Key Question: Which nation was best prepared for the Spanish invasion of England?

Task You are to work in pairs. Each person will have one minute to speak about what they learned last lesson. Your partner is to time how long you speak for. If the speaker, “ums, arrs” or hesitates then their turn has finished. The second person will then be given a chance to beat the time set by the first person.

What can we remember from last lesson?

Learning Objectives Be able to list at least three of the preparations/tactics used by either the Spanish or English fleets. (Level 4) Be able to explain in detail the preparations/tactics used by either the Spanish or English fleets (Level 5) Be able to identify and explain in detail the strengths and weaknesses of each fleet (Level 6)

Task We are now going to look at how both the English and Spanish prepared for the invasion. Each person is going to be given a information card which contains details about the Spanish Armada (Warships). It is your task to produce an A4 poster that explains what is on your information card. You can use as many pictures as you like but you cannot use more than 10 words! (Numbers do not count as part of your ten!) After your 10 minutes preparation time – you are then going to explain your poster to the rest of your group who will write down the information you have given them. If you are struggling – use the question prompt sheet, it will give you a hint as to what information to include!

Question: Which nation was best prepared for the Spanish invasion of England?

Level 3: You are able to identify strengths/weaknesses in either fleet. Level 4: You can make a decision as to which country was best prepared. Level 3/4 You are able to make a decision as to which country is most prepared. You are able to support your decision with detailed explanations. Level 5 All of level 5 You are also able to analyse the weaknesses in the opposing nation and explain why this put them at a disadvantage. Level 6

Level 6 Work In my opinion, the Spanish were better prepared than the English for the invasion. The fact that the Armada was equipped with enough ammunition, food and water for four weeks, which was longer than they expected to be at sea, proves that great care has been taken with preparations. In contrast, the English did not have nearly as many provisions. They lacked gun powder, ammunition, food and water. In this case, if the battle was to last a lengthy amount of time, the Spanish would definitely have the advantage as they had more provisions.

Commanders and Communication:Ships: Guns:Soldiers and Supplies:

Commanders and Communication: Who was in command of the Spanish and English fleets, and why do you think they were given the job? What were the Spanish and English crews like (think about experience and training)? Why was communication a problem for the commanders? Ships: How many ships in total did the Spanish and English have? Of the total number of ships they had, how many were war ships? How many ships was Philip told that he would need to invade England? Guns: How did the Spanish intend to use their guns? How long did it take the Spanish to re-load their guns and why would this have been a problem for them during the battle? What type of guns did the English use, and how did they intend to use them during the battle? Soldiers and Supplies: How many soldiers and sailors did both the Spanish and English have? Apart from soldiers and sailors, who else did Philip send with the Armada? Why do you think Philip sent these people with his fleet? What equipment and supplies did both the Spanish and English take with them?

The Spanish Armada was made up of 151 ships, 68 of which were warships. The rest of the ships were to carry equipment and soldiers. Some of these ships were unarmed. Philip’s advisers had told him that he would need 500 ships to invade England, but he decided to ignore their advice. The English fleet was made up of about 177 ships. Many of the fleet were very small – Under 100 tons. Only 34 were royal warships. Easier

Spanish: There were 7,000 sailors and 34,000 soldiers on the ships of the Armada. Philip believed that his Armada was a Roman Catholic crusade so God would be on his side. He also sent 180 priests and monks with the Armada and mass (a Catholic church service) was said on board every day on every ship. The Armada was equipped with enough ammunition, food and water for four weeks, which was longer than they expected to be at sea. English: There were 16,000 sailors on board and 76,000 soldiers waiting in England. Many (like Sir Francis Drake) were devout Protestants. Elizabeth’s government was mean with supplies and the English fleet did not have enough gunpowder, ammunition, food, or water for a long campaign. Sir Francis Drake Medium

Spanish: The Spanish plan was to fire the cannons of each ship just once into an English ship, then board her. Once on board the Spanish Soldiers would fight the English as if they were on land and capture the ship. Because of the way the Spanish mounted their guns (placed them on the ship) they took up to an hour to re- load. English: They used long-range guns as they preferred to try to destroy the enemy without the risk of being boarded. Their cannons were mounted on small gun-carriages which were designed especially for use at sea. This meant that they could be re-loaded in about ten minutes. The English did not fire all of their guns at once. Each cannon was fired by a gun- team. These men were highly trained and were allowed to fire their gun when they thought it was the best time to do so. Medium

Spanish: The Spanish were commanded by The Duke of Medina-Sidonia. He was the richest and most important nobleman in Spain. Many of the Spanish Captains were very experienced sailors but he had never been to sea before. Once Medina-Sidonia left Spain he could not communicate at all with either King Philip or The Duke of Parma (who he was supposed to collect with his troops from the Netherlands). English: The English fleet was commanded by Lord Howard of Effingham, the Queen’s cousin, who had little experience at sea. He relied on other commanders, brilliant seamen like Sir Francis Drake. Howard did not know that the Armada planned to pick up soldiers in the Netherlands. He presumed the Armada would land somewhere on the South Coast of England. The English sailors were very skilled and experienced, but most of the land forces were badly armed and poorly trained (England did not have a professional army at this time) There was no system of ship- to-ship communication, Once fleets were in battle every captain had to make decisions on his own. Lord Howard of Effingham Harder

You have been asked by Philip of Spain to produce a poster in order to recruit soldiers and sailors to take part in the invasion of England. You must include the following information in your design: What jobs you are advertising What type of people you need to fill these jobs (think about what skills the men would need, and how strong you would want them to be) Why you are invading England – People will not risk their lives if they do not know what they are fighting for! Where they need to sign up (join) – Remember there was NO TELEPHONE OR AT THIS TIME, so do not include a telephone number or address. You may also like to include a catchy slogan and / or pictures Remember – The King will need to approve of your poster so it needs to be as good as you can make it!!!!