 Stems from Protestant Reformation  Henry VIII had two daughters ◦ Mary [Bloody Mary] (Catholic) ◦ Elizabeth (Anglican)  King Phillip II of Spain was married to Mary, Queen of England ◦ They were co-monarchs over England  People feared Spain would control England ◦ Returned England back to Catholicism  Mary dies, Elizabeth becomes Queen

 Elizabeth makes the Church of England Anglican again ◦ Phillip II thinks she is a heretic  Dutch revolt in the Spanish Netherlands ◦ Protestants revolting against Catholic Spain ◦ Elizabeth supported the revolt  Francis Drake and his “sea-dogs” ◦ Pirates looting the treasures of Spanish trade ships coming back from the New World ◦ Elizabeth makes Francis a knight (now Sir Francis Drake)  Elizabeth executes Mary Queen of Scots ◦ Mary had promised to give Phillip the English throne if she became Queen  Phillip II plans to have her overthrown ◦ Supported by the Pope; called it a “crusade”

 Spanish for “naval fleet” ◦ 130 ships ◦ 8,000 sailors ◦ 18,000 soldiers  To set sail from Portugal  30,000 Spanish soldiers in the Netherlands ◦ were to be picked up to be taken to lead a land invasion of England  Original experienced commander, Santa Cruz, died ◦ Replaced by an wealthy and experienced army general  He had never been on a boat before

 Outnumbered Spanish ships ◦ They were smaller more maneuverable ships  Half of the firepower of Spain ◦ Far less cannons  Led by Sir Francis Drake ◦ A pirate

 Mostly a testing out period ◦ Spain had advantage in close fighting  More powerful cannons  Would use grappling hooks to board the enemy ships and fight hand-to- hand ◦ England kept their distance  No ships were destroyed ◦ Besides two Spanish ships that crashed into each other ◦ Drake snuck off at night to loot these two ships  Ended up learning that due to space, Spain could not reload their cannons

 The Armada anchored off the coast of the Netherlands to pick up troops  Problems: ◦ Troops were not equipped and ready ◦ No deep-water port, and no small boats  Nobody could actually pick up the troops

 Armada was anchored at sea in a tight group  England sacrifices eight ships, sets them on fire, and sent them sailing towards the Armada  Few Spanish ships burned ◦ But did have to cut anchor and flee in separate directions  England had now broken up the Armada’s formation

 English ships singled off Spanish ships ◦ Provoked Spanish fire ◦ Then swarm in close and unleash multiple shots  English run out of ammo ◦ Start using chains  Only 5 Spanish ships are destroyed ◦ Forced Spain to leave the troops in Netherlands behind

 Water and food went bad ◦ Stored in bad barrels  Spanish were suffering from thirst and exhaustion  Ships were falling apart ◦ Some were kept together by having their hulls bundled up with cables  Only option…head for home ◦ English blocked the channel  Spain had to sail the long way around England

 Gulf Stream blows them further East than intended ◦ Makes the trip even longer  Armada gets hit by a storm off the coast of Ireland ◦ Ships can’t anchor… ◦ At mercy of the gale force winds ◦ Many crash into the rocks  More lost due to storms than battle

 Spanish ◦ 8,000 dead ◦ 63 ships sunk  England ◦ 50 to 100 dead ◦ 0 ships sunk

 Gave heart and hope to Protestant cause ◦ God was behind them ◦ Commemorative Medals:  “He blew with His winds, and they were scattered”  England was now a major naval power after defeating the mighty Spanish navy ◦ Opened up the Atlantic for other countries to settle the New World

 Jamestown-1607 ◦ Poor location, lack of skilled workers and harsh winters killed many of the original settlers ◦ Capture Native princess, Pocahontas  Take her to England where she is a celebrity  Gets more people interested in the New World ◦ The growing of tobacco eventually supports the colonies economy  No more starving

 Plymouth ◦ Puritans fleeing religious persecution  Were in Netherlands but worried about loss of culture ◦ Also struggled in the first year  Many die first winter ◦ Squanto a native who used to live in England and knew English walks up on their settlement one day  Teaches them how to farm ◦ By fall, the settlers have three storage sheds of extra food  Decide to have the natives over for a party  The first Thanksgiving