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The Spanish Armada set sail from Spain in 1588. King Phillip II wished to invade England for both political and religious reasons. Spain put a tremendous amount of money into the Armada and planned for years, but in the end the fleet was defeated. The building of and the defeat of the Spanish Armada led to Spain's downfall as a world power, and England's subsequent rise in power. King Phillip II had many political and religious reasons to invade England.
Because Phillip had been named as Marys successor before her death, he thought he had a right to the English throne (The Invincible Armada, NP). Another reason for the Armada was the race between Spain and England in trade and supremacy in the seas. Spain was one of the most powerful nations in Europe, but English naval power was becoming a threat to Spain's domination of the seas. This was particularly true with respect to the New World. Spain's discovery of the New World had opened up a huge source of trade for Spain and England wanted to share it. Spanish treasure ships coming from the New World were attacked by British ships and robbed on their way back to Spain.
The English also raided Spanish towns in the New World. After the English had raided towns and robbed Spanish ships, Queen Elizabeth refused to return what they had stolen. Finally, the English had also helped Spain's enemies, such as the Dutch. Phillip believed that only a conquest of England could halt English aid to the rebels and stop English depredations in the New World.
There were also religious reasons to assemble the Armada. In fact, religion was one of the main reasons for the Armada. Phillip was very religious and it angered him that Henry VIII had rejected the power of the Pope and started the Church of England. Under Elizabeth, England was Protestant. England was also uncomfortable for Catholics. Catholics were fined for not attending services in the Church of England and imprisoned for hearing or saying mass.
Since 1581, over a dozen English Catholics were executed for their religious crimes (Historical background and reasons for the Armada, NP). The execution of Mary Queen of Scots was also a shock to all Catholic nations. Elizabeth encouraged Protestant ideas and helped enemies of Catholic Spain. Phillip wanted to change England, as well as parts of German states and the Low Countries back to Catholicism.
The Spanish had silver pouring in from the New World so they had the wealth to build the Armada (The Invincible Armada, NP). King Phillip also annexed Portugal and added their ships to the Armada. The plan of the Spanish Armada was to send 130 ships commanded by the Duque de Medina Sidonia to cover an invasion force from Flanders under Alessandro Farnese (The Invincible Armada, NP). The Armada was to transport these soldiers from the Netherlands to fight in England. The Spanish set up for years. They converted Portuguese and Spanish merchant ships for battle.
They decided to use smaller ships as messengers, as guard duty, and as scouts to check out what was ahead of the fleet. The Usa transport ships would home the equipment used for land battles. They carried Siege guns and equipment, horses, mules, and ammunition. The Urban also had to hold enough food for six months for over 30, 000 men (The Invincible Armada, NP). They held 11 million pounds of biscuits, 600, 000 pounds of salt pork, 40, 000 gallons of olive oil, 14, 000 barrels of wine, 5, 000 extra pairs of shoes, and 11, 000 pairs of sandals (The Invincible Armada, NP).
They also held equipment used for repairing ships, such as axes, as well as spades, and shovels for digging trenches. The fleet took with it six surgeons and six physicians. There were 180 priests, 19 justices, and 50 administrators, who would establish a Spanish government once England was defeated. When the ships set out from Spain, every single man had been blessed by the priests. In 1587, the Spanish were attacked at Cadiz.
This attack destroyed many of their ships and supplies, which delayed the Armada from setting sail for about a year (Armada, Spanish, NP). The Armada finally set sail in 1588. They were first sighted off of Cornwall on July 29. A larger English fleet led by Lord Howard intercepted the Armada near Plymouth.
On July 30, despite the efforts of the English captains, the Spanish maintained their order of battle and only lost 2 ships (Armada, Spanish, NP). When the Armada arrived at Calais, it was blockaded by the Dutch rebels. To try to break the formation of the Armada, the English sent eight fire ships into the Spanish fleet on 7 August. The Spanish fled, fearing that the burning ships were hell blasters, fire ships that contained gunpowder so that they blew up, rather than merely burning. In order to escape the fire ships, the Spanish cut their anchor ropes, and for the first time, the English had broken the Spanish defense. The following morning, the Battle of Gravelines commenced.
The Battle of Gravelines was the fiercest of all of the battles (The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, NP). It was fought in the English Channel, between France and England. Lord Howard was determined to fight the enemy at close quarters and had the upper hand as more ships had joined the English. Ships now came close enough for musketeers to fire and exchange insults. The Spanish were driven north by the English and that was the last battle that the two sides fought against each other. After the battle of Gravelines, the Spanish realized that they were out of ammunition and supplies, and many of the men were very sick (The Invincible Armada, NP).
The Spanish sailed North around Scotland and Ireland, trying to steer clear of Ireland knowing that it was dangerous to go near there. The English gave up pursuit of the Spanish who headed through the North Sea. There was a huge storm, which broke the fleets apart and scattered the Armada (The Fate of the Armada, NP). Some Spanish landed in Scotland and were taken in by Scottish lords when they crashed on their shores, who were hospitable because the Scottish were also Catholics who supported the Spanish (The Fate of the Armada, NP). Some Spanish ships arrived in Ireland, but the men were killed by the English authorities (The Fate of the Armada, NP). There were many reasons that the English defeated the Armada.
One of the primary reasons was that the English knew that Spain was going to attack England using the Spanish Armada. The Spaniards had posted posters all throughout Europe. Knowing the fleet was coming, England attacked the Spanish Armada at Cadiz, destroying ships, weapons, and supplies. This delayed the Armadas launch by about a year and lessened their supplies, ships, and money. When the Armada anchored near Calais intending to join with the soldiers scheduled to sail from the Netherlands, English fire ships spread panic throughout the fleet and scattered the ships. Another reason for the English victory was that the English also had much smaller ships.
Their ships were able to maneuver in shallow water and were much faster than the huge Galleons and converted Merchant ships that the Spanish used. Fourthly, the English also had long range weapons. The Spanish only had bows and arrows, while the English used cannons and firearms which was a great advantage for the English. This had an effect on the tactics used by the two navies.
There were two main methods of fighting sea battles at that time. One tactic was Grapple and boarding. The ship would sail very close to the enemy ship and fire cannons at the enemy's masts and sails to try to prevent it from sailing away. Once the enemy ship was crippled, they would then use grappling hooks to pull the ship close. Finally many armed soldiers would board the ship and take it over. The second tactic was called Cannonade and sink.
This method was to stay at a safe distance so that they could not be grappled and boarded. Captains who chose this tactic would then use lighter long-range weapons, called culverin's to fire into the wooden hull of the enemy ship and sink it. The Spanish had very few long-range weapons, therefore they did not often use the Cannonade and sink method, although the English used this method a lot. Finally, the rainstorm which separated the two fleets helped England. Spain's ships were scattered.
There were many reasons for Spain's defeat, partly due to bad planning and some due to just bad luck. The Armadas defeat affected both countries. Spain's navy was nearly destroyed, and what wasnt destroyed was badly damaged. In the weeks after their return, many Spanish sailors died of wounds, disease, and exhaustion. The country was left nearly bankrupt. Their treasury was empty from paying for the construction of the Armada.
Spain borrowed money from other countries to try to rebuild their navy, which weakened the countrys economy. Spain has only been able to repay the money in recent years. Spain's defeat limited their expansion and assured the power of England. Spain was no longer Europe's super power. After the English had won, arts and sciences had blossomed in England. People started trusting England's navy and this confidence boosted England's supremacy in Europe.
Spain's defeat also had religious consequences. Phillip was forced to stop his attempts to make England and the Low Countries Catholic. Protestantism was not suppressed in England, nor in any other country. Taking advantage of Spain's defeat, the Dutch continued to fight with the Spanish over religious matters. After the Armadas defeat, Catholicisms power declined slightly. The building of and the defeat of the Armada led to the downfall of Spain as supreme in Europe.
The purpose of the Armada was to stop the English piracy on Spain's New World treasure, and to re-convert England and the Low Countries back to Catholicism. After their defeat, Spain was nearly bankrupt. Their navy was nearly destroyed and many lives were lost. People lost trust in Spain, and gained more trust in England.
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