Expanding important Tudor events mainly in the last 20 years of Elizabeth’s reign

• The Spanish Armada
• Irish colonisation and rule
• Explorers, Pirates and Privateers
• Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots
• Religion
• Important men in the Tudor Age
• The Muslim threat

The Spanish Armada

In 1586 the Spanish, under King Philip 2nd  and fully supported by the Pope decided to prepare a fleet to invade England and remove the Protestant “bastard” Elizabeth from the throne. (Armada = fleet of armed warships).

In 1587 Francis Drake having being informed of this military build up in the Spanish port of Cadiz set out with a small pirate force and sailed boldly into Cadiz and set fire to many of the Spanish ships and then beat a hasty retreat. This put to Armada date back more than a year.

In 1588 the Spanish had rebuilt their fleet and finally set sail towards England. Their plan was to sail towards the Spanish ruled Netherlands and pick up a mass of soldiers and then attack London.

The English had been following the massive build up of arms in Cadiz as such huge purchases from all over Europe were impossible to keep secret. The English fleet was under the command of Lord Charles Howard and was split into three parts.

• In the West Country at Plymouth a small force under Francis Drake
• Off Kent the main fleet under Howard.
• Near London at Tilbury where Elizabeth at 55 made the most famous rallying speech of her reign (“I’m only a woman but…..”)

English lookouts spotted the huge Armada of 130 ships sailing in battle ready crescent formation off the coast of Cornwall. This news was signalled to all southern coastal ports and London within hours using the old Roman method of lighting fires on chosen hills (Beacons)

Drake, as legend has it, was in no hurry to set sail from Plymouth but chose to first finish his game of bowls. The most likely explanation was that he couldn’t put to sea because the tide was against him in the river Tamar. The story goes that Drake did fire a few shots at long range and sank a couple of the huge Spanish Galleons but he was more interested in seeking out the Spanish paymasters ship for a bit of pirating.

The English won. How?

• English ship-mounted cannon had longer range that the Spanish equivalent and therefore the English could fire at the Spanish and score hits while  the Spanish cannon balls were falling short.
• English sailing ships were generally smaller and more manoeuvrable which worked well at close quarters.
• English ships captains were generally better tacticians than the Spanish. Many English captains were pirates and to survive in that trade when you were generally out numbered you had to be good.
• The battle is sometimes described as Drake’s Armada. But the Captain of the English Fleet was Lord Charles Howard a cousin of Elizabeth who was not an experienced sailor. Drake was the tactical expert but annoyed his compatriots by disobeying orders and seeking out the Spanish bullion ship (there to pay the wages of the Spaniards) with a view to pirating it.
• The English also had the weather on their side because a storm blew up and scattered many of the Spanish fleet and they never returned to fight and were chased north all the way to Scotland by the English. The majority of the Spanish fleet were sunk by the weather off the west coast of Ireland.
• The Spanish fleet consisted of 130 ships and only 60 made it back to Spain. The English fleet was 197 smaller ships and fewer men.