Challenges to rule

• Catholics wanted Mary Scots to replace Elizabeth: They felt Henry's marriage to Anne was illegal so Elizabeth is the illegitimate ruler
• Catholics wanted Mary Scots to replace Elizabeth: Mary would restore the supremacy of the Catholic Church and reverse Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement
• Getting Mary out of the country: Sending Mary back to Scotland or France could backfire, allowing her to gather more support to challenge Elizabeth.
• Keeping Mary imprisoned: This would reduce the risk of Mary gathering more support back in Scotland or France and allow Elizabeth to keep tight control. But unlawfully imprisoning Mary could provoke international outcry and attacks anyway.
• Executing Mary: Whilst this would remove the figurehead for Catholic challengers, it could also provoke international attacks and set a precedent for killing a queen.
• What to do with Mary: In the short term Elizabeth decided to keep Mary as a closely guarded royal ‘guest’, moving her from castle to castle so she would not be the focus of plots, by 1572 MP's were pressuring Elizabeth to have Mary executed.
• What lead to a war with Spain: Religious differences - Spain was a Catholic country and England a Protestant country – meaning that the two rulers had conflicting religious outlooks.
• What lead to a war with Spain: Marriage rejection - King Philip of Spain had been married to Elizabeth’s sister, Mary I. When Mary died he offered to marry Elizabeth but she rejected him.
• What lead to a war with Spain: Piracy - English sailors like Hawkins and Drake attacked and stole treasure from Spanish ships in the New World. King Philip was furious but Elizabeth encouraged and rewarded adventurers.
• What lead to a war with Spain: The civil war in France - France was the traditional enemy of both England and Spain, meaning that they united together against the country. Now France was in civil war it was preoccupied with its own issues and no longer posed a threat – so the alliance between Spain and England was not necessary anymore.
• What lead to a war with Spain: Spain supported Catholic plots - There was evidence of Spanish support for plots to restore Catholicism to England, particularly involving getting Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne and Elizabeth off.
• What lead to a war with Spain: The Dutch Revolt - Protestants in the Netherlands began a revolt against Spanish rule in 1572. Elizabeth secretly supported the Dutch rebels because she knew the Dutch revolt would keep the Spanish too busy to threaten England.
• What lead to a war with Spain: Elizabeth’s army joined the Dutch rebels - Elizabeth sent an army to help the Dutch rebels fight Spain. For the first time English and Spanish armies were fighting each other. England and Spain were now at war.
• Importance of the Netherlands: The Netherlands were ruled by Spain but the English saw the Netherlands as a vital place for trade.
• Importance of the Netherlands: By 1572 Protestant ideas had spread in the Netherlands and Protestant Dutch rebels began a campaign for independence from Catholic Spain.
• Importance of the Netherlands: King Philip of Spain sent an army to defeat the rebels. Following the death of the Dutch rebel leader, William of Orange, Elizabeth was approached to become Queen of the Dutch. She declined but sent an army to fight with the Dutch against Spain.
• Importance of the Netherlands: Throughout the 1590s the Dutch won several victories against the Spanish and by 1609, after Elizabeth’s death, the Dutch Protestants won control of Holland.
• The Spanish Armada: The greatest challenge to Elizabeth was first sighted in the English Channel on 29 July 1588. This was the Spanish Armada, a fleet of armed ships sailing towards England in a crescent formation.
• The Spanish Armada: Spanish commanders - The Duke of Medina Sidonia who had little experience of sailing.
• The Spanish Armada: Fleet - 130 ships, 64 battleships, 22 huge galleons and 45 converted merchant ships.
• The Spanish Armada: Sailors and soldiers - 30,000 men on board the fleet and 20,000 soldiers on land.
• The Spanish Armada: Food supplies - Not fresh – six months’ worth of supplies were stored on the ships.
• The Spanish Armada: Weapons - 2,000 large cannon, could fire heavy cannon balls, but only over a short distance and were slow to load.
• The Spanish Armada: Tactics - Get close so men could board and capture the enemy ships.
• The Spanish Armada: Annual income - 3 million pounds.
• The Spanish Armada (England): Commanders - Lord Howard of Effingham – little experience of fighting at sea, but Drake and Hawkins were both very experienced.
• The Spanish Armada (England): Fleet - 200 ships, 54 strong, light and fast battleships, and 140 converted merchant ships.
• The Spanish Armada (England): Sailors and soldiers - 14,000 men on board the fleet and 20,000 soldiers on land.
• The Spanish Armada (England): Food supplies - Fresh food supplied daily.
• The Spanish Armada (England): Weapons - 200 smaller cannon, could fire over long distance and were quick to load.
• The Spanish Armada (England): Tactics - Destroy enemy ships by firing cannon at them from a distance.
• The Spanish Armada (England): Annual income - £300,000. Parliament did grant Elizabeth taxes to top this up.
• The Spanish armada (battle):

  • The Armada leaves Lisbon on 28 May 1588. It’s delayed by storms and repairs, and finally sets sail for England on 21 July.
  • They're sighted by the English from Lizard Point in Cornwall. Warning beacons are lit along the English coastline.
  • The Armada continues through the English Channel now chased by English ships, but suffers little damage.
• The Spanish armada (battle):

  • The Armada anchors near Calais where more troops are meant to join, led by the Duke of Parma, but the English send burning fire ships into the fleet. The Spanish ships panic and are scattered out of formation.
  • The Spanish ships are blown towards dangerous sandbanks and the English attack again in the Battle of Gravelines. This time they battle at close range and significant damage is inflicted to the Spanish fleet.
• The Spanish armada (battle):

  • The Armada is forced north around the east coast of Britain and the English fleet turn back after food and ammunition supplies run low.
  • The Armada sets sail for home but are forced around Scotland and Ireland. Many ships are wrecked in storms and thousands of sailors drown.
  • The surviving Spanish ships arrive back in Spain, but almost half of their fleet is lost.
  • The English celebrate a major victory over Europe’s superpower: Spain.
• The Spanish Armada casualties: England lost just 100 men compared the 20,000 men and 51 ships lost by the Spanish.
• How did England defeat Spain: Leaders - The Duke of Medina Sidonia led the Spanish fleet, but he was inexperienced in naval battle and so made some fatal errors in his planning and tactics.
• How did England defeat Spain: Planning - The strength of the Spanish fleet came from its crescent formation plan – but when the English broke this up with their fire ships, the Spanish became vulnerable and exposed to attack.
• How did England defeat Spain: No reinforcements - The Spanish plan relied on stopping to pick up the Duke of Parma’s army to boost their numbers, but the fleet was unable to anchor and so never picked them up.
• How did England defeat Spain: Tactics - Spanish tactics were to get close enough to English ships to board them, whereas the English tactic was to attack from a safe distance.