Anglo-Spanish War: How The English Defeated The Spanish Armada

At the end of the 16th century, the Kingdom of England and Habsburg Spain clashed in a struggle for the right to be called the Lord of the Seas. Both kingdoms and their rulers had great ambitions, which hindered peaceful coexistence and led to the Anglo-Spanish War. England was ruled by Elizabeth I, the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty, who was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn. Almost half a century of her reign is known as the Elizabethan era or the Golden Age. It marked the rise of England's influence in international politics, the strengthening of the English navy, new geographical discoveries, and the beginnings of the British Empire, along with a flourishing of drama featuring the genius of William Shakespeare. Spain was ruled by the Habsburg dynasty. Shortly before the war with England began, King Philip II the Prudent, who was a nephew of the Portuguese king, successfully exploited the Portuguese crisis of succession and became the ruler of both Iberian kingdoms. For the next 60 years they formed the Iberian Union, and thus the Spanish kings from the Habsburg dynasty began to rule Portugal and its overseas colonies. Overall, Philip II possessed a vast empire, with numerous territories in Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. Spain also experienced a Golden Age, an outstanding political and cultural rise that began during the reign of the Catholic monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. Their marriage effectively united Spain into a single country. Philip II was their great grandson. During his 40-year reign, the phrase the empire on which the sun never sets became widely used. It was used to describe vast empires that had so many territories that it seemed there was always daylight in at least one part of their lands. England was a Protestant country. During Elizabeth I's reign, the English Reformation neared its conclusion, and Anglicanism, the English form of Protestantism, fully established itself as a distinct branch of Christianity. The queen herself adhered to Protestantism, and like her father, the tutor Henry VIII, she supported the development of this Western Christian tradition and relied on the backing of Protestants. At the same time, Habsburg Spain was one of the centers of Catholicism, and Philip II was a deeply devout man who saw himself as the defender of Catholic Europe, not only against the Muslim Ottoman Empire, but also against the Protestant Reformation. For example, he supported the Catholic League in France during the civil-religious war against the French Protestant Huguenots. In addition to religious conflicts, there were other issues. The English explorer and privateer Francis Drake, with the tacit support of Elizabeth I, plundered Spanish colonial ports and captured several treasure ships during his circumnavigation, which concluded in 1580. Following this, during the War of Portuguese Succession, England supported Philip II's rival, Antonio, another nephew of Henry I, the last king of Portugal before the Iberian Union. In turn, the Spanish king supported the Irish rebellion against English rule, the so-called Second Desmond Rebellion. Both attempts failed, but along with Drake's activities, they worsened relations between England and Spain. The war itself began in 1585, with an English military expedition to the Netherlands, led by Robert Dudley, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I and a longtime suitor for her hand. Thus, England supported the Protestant Dutch Republic in a new phase of the Dutch War of Independence against the Spanish Habsburgs. Philip II perceived this as an open declaration of war. For two years, Robert Dudley even served as the governor-general of the Dutch Republic, although this did not please his queen. Elizabeth I did not want direct sovereignty over her allies. In the Netherlands, the English faced one of the most distinguished military leaders of his time, Italian aristocrat and governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Alexander Farnese. In 1586, he captured Grave, which provoked a deterioration in relations between Dudley and the Dutch, and in 1587, he took Sloes, demonstrating Dudley's inability to maintain authority over his allies and ultimately destroying his relationship with the Dutch. Robert Dudley resigned as governor-general and returned to England, where he was blamed for the complete military and political failure of the expedition. Nevertheless, Elizabeth I defended her favorite. At the same time, Elizabeth's so-called Sea Dogs carried out armed attacks on Spanish ports and ships, primarily in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean. These were English privateers or corsairs, among whom the most famous were the aforementioned Francis Drake, as well as John Hawkins and Thomas Cavendish. In 1586, Francis Drake raided and temporarily captured the Spanish port cities of Santo Domingo and Cartagena de Indias, while Thomas Cavendish undertook a circumnavigation, during which he conducted maritime raids on three colonies of Habsburg Spain and sank or captured 13 Spanish ships. In response to Robert Dudley's unsuccessful expedition and the successful actions of the Elizabethan Sea Dogs, the Spanish launched the famous Invincible Armada. This idea was proposed by Spanish Admiral Álvaro de Batzán as early as 1583, when he sent a letter to King Philip II, in which he first clearly suggested the creation of a powerful naval fleet to invade England. Philip II began assembling this fleet shortly after the start of the Anglo-Spanish War, and later appointed his distant relative, Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, as commander of the Invincible Armada. Like the king himself, he was a great-grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragon, who was de facto the first ruler of united Spain. In total, the Invincible Armada comprised 137 ships, which set sail in 1588 towards the English Channel. The Spanish fleet included many large galleons. Its goal was to navigate through the Pas de Calais, unite with the ground army of Alexander Farnese in Flanders, and carry out a military invasion of England to restore Catholicism, force the English to sever their alliance with the Dutch Republic, and put an end to the activities of the Elizabethan Sea Dogs. The English fleet, commanded by Lord Admiral Charles Howard and Francis Drake, was set to oppose the Spanish Armada. The English naval forces were based in Plymouth and consisted of smaller, lighter ships, which were significantly less powerful than the Spanish vessels, but outnumbered them. The English had 197 ships. These ships encountered the Spanish Armada in the English Channel and engaged in several successive naval battles. Thanks to the maneuverability of their fleet and skilled leadership, the English not only prevented the Armada from joining forces with Alexander Farnese's army, but also inflicted significant losses on the Spanish. The key battle was the Battle of Gravelines, where the English fleet sank several Spanish galleons and damaged many more. Due to difficult weather conditions and a lack of ammunition, the Armada was forced to retreat to the North Sea. On their way home, the Spanish fleet had to sail around the British Isles. The route to the Iberian Peninsula was perilous due to shortages of food and fresh water, as well as the damage inflicted by the English. Additionally, a storm off the coast of Ireland destroyed many more Spanish ships. The invincible Armada returned to Spain defeated. The Spanish lost 44 ships and estimates suggest that between 10,000 to 20,000 people were killed or went missing. The English celebrated their victory. The defeat of the Armada became one of the most famous military triumphs in the history of England, and Elizabeth Tudor, Elizabeth I, solidified her status as a great queen. After the defeat of the Spanish fleet in 1589, the English launched their Counter-Armada, also known as the English Armada. It was led by Vice Admiral Francis Drake, with the experienced military leader and close friend of the Queen, John Norris, commanding the army. This military campaign is often referred to as the Drake-Norris Expedition. The main objective of this expedition was the complete destruction of the invincible Armada, but there were other important goals as well. To establish a military base in the Azores, to capture the Spanish fleet returning from America to Europe with treasures, to attempt to incite a rebellion against the Habsburgs in Portugal and restore the independence of that kingdom. All these efforts were aimed at achieving victory in the war with Spain through coercion into peace. The English attempted to capture La Coruña. They came close to their goal but ultimately failed. The English Armada then headed to Lisbon, conducting landings of troops along the way, but their efforts were also insufficient to capture the city. Eventually, the English Armada was forced to retreat. Its defeat led to a partial restoration of Spain's naval power over the following decade. During the 1590s, England and Spain confronted each other once again on foreign soil in the Brittany Campaign. In 1590, the governor of Brittany, Philippe Emmanuel de Lorraine, proposed to Philip II to position the Spanish fleet near the peninsula. Furthermore, the Spanish were even allowed to build the citadel of Port-Louis, which they envisioned as a base for a future invasion of the British Isles. This also gave the Spanish the opportunity to protect their treasure ships returning from the New World and to combat the activities of the Elizabethan Sea Dogs. The governor of Brittany had his own interests as well. With Spanish support, he aimed to counter the French Huguenots and their leader, Henry of Navarre. In 1592-1593, the Spanish won two naval battles in the Bay of Biscay. Two years later, they conducted two successful raids in English Cornwall, plundering and burning several towns and defeating local militia before retreating. However, events in France significantly impacted the Brittany Campaign. Henry of Navarre, a Protestant, was crowned in 1594, and four years later he issued the Edict of Nantes, which promoted religious tolerance in the country and ended the long-standing wars between Catholics and Protestants. Philip II of Habsburg, who was gravely ill, signed the Peace of Vervain with Henry IV's France less than a month after the Edict of Nantes, meaning that the Spanish could no longer use Brittany as a base against the English. In 1598, Philip II died, and the throne was taken by his 20-year-old son, Philip the Pious III of Spain, who attempted to initiate peace negotiations with England in Boulogne in 1600. However, the English queen and her allies from the Dutch Republic categorically rejected the new king's demands. Two years later, the Anglo-Dutch fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral Richard Leveson, made an unsuccessful attempt to blockade Spain, but managed to win the Battle of Sesimbra Bay. That same year, Italian Admiral Federico Spinola, serving the Habsburgs, tried to attack the English fleet in the Strait of Dover, but was defeated in the narrow seas after being intercepted by Robert Mansell's English fleet, which was later joined by the Dutch fleet. These were the last significant military efforts of the Anglo-Spanish War. In 1603, Elizabeth I died, marking the end of the Golden Age. The queen had no children of her own and was known for her virginity throughout her life. Her successor was the son of her long-executed rival Mary Stuart. He was a distant relative of Elizabeth, and after her death, James inherited the crown as James I, King of England. By that time, the conflict had dragged on for nearly 20 years and had become financially exhausting for both England and Spain. The death of Queen Elizabeth I only hastened the war's conclusion. The new English king saw himself as a peacemaker and aimed to end the hostilities among the Christian kingdoms of Europe. In 1603, James I ordered the cessation of the activities of the Elizabethan Sea Dogs, after which Philip III sent a diplomatic mission to London, led by Juan de Tassis, the father of the renowned Spanish poet Juan de Tassis the Younger. After nearly a year of negotiations, the Treaty of London was signed on August 28th, 1604, at Somerset House in Westminster, officially ending the 19-year Anglo-Spanish War. The Treaty of London resulted in the preservation of the political status that both countries held before the war, but it also had long-term consequences for both Spain and England. Habsburg Spain remained an influential maritime power with the largest colonial possessions, yet it began to gradually cede its positions in European politics. In contrast, England was increasing its power and took another step toward eventually becoming the Lord of the Seas and the largest empire in human history. James I ceased support for the Dutch War of Independence, which had sparked the military confrontation with Spain, the military expedition of Robert Dudley. As a result, many of his subjects began to feel that the king had abandoned his allies, negatively impacting James' popularity among the populace. At the same time, England protected itself from Spain's attempts to reimpose Catholicism and remained a Protestant country. Furthermore, the positions of Protestants became even more stable and confident following the failed gunpowder plot by English Catholics against James I. Spain secured its trade routes and overseas colonies. The treaty with England was received positively. In Valladolid, which served as the capital of Habsburg Spain for a few years, celebrations took place after the ratification of the treaty. King Philip III focused his efforts on combating the Dutch Revolution, but the 12-year truce ultimately led to the de facto recognition of the independence of the Dutch Republic. The peace between England and Spain lasted until 1625, when the sons and heirs of the rulers who signed the Treaty of London, Charles I and Philip IV, found themselves in conflict, fighting on land and at sea, with the Dutch Republic once again at the center of their discord. Meanwhile, hostilities between the English and Spaniards in the New World continued unabated, and later these two countries would clash again during the golden age of piracy, as the British Empire approached its peak while the Spanish Empire was in decline.