles the same problem occurred. The two countries had different strategies for battle at sea. The Spaniards used the lash and board method. This was when the two ships fired from 50m to kill of some men then, came along side each other and lashed the ships together with ropes. The soldiers from both ships would fight a battle on both ships as if fighting on land. This meant that large ships and many men were carried on Spanish ships. On the other hand, the English had planned to sail past a Spanish ship and shoot a broadside, then turn around and continue this until the Spanish ship blew up, or surrendered. The Spanish could not use the English way of battle because their ships relied on the wind for speed and direction. The English ships could turn against the wind and because most of the English ships were smaller, they could turn around quicker and in tighter gaps. The English cannons had a longer firing range and could reload their cannons faster. “The enemy…did well because of their extreme nimbleness and the great smoke that came from their artillery,”4 said by Antonio de Vanegas. The Spanish artillery was nowhere near as good as the English’.

The Spanish guns caused several explosions when fired, on board. They were poorly made and not very well maintained. The Spanish used their artillery well and with great skill. As written in A History of England by J.Oliphant 1920, “…Their skillful use of artillery, gave them a great advantage.”5

Yet another battle took place off the Needles, the English felt threatened at this time as the Spanish had the opportunity to enter England.

On the 5th August, the Armada neared the Straits of Dover, with the western squadron edging closely behind.

On the 6th August, the Armada anchored near Calais, awaiting the arrival of Parma’s army. Parma’s army had sent a message back with the Armada’s messengers to warn that they were to be late, but the Armada’s messenger boats were no faster than the Armada itself. The only chance the messenger boats got to travel faster than the Armada was when the Armada was at battle. Therefore, the message was not received.

On the night of the 7th August, the English launched fire ship attacks. This is when Ships are filled with flammable material and set alight. “The eight ships, filled with artificial fire, advanced in line…they were drifting…with the most terrible flames that may be imagined…the ships of the Armada cut their cables at once, leaving their anchors, spreading their sails, and running out to sea,”6 said a sailor. The Spanish were fooled to believe that they were hell-burners. They were afraid that they would explode at any second, and so cut their cables, leaving the anchors and fled. In the midst of panic and confusion, the ships were scattered. The Armada's leader certainly did not want this. “It is of great importance that the Armada should be kept well together…No ship belonging to the Armada shall separate from it without my permission…Any disobedience of this order shall be punished by death.” On the English medal given to the survivors of the Armada the following was engraved, “God blew with his wind, and they were scattered.”7

On August 8th, a battle took place at Gravelines. This is probably the most remembered battle of the Armada. The English sunk one ship and severely damaged quite a few more. The English chased a ship but the French shot it with a broadside and it exploded. When the wind changed direction, the Spanish felt a relief, as they relied on the wind to steer them. However, it was definitely not a relief; it was more of a disaster.

The fierce wind was forcing the Armada towards the Flemish sandbanks. It was then when they realized the danger of their situation. They were soon to be saved though when the wind changed direction.

They had a decision to make. They could go back through the channel and, believing that the English have ammunition left, risk being attacked and they would also have to travel through the strong storms, or, they could drift with the wind around England and hope for the best, this is a longer way back to Spain. They decided to take the longer route, which in hindsight was the wrong decision to make. Unknown to the Spaniards at the time, the English had ran out of ammunition and due to lack of research did not know the North Sea very well. They foolishly thought that the North Sea would be calm and that they would escape the storms, but the North Sea is known for the harsh weather and devastating storms.

12th August, the English ships that were pursuing the Armada gave up the chase and returned to nearby ports.

Alonzo Perez de Guzman, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, ordered the armada to sail around Scotland and make for home. The fleet encountered deadly storms, leaving shipwrecked boats, to litter the Irish shores. The Spanish did not have any spare parts for damaged ships and so could not rescue the boats.

Only 67 of the original 197 returned to Spain.

In conclusion, I have reached the belief that the main reason Spanish Armada was defeated in 1588 is the weather. If they had not encountered such terrible weather, the result of the invasion could have been very different indeed. The Armada was not defeated by the English it was defeated by the weather. “I sent you to fight with men, not weather,”8 said Philip II to the survivors of the Armada. As quoted earlier even the leader did not have faith in his men. If Parma’s army had been on time, the armada would have been able to escort them to English shores and history would have been rewritten. The cause of the defeat is mainly short term but the lack of planning and leader ship, it may be argued, was a long-term problem that also contributed to the defeat of the Armada. W.Phizachaely, blamed the defeat of the Armada on the fire ships at Calais as stated on his website. He also states that the English had many tricks up their sleeves that helped them to win. I agree with this because if the Spanish had not have been fooled into believing that the English had ammunition left, the Spanish may have gone through the channel and defeated the English. The fire ships may have contributed to the cause of the defeat but I believe that the weather defeated the Armada. Many wonder why the Armada still holds the name “The Invincible Armada” or “The Great Armada”. It was impossible to defeat when in formation and so was invincible. The Armada may not have been successful but it was great and at that time only a country like Spain would put so much effort in for so very little outcome.