Heritage

ARMADA

"A host of great castles very stately built and in
such numbers that we durst not venture among them".
Lord Howard describing the Spanish Armada

ARMADA was a Spanish word for a battle fleet. Since the summer of 1588 it has been associated with King Philip of Spain's intended invasion of England and the capture of Queen Elizabeth I by what he named 'The most fortunate and invincible Armada'.

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I British maritime history began and an organised system of early warning signals came into being. Beacons were sited from Land's End to the North Foreland. An important Armada beacon was erected on the ancient highway between Deal and Sandwich. Inland beacons, which stretched to London, via Chatham, included one at Mongeham, near Deal, and Woodnesborough, near Sandwich.

A gun known as 'Queen Elizabeth Pocket Pistol' may be seen at Dover, an unusual weapon which was last fired in anger in 1588 to warn of the approach of the Armada

Cinque Port Ships

The Cinque Ports fitted out six very large ships, each assisted by a smaller tender, at a cost of £33,000. In command of one of these vessels was a Deal man. Dover's ship was named 'Robin' and the ship from Sandwich 'Elizabeth'.

The English fleet, numbering about 191 ships – collected by the Government and offered by noblemen and volunteers – was divided into two forces. Lord Howard of Effingham, with Drake, Frobisher and Hawkins among his commanders, sailed towards Land's End to meet the invaders as they entered the English Channel. Lord Henry Seymour's force guarded the Narrow Seas to prevent boats assembled at Boulogne from coming over. Cinque Port ships cruised these waters which they knew so well.

His Most Catholic Majesty King Philip II of Spain, ruled the most powerful empire in the world. Advised by his great admiral the Marquis of Santa Cruz, it was planned to attack England and her 'heretic Queen'.

In April 1587 Sir Francis Drake raided Cadiz, firing shipping and stores ready for the coming invasion and so it was said that he 'singed the King of Spain's beard'. Another blow for Spain was caused by the death, in 1588, of Santa Cruz. Command was passed to the Duke of Medina-Sidonia. No one was more horrified by this appointment than the Duke, who was a soldier with no knowledge of the sea.

After a false start in May, the Spanish Armada sailed on 12th July 1588. (Dates are Julian calendar). The English fleet first encountered the Armada in the Channel in late July. Beacons blazed. The English expected invasion.

First sighting had been from the Scilly Isles. The Armada was off The Lizard by 30th July. It sailed past Plymouth, followed by the English fleet, which was heavily outnumbered.

It is recorded that there were 150 warships, bearing 2,400 guns, 30,000 men and the flower of Spain's nobility with their servants, surgeons, doctors and priests. The latter numbered 186, many being administrators of the dreaded Inquisition. Slaves rowed the ships which carried soldiers.

The English fleet carried 17,000 men of whom the majority were sailors. Dexterous seamanship of smaller and swifter ships was to out-manoeuvre the Armada as it sailed up the Channel. Relying mainly on their canon they pounded the Spaniards with deadly effect whilst keeping out of musket range. After ten hours of 'Ye most terrible conflict' Lord Howard remarked 'Their force was wonderful great and strong, yet we pluck their feathers little by little'. Finally the battered Armada anchored in the Dunkirk Roads, with the English anchoring at a point midway between Deal and Dover, from where they were revictualled. A watchful eye was kept on the enemy. During the Channel fight the English gunners had used most of their shot and Kentish farmers were to gather up plough chains for use as substitute for shot.

The Griffin, one of the ships of the Spanish Armada

Fireships

When the Spanish fleet was anchored at Calais the English fleet, less than two miles astern prepared fireships.

Medina-Sidonia sent warning to his ships to watch well through the night, being suspicious of Englishmen whom they believed to be devils with black and subtle arts.

On the turn of the tide eight fireships were sent amongst the Armada. Keeping their course, with sails set and crews aboard, they showed no light. Suddenly flames roared from their decks, fused with a timing device invented by the Italian Federigo Giambelli. Only when the fireships had been too near the Armada to be intercepted and towed out of range did their crews abandon them, tumbling into longboats and pulling back to the English fleet. In panic the Spaniards cut their cables and put to sea. The Armada was shattered and by dawn the people of Dover could watch from the cliffs as the Spanish ships smashed into one another in disorder. Yet again the English 'sea hawks' closed in on them, off Gravelines, crowding the clumsy galleons and killing thousands of their soldiers. Fleeing north, before the wind, the Armada hoped to reach Spain by sailing round the north of Scotland and Ireland, only to be dashed on those rocky coasts. It is said that only 63 ships returned to Spain. Aboard the 'San Martin' a Spaniard recorded that everyone was in utter despair.

Many of the English wounded were brought ashore to die in the streets of Sandwich and Deal.

Queen Elizabeth awarded a medal to her admirals. It bore the inscription Flavit Deus et Dissipati Sunt (God blew with His wind and they were scattered). Her navy had been victorious. England was Mistress of the Seas, and God, she believed, was with the English.

The defeat of the Armada was also celebrated by England's first newspaper, 'The English Mercury', first printed on 23rd July 1588. It gave a daily account of the fighting and when it was over the paper was retained, being considered an excellent means of conveying news to the masses.