Naval fleet armada8/19/2023 Storms arose and wreaked havoc on the battered armada. The Spanish Armada was thus forced to retreat northward around Scotland and Ireland.Īs the Spanish attempted to circle Scotland and Ireland in their long retreat back to Spain, they ran into even more trouble. Any attempt to escape south was cut off by British blockades, and Dutch rebels had blockaded the Spanish from receiving any reinforcements from the Duke of Parma and the Netherlands. In doing so, however, many of them were sealing their own fate. Many Spanish ships decided to cut their own anchors in order to escape the port of Calais. The ensuing battle was a huge victory for the British. Several Spanish ships even collided with one another, immobilizing them in the process. This worked to great effect, causing surprise and panic among many of the Spanish ships. The British navy set several of their own ships on fire, rigged the ships' cannons to fire automatically, and sailed them directly into the Spanish Armada. As the Spanish Armada was docked in the French port of Calais, the English launched their attack on July 29, 1588. Those who devised this ambush included Lord High Admiral Howard, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir John Hawkins. Knowing that they were outnumbered and outgunned, the leaders of the British navy planned a surprise attack against the mighty Spanish fleet. The fleet continued to press on, planning to unite with the Duke of Parma off the coast of the Spanish Netherlands before proceeding to the English mainland.īy this time, the English knew that the Spanish were up to something, and they prepared for the invasion. Along with these trials, storms began to harass the fleet, crippling some of the ships. This caused the Spanish to seek places to resupply their ships as they sailed northward. Instead, many of the Spanish crews were forced to endure disease, starvation, and a lack of fresh water. The first major battles that the Spanish faced did not involve cannon fire. Despite these early setbacks, the fleet set sail. The duke was a general in Philip's army, and he had no naval experience prior to his appointment as head of the Spanish Armada. However, the marquis died before the campaign was launched, and his replacement was the Duke of Medina Sidonia. Philip chose the Marquis de Santa Cruz to lead the armada. This included a hefty amount from Pope Sixtus V, who desired to see England convert to Catholicism by any means necessary. In order to launch his fleet of approximately 130 ships and 30,000 men, Philip took out a series of loans from various European countries. These things led Philip II to pursue war with his English enemy. Along with this, Queen Elizabeth I had recently assisted Dutch rebels in a series of rebellions in the Spanish Netherlands. He felt that Mary was the rightful heir to the English throne instead of the Protestant Elizabeth. First, he despised Elizabeth for the execution of the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots. Philip had a long-standing rivalry with Elizabeth I for a few reasons. He therefore created and launched his Spanish Armada in 1588 with the intention of invading and defeating England. Specifically, he desired to see the destruction of the rule of Queen Elizabeth I of England. A staunch Catholic, Philip was dedicated to overpowering the Protestants of Europe. The Spanish Armada was a massive fleet of ships created by King Philip II of Spain in the 16th century. The history of the Spanish Armada is a story of war, intense rivalry, and destruction.
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