Spanish Armada

This article is about the Spanish fleet that sailed against England in 1588. For the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish Navy.

Spanish Armada
Part of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) and the Eighty Years' War

Route of the Spanish Armada
DateJuly–August 1588
Location
English Channel and the North Sea
Result Anglo-Dutch victory[1][2][3]
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Strength
  • 34 warships[4]
  • 163 armed merchant vessels
    (30 more than 200 tons)[4]
  • 30 flyboats

Total

Armada
  • 24 warships[6]
  • 44 armed merchantmen[6]
  • 38 auxiliary vessels[6]
  • 31 supply vessels[6]
  • 2,431 artillery pieces[7][8]
  • 10,138 sailors
  • 19,315 soldiers[9] (90% Spaniards, 10% Portuguese)[10]

Spanish Netherlands

  • 31,800 soldiers
  • 170 barges[11]

Total

  • 55,000 men
  • 137 ships
Casualties and losses
English Channel actions
  • No ships lost
Battle of Gravelines:
Disease: 2,000–3,000 dead[14]		 English Channel actions
  • 2 galleons captured
  • 397 captured
Battle of Gravelines:
  • More than 600 dead
  • 800 wounded[15]
  • Five ships sunk or captured[16]
Overall:

The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada, lit. 'Great and Most Fortunate Navy') was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval experience appointed by Philip II of Spain. His orders were to sail up the English Channel, join with the Duke of Parma in Flanders, and escort an invasion force that would land in England and overthrow Elizabeth I. Its purpose was to reinstate Catholicism in England, end support for the Dutch Republic, and prevent attacks by English and Dutch privateers against Spanish interests in the Americas.

The Spanish were opposed by an English fleet based in Plymouth. Faster and more maneuverable than the larger Spanish galleons, its ships were able to attack the Armada as it sailed up the Channel. Several subordinates advised Medina Sidonia to anchor in the Solent and occupy the Isle of Wight, but he refused to deviate from his instructions to join with Parma. Although the Armada reached Calais largely intact, while awaiting communication from Parma, it was attacked at night by English fire ships and forced to scatter. The Armada suffered further losses in the ensuing Battle of Gravelines and was in danger of running aground on the Dutch coast when the wind changed, allowing it to escape into the North Sea. Pursued by the English, the Spanish ships returned home via Scotland and Ireland. Up to 24 ships were wrecked along the way before the rest managed to get home. Among the factors contributing to the defeat and withdrawal of the Armada were bad weather conditions and the better employment of naval guns and battle tactics by the English.

The expedition was the largest engagement of the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War. The following year, England organized a similar large-scale campaign against Spain, known as the "English Armada", and sometimes called the "counter-Armada of 1589", which failed. Three further Spanish armadas were sent against England and Ireland in 1596, 1597, and 1601,[23] but these likewise ended in failure.

  1. ^ Mattingly p. 401: "the defeat of the Spanish armada really was decisive"
  2. ^ Parker & Martin p. 5: "an unmitigated disaster"
  3. ^ Vego p. 148: "the decisive defeat of the Spanish armada"
  4. ^ a b Martin & Parker 1999, p. 40.
  5. ^ a b Martin & Parker 1999, p. 65.
  6. ^ a b c d Casado Soto 1991, p. 117.
  7. ^ Kinard, Jeff. Artillery: An Illustrated History of Its Impact. p. 92.
  8. ^ Burke, Peter. The New Cambridge Modern History: Volume 13, Companion Volume.
  9. ^ Martin & Parker 1999, pp. 60–63.
  10. ^ Kamen, Henry (2014). Spain, 1469–1714: A Society of Conflict. Routledge. p. 123.
  11. ^ Martin & Parker 1999, p. 94.
  12. ^ Lewis 1960, p. 184.
  13. ^ John Knox Laughton, State Papers Relating to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada, Anno 1588, printed for the Navy Records Society, MDCCCXCV, Vol. II, pp. 8–9, Wynter to Walsyngham: indicates that the ships used as fire-ships were drawn from those at hand in the fleet and not hulks from Dover.
  14. ^ Bicheno 2012, p. 262.
  15. ^ Lewis 1960, p. 182.
  16. ^ Aubrey N. Newman, David T. Johnson, P. M. Jones (1985). The Eighteenth Century Annual Bulletin of Historical Literature 69 (1), 108. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8314.1985.tb00698.
  17. ^ Casado Soto 1991, p. 122.
  18. ^ Mattingly 2005, p. 426.
  19. ^ Lewis 1960, p. 208.
  20. ^ Gracia Rivas, Manuel (1991). The Medical Services of the Gran Armada. In Rodríguez-Salgado, M. J. and Adams, Simon (eds.). "England, Spain and the Gran Armada, 1585–1604". Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0389209554. p. 212
  21. ^ Lewis 1960, pp. 208–209.
  22. ^ Hanson 2011, p. 563.
  23. ^ Graham 1972, pp. 258–261.