England vs. The Spanish Armada
Part of the Anglo-Spanish War - 1585-1604
Summary
Cause
- Cuius regio, eius religio - This let the religion practiced by a country be determined by its ruler
- Henry VIII's founding of the Church of England
- The death of "Bloody Mary" and her Catholic England // Elizabeth I is now Queen and reverts England to a Protestant state
- Queen Elizabeth I's rejection of Philip II's marriage proposal
- Queen Elizabeth I's pledge of military support to the Protestant rebels in the Spanish-ruled Netherlands
- The raiding of Spanish ships by English pirates
Course
(Additional timeline available via this pdf)
England's Pirates Capture Spanish Ships
Approx. 1560Between the 1560's and 1580's many Spanish treasure ships are captured by English pirates, or "privateers," greatly angering King Philip
Spain invades the Netherlands and England allies with the Dutch
1567
Part of the reason that Spain invaded Holland was to have a port nearby England where they could attack England in case of a war.
King Philip of Spain commissions 130 ships for Armada
1585
The cost of this was astronomical, at 2/3 the country's wealth.
Mary, Queen of Scots, is put to death
February, 1587
Mary, Queen of Scots's grandmother was Elizabeth's father's (Henry VIII) older sister. Since Elizabeth had no children, the monarchy was to pass to Mary, Queen of Scots upon Elizabeth's death. However, Mary was found guilty of trying to overthrow Elizabeth and was therefore executed. Because she was Catholic, and Elizabeth (and England) was Protestant, this greatly angered King Philip of Spain. He also felt he had a legitimate claim to the English throne since he was married to Elizabeth's sister (another Mary, who died years earlier). All of these events angered King Philip.
Drake raids ports in Spain, destroying supplies and delaying Armada preparations
April 1587
Sir Francis Drake of England destroyed and/or captured 35 ships which significantly delayed King Philip's plans
John White leaves Roanoke as Elizabeth mobilizes Naval fleet
December 1587
White returns to England to ask for more ships to help the struggling colony but is refused because all ships are needed to thwart the impending Armada attack.
Armada sets sail for England
May 1588
England hears of the news and is on the watch
Armada anchors near Calais
August 1588
Spain anchors at Calais to wait for reinforcements from the Netherlands before invading England
England sends fire ships into Calais, breaking up the Armada's defensive crescent formation
August 1588
The fire ships were intended to break apart the formation and also ignite the ammunition and gunpowder aboard. The plan worked and the Armada scattered. English ships pursue them and the Armada is driven north of Scotland, and forced to return to Spain.
Storms off of Scotland further damage ships
September 1588
Half of the ships are lost as well as thousands of Spanish soldiers. The English secretary in Ireland said that within a five mile walk along the coast, he counted 1,100 Spanish corpses. All in all, 63 Spanish ships were lost (no English ships were lost except the 8 that they intentionally set on fire as floating bombs) and 20.000 Spanish sailors were killed (only 100 English men were killed). This conflict didn't officially end until 1604 when a treaty was signed between England and France. England agreed to stop pirating ships and get out of the Netherlands conflict and
Spain agreed to give up on the idea that England would once again be Catholic.
*The above timeline can be found here*
Key Figures
Queen Elizabeth I of England
King Philip II of Spain
Pope Phillip Sixtus V
Lord Charles Howard of Effingham
Alonso Perez de Guzman, Duke of Medina-Sidonia
Sir Francis Drake
Outcome
Main Significance
Primary Source
To see the transcription, click here.
Works Cited
Primary Source and Transcription
Additional Timeline (pdf)
Key Figures:
Queen Elizabeth I of England (Article)
Queen Elizabeth I (Image)
King Philip II of Spain (Article)
King Philip II (Image)
Pope Phillip Sixtus V (Article)
Pope Sixtus V (Image)
Lord Charles Howard of Effingham (Article)
Lord Howard of Effingham (Image)
Alonso Perez de Guzman (Article)
Alonso Perez (Image)
Sir Francis Drake (Article)
Francis Drake (Image)
General Links:
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Spanish-Armada/
https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-spanish-armada
https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/spanish-armada
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/spanish-armada-defeated