The Spanish Armada

• On the 21st of July 1588, 130 Spanish ships sailed into the English channel
• The Spanish ships during the armada carried 17000 men
• The aim of the Armada was for spain to meet with Parmas army in the Netherlands at Calais, where they would take control of England
• On the 6th of August, Spanish ships arrived in Calais and dropped anchor
• Howard, the England commander, filled 8 ships without any people inside with tar and gunpowder. He then set the ships on fire and sent it off to the armada
• Due to the flaming ships, Spanish ships in Calais cut their anchor and scattered separate ways. This ruined their defense position
• On the morning of the 8th of August, Howard commanded his soldiers to attack and the Battle of Gravelines begun.
• The battle of gravelines killed 1000 sailors and Spanish ships were damaged. However, no English ships wee lost or damaged
• On the 9th of August, the wind changed direction, which forced the Spanish into the North Sea. 40 Spanish ships were wrecked at the coast of Scotland
• By the end of 1588, only 80 Spanish ships made it back to Spain
• Elizabeth claimed that the winds on the 9th of August were God's 'protestant winds'
• Other reasons for the armada:

  • The pope promised absolution (forgiveness of sins) to those taking part in the armada
  • The papacy wanted to overthrow Elizabeth since her excommunication in 1570
  • The treaty of joinville meant no French protection for England
• England as a colony of Spain would give Spain complete control of the atlantic
• Spain colonised Portugal in 1580, which gave Philip access to Portuguese ports and ships to support the armada