Commercial rivalry

• Commercial rivalry


  England and Spain had a growing commercial rivalry by the 1570s, involving trade and the New World, affected by English privateering
• Commercial rivalry between England and Spain

  1. England and Spain emerged as commercial (trade) rivals

  2. Both competed for access to markets and resources of the New World, as well as Turkey, Europe, Russia, China and North Africa

  3. Spain had conquered Mexico and Peru, providing gold, silver, sugar cane and tobacco

  4. Britain emerged as a trade rival, with sailors like Sir Francis Drake journeying on trading voyages
• English hostility towards Spain

  Spain represented a major barrier to English trade due to control of the Netherlands and the New World, reducing incomes and profits of English merchants
• Deteriorating relations between England and Spain


  1. Actions of Drake and other privateers brought England and Spain to the brink of war

  2. Elizabeth's knighting of Drake demonstrated defiance and hostility towards Spain's commercial interests

  3. For Philip II, Drake and privateers were pirates that needed to be removed by war to protect Spain's commercial interests
• Privateering


  • English merchants, financed by private investors including Elizabeth, raided Spanish colonies and ships voyaging to/from the New World
  • One raid by Drake captured £40,000 in Spanish silver, another £400,000 of silver and gold
  • Elizabeth encouraged Dutch rebels, the Sea Beggars, to attack Spanish ships sailing between Spain and the Netherlands
  • By 1580, loss of silver meant the Spanish government in the Netherlands was bankrupt and could not afford to pay its soldiers