Elizabeth I:
How successfully did she
tackle the problems of her
reign:
The Spanish Armada
How did Elizabeth deal with the problem of
the Spanish Armada of 1588?
Elizabeth I
Duke of
Parma
Philip II
Philip’s Marriage Proposal, 1560
Philip had been married to Mary
Tudor and had the title ‘King of
England.” On Mary’s death in
1558, he hoped to keep England
within the Spanish sphere of
influence by marrying her sister,
Elizabeth. Philip tried to woo
Elizabeth by sending her gifts . . .
..
Protestant Elizabeth would not marry
Catholic Philip. Knowing that he wanted
to get control of England, Elizabeth
ordered her navy to prepare to fight
Spain in the future. Her ships would be
well equipped and her sailors well
trained over the years to come.
Francis Drake
Since the 1560’s, Spanish
settlements in South
America and Spanish
treasure ships had been
attacked by English
sailors such as Francis
Drake and Elizabeth
secretly encouraged
them.
Philip’s last hope of returning England to Catholicism died with
Elizabeth’s execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1587. Mary was
Elizabeth’s closest blood relative. Philip had hoped that Mary would
become Queen of England on Elizabeth’s death. Her execution gave Philip
the excuse to go to war with Elizabeth. He began preparations for an
invasion of England.
4) As soon as the Spanish
arrived in England, the English
Catholics would rise in rebellion
against the Protestant queen
and join Spanish allies to defeat
the army of Elizabeth.
3) The Armada would then go on
to the Straits of Dover and bring
the Spanish army across to
England in huge, flat-bottomed
barges.
2) An Armada [fleet of ships] of 136
great warships would sail from Spain
towards England and destroy the
English fleet in the Channel.
Santa Cruz
Duke of
Parma
1) 30,000 tough men,
experienced Spanish
soldiers from the
Netherlands would
gather in northern
France ready to invade
England. They were to
be led by the Duke of
Parma, thought to be
the best general in
Europe.
The Armada fleet was gathering in the southern Spanish port
of Cadiz. The Spanish Armada was supposed to sail in 1587.
Elizabeth knighted Drake and choose him to lead English
warships against the Spanish. Drake’s daring attack on Cadiz
Harbour, destroying 30 Spanish ships, delayed the Armada
invasion by one year.
The Armada eventually left on 28th May 1588.
The Armada is
sighted by the
English patrol
ship, the
“Golden Hind.”
The Armada had been very
successful up to this point and
arrived off Calais in good shape
but . . . .
Parma was still in the
Netherlands! He was not
aware that the Armada was
yet in the English Channel!
This is in spite of MedinaSidonia sending ‘pinnaces’
(messenger boats) to inform
Parma of the Armada’s
whereabouts. The Duke
estimated it would take at
least two weeks to get his
army to Calais!
It was Sir Francis Drake who came up with the
idea for a Fireship attack against the Spanish fleet
at Calais.
Elizabeth inspects her troops at Tilbury, 18th August –
and she made an inspiring speech….
“I know I have the body of a weak and feeble
woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a
king, and of a king of England too, and I will
not allow Philip of Spain or any king of Europe
to invade the borders of my realm…. I myself
will take up arms, I myself will be your general
and I will reward of every one of your good
deeds in the battlefield. You deserve rewards
and crowns; and we do assure you, in the word
of a monarch, they shall be duly paid you….We
shall shortly have a famous victory over those
enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my
people.”
There was no possibility of returning the
way the Armada had came – the English
blocked the way back. The only way to
escape the English was to go around the
northern reaches of Scotland and Ireland.
Storms around Scotland and
Ireland Pounded the Armada
The Armada was finished off by storms as the
surviving Armada ships went around Scotland
and Ireland – only 60 out of the original 136 ships
returned to Spain. Half of the 30,000 men were
killed.
R E S U LT S O F T H E A R M A D A
D E F E AT
1.
England survived as a Protestant country.
2.
Spain's reputation had been weakened in Europe - other countries
were encouraged to rise up in rebellion against the Spanish.
3.
The English Navy was now accepted as the world's best.
4.
England began to build an Empire for itself - first in North America
but then in parts of Africa and, later, in parts of Asia.