Royal Navy v Spanish Armada By Jimi Griffith

How did the Royal Navy win? The Royal Navy was a fledging branch, which should by all logic have lost that fight. But they won. It’s time to figure out how.

Why did the battle occur? In order to understand why and how the British won the battle, first one must realize why the battle was even fought. Tension had been rising between the British and Spain for many years, Sir Francis Drake just the year prior had raided Cadiz and Lisbon where he destroyed ships. He destroyed provisions for the Spanish armada at Cape St. Vincent.

Drake’s actions in Spanish waters, as well as in the America’s and West Indies, were one of the most direct causes of the fateful 1588 battle. Another cause was the ideological battle between Britain and Spain. Spain was a veritable poster child for the loyal churchgoer, with the nation itself being devoted to the Catholic Church. Britain, however, was the rebellious teenager, much akin to how it’s own children America and Canada are compared.

Britain’s former king Henry the Eighth had decided he didn’t want to be married to his wife. The Catholic Church, however, didn’t allow any sort of divorce or annulment, even for the very king. As he was not allowed to free himself from his wife Catherine, he formed his very own church. He created the Church of England, and it was essentially Protestant. Protestant and Catholic religions weren’t exactly meshing during this time, so it was only a matter of time before they started fighting.

Another cause of the clash was Elizabeth’s refusal to marry Phillip II, king of Spain. Phillip had been married to her older half-sister Mary, and had actually supported Elizabeth being placed on the throne after her sister, since the next in line would have Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary was Pro-France, however, which neither leader wanted. Phillip had thought Elizabeth would choose to marry him after her she took the throne, so as to keep closer relations between the two nations. Elizabeth did not want to marry anyone, and so denied his advances.

How powerful was each fleet? In order for a battle to be won, one side must be better armed and better provisioned than the other. It is now time to compare the British and Spanish naval capacities. The Spanish Armada that departed Lisbon for this battle consisted of 130 warships. They wielded 2,500 large artillery guns and carried 30,000 soldiers, as well as were planning on picking up an additional 30,000 in the Spanish Netherlands.

The British fleet was smaller, having mostly been built within the last two to three decades, and had weaker hulls. They did, however, have longer guns which meant higher accuracy at a farther range. Their smaller size also meant they were more maneuverable, harder for the large Spanish ships to hit. Even though they were outnumbered, the British had range over the Spanish forces. Compared to the 130 Spanish ships, there were only 34 British vessels.

One big difference between the Spanish and the British forces were the leaders of each side. The British were lead by Admiral Lord Howard of Effingham and Vice-Admiral Sir Francis Drake. Both of these men had decades of sea fairing experience, and knew how to command a ship. The Spanish commander was an Army General, much more suited to leading ground forces into a battle than his countries navy.

Tactics analysis The Spanish plan was to use their 130 warships as guard ships for the transport ships carrying the army that would be used to invade the British Isle. Before their fleet even was ready to move in on Britain, the first of English tricks were unveiled. Eight British fireboats had infiltrated the crowded sea space of the Spanish staging grounds. These fireboats then blew themselves up, taking a large amount of the Spanish force with them. Storms and wind only slowed the Spanish even more, causing them to not arrive for another two days.

The British made use of beacon fires across the country side, helping to signal better fleet positions. Due to the dreadful weather, and continuous attacks by the British, Spanish ships kept being picked off, so that none actually made it to the British shoreline. When they reached the northern part of the island, they continued around to escape. The storm pushed their ships against the coastline, into the rocky shores. This damaged and sunk several more ships. Overall sixty-three Spanish ships were lost, with hundreds if not thousands of men were lost.

The British Royal Navy claimed the victory due mostly to their superior maneuverability and the inferior weather conditions during the battle. The Spanish fleet was also under provisioned due to Drake’s raids in Lisbon and Cadiz the year before.

Work Cited Alchin, Linda “Elizabethan Navy” Elizabethan- era.org. Siteseen Ltd, 2015. Web. 2 Nov. 2016. Pike, John “Fleet Battle” globalsecurity.org. Globalsecurity, 2011. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. Staff, History.com “Spanish Armada Defeated – HISTORY.com.” History.com. A+E Networks, 2010. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.

Picture Cite http://www.biography.com/people/francis- drake-9278809 http://www.britishbattles.com/spanish- war/spanish-armada.htm http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/ar mada.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Armada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard,_ 1st_Baron_Howard_of_Effingham