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.