The Spanish Armada was a powerful navy that attempted to enter England by force in 1588. Wikipedia writes that the navy was previously called “The Invincible Armada”, because the Spaniards had the impression that it could not be defeated. Phillip had a list of reasons to take out Queen Elizabeth. For the longest time, Most English ships had been attacking Spanish treasure ships returning from the Americas. Queen Elizabeth declined punishing the privateers and would not return the treasures that they had acquired. Another excuse was to attack England in an attempt to prevent Protestantism from overtaking Catholicism on the continent. The plan of invasion was simple and could have been effective, but gruesome. The Spanish had the strongest army …show more content…
The Armada had a simple plan to carry through, get to low countries and pick up the armies, take them to Kent, march to England and dismiss Queen Elizabeth I of her throne. An article from a website named Brezzer, explains that the planning was put together so quickly, King Philip hadn't thought of the area at all or discussed it with any other person in the same ruling class as him. BBC’s ‘Spanish Armada’ document says he instantly began over packing the ships with crew mates and supplies for a land invasion with no backup plan available if things did not go his way. To be eligible to lead big, strong forces overseas, you need a Leader with wits around the ship. Medina Sidonia poorly directioned the Armada since he had no experience on the waters and was little to no support to the army. The only reason given to why he was chosen in the first place was because he was the greatest nobleman in Spain at the time. The Spanish Armada failed by poor planning with no backup in case of failure and used the wrong leader to navigate the …show more content…
Stated in ‘The World History Human Legacy’ King Philip II of Spain had a poor understanding of the limitations, believing that God was always on his side. He believed his own words that the weather will be perfect for the Armada to sail and sent them out with no worry. Medina Sedonia decided to wait for the winds to change and the storms to calm down in order to keep the Armada safe, on the other hand the way that he went he lost about 18 ships overnight. If the Armada did not live by unrealistic expectations, they would have made it back to their homeland safely and would have been prepared for the
Anais Nin once said that “we write to taste life twice: in the moment and in retrospection.” In his book, Seven Myths of Spanish Conquest, Matthew Restall tries to change our perception of the past in other to open our eyes to what life was really like during the colonial period. As Restall puts it, the main propose of the book is to “illustrate the degree to which the Conquest was a far more complex and protracted affair” (p.154) than what was supposed in the latters and chronicles left by the conquistadores. Each one of Restall’s chapters examines one of seven myths regarding the mystery behind the conquest. By doing so, Matthew Restall forces us to look back at the Spanish conquest and question
The nature of the Narvaez expedition was intended to be like that of any other Spanish exploration to the New World. Panfilo de Narvaez, who was selected as governor of Florida and who financed the expedition, was also appointed the commander in chief by emperor Charles V. Cabeza de Vaca was appointed royal treasurer of the voyage for his brightness and noble character. The Spaniards were to conquer the land of Florida in the name of the Charles V and the nation of Spain. They expected to take on and overcome any natives who got in their way and to reap all of the wealth and materials of worth that they came across. When the ships arrived at the western coastline of Florida, they were greeted with a storm. This was just a sign of things to come for the fleet. The storm forced the ships to land at a different bay than what they planned on. From this point the governor wanted to move inland and explore the terrain. Meanwhile he also wanted the ships to sail along the coast until they reached the correct bay. This commenced the downfall of the conquest.
Francisco Vazquez de Coronado served as the political liaison for the preliminary exploration. Francisco came from a prominent Salamanca family after the passing of his father and mother he did not inherit the families fortune, this put him in a position to make a shift to New Spain and hopefully chase the dream of making a fortune and becoming rich. At the age of twenty five Francisco arrived in New Spain in 1535, upon his arrival he was introduced and attached to a highly appointed officer Viceroy Mendoza. As time passed he went on to marry a wealthy women named by the name of Dona Beatriz de Estrada, his mother in law gave Francisco a large amount of money that is called “hacienda” which mean he received a large estate or plantation with a dwelling house. Around 1537 Francisco started to make a name for him when a rebellion just outside of México broke out; he successfully put down the rebellion and the following year Mendoza appointed him “regidor” which means a member of a council of municipalities. Then a year later in 1538 at the age of twenty ei...
The Control of England in North America and Demise of the Spanish Power in the Atlantic
Drake made several voyages to the Caribbean with English seaman John Hawkins in the 1560’s, which were the early years of Drake’s career. They were not privateering voyages, but attempts to smuggle Spanish goods into the colonies. On the third voyage Hawkins’ fleet of six ships, one commanded by Sir Francis Drake, were driven into the Gulf of Mexico by a hurricane. The ships were led into the Vera Cruz port and demanded supplies. The Spanish however had a different plan of assaulting and killing many men and destroying four ships. Drake and Hawkins returned to England safely but, this incident led to Drake’s desire for revenge on the Spaniards.
John Beckett mentions that the Glorious Revolution has been considered a historical event related to the political issues. The main target of this historical event was to create a commercial freedom in Europe. After this revolution was done, trade relations in Europe went up, and the Bill of Rights was also created in 1689. Today, the Bill of Rights is shown and known that it was the first building stone for the British constitution because it limited the monarchic power. During the eighteenth century, the period of the Age of Enlightenment is considered between 1713 and 1789 because Anthony Pagden states that Europe was like a republic of states, and it was like a union acting together and talking with one voice. The Age of Enlightenment
The successes of the British colonies are clear, their dominance in naval warfare allowed for their ability to better supply their colonies, and the geographical location of their colonies allowed them to better supply themselves rather than wait on resupply from Great Britain. However, it is not entirely accurate to say that these are what caused Britain to better other colonial powers when facing similar hardship. It would be more accurate to say that the other colonial powers, France and Spain, lost the battle rather than Britain won it. Their methods were different, but the key difference lied in France’s inability to truly value its colonies. The British colonies not only were of large importance to the King of England, but they were also a beacon of hope and prosperity to the general population of the kingdom, which ensured their survival from the
“The Conquest of New Spain” is the first hand account of Bernal Diaz (translated by J.M. Cohen) who writes about his personal accounts of the conquest of Mexico by himself and other conquistadors beginning in 1517. Unlike other authors who wrote about their first hand accounts, Diaz offers a more positive outlook of the conquest and the conquistadors motives as they moved through mainland Mexico. The beginning chapters go into detail about the expeditions of some Spanish conquistadors such as Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, Juan de Grijalva and Hernando Cotes. This book, though, focuses mainly on Diaz’s travels with Hernando Cortes. Bernal Diaz’s uses the idea of the “Just War Theory” as his argument for why the conquests were justifiable
From 711-1492, Christian Spaniards lived under Moorish rule until eventually, the Christian Kingdoms took over during the Reconquista. The conflicts between the Muslims and Christians created a militaristic culture in Spain that surpassed that of any other European nation. Furthermore, being trained militarily was often exclusively attributed to the nobility however, in Spain, “many young men knew these skills and used them to their advantage.” Without a doubt, recently reconquering their homeland motivated the Spanish to a basis for expansion and conquest that most other European societies were lacking. In addition, the voyages of Christopher Columbus led to discovering the New World which undoubtedly contributed to added interest in conquest. Eventually, each conquest further raised Spanish hopes for fame and
Gunpowder’s effect on the world can be exemplified through the grand changes in weapons. This can be shown through the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 by the English navy. In this sea battle, the Spanish Armada outnumbered the English navy immensely turning the odds against the English. However, the Spanish Armada still used old boarding tactics while the English used advanced weaponry. In the end, “the English used their superior firepower to whittle away the Spanish forces” (Schlager). The English navy's victory over the Spanish Armada illustrates the effects of the invention of gunpowder. With the successful usage of advanced gunpowder based weapons, the English navy crushed the opposition even when the Spanish Armada clearly had the upper hand. The defeat of the Spanish Armada shows that weapons based on gunpowder allowed countries with smaller armies to have a higher chance in winning their fights. The gunpowder weapons proved to be a tactical advant...
Many people have heard of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. However, only some know of all the things they accomplished. They might be best known for funding the voyages of Christopher Columbus, but they also greatly contributed to the unity of Spain (“Isabella l”). Together, they brought many kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula together to form what Spain is today. Through Spain’s unification, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella strengthened Spain into an economic and dominant world power, enabling the spread of Christianity and the colonization of a New World.
The image of the Virgin Mary seen by Juan Diego has changed the world. About forty years after Mary’s appearance to Diego, it is believed to be a turning point in western civilization. At this time there were a lot of copies of the painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe being circulated around Europe and one ended up in the hands of Admiral Giovanni Andrea Doria. The King of Spain gave this special copy to him. There were three hundred Turkish ships blocking the Gulf of Lepanto and the admiral was given command of a squadron to sail to the blockade. The Christian fleet consisting of about three hundred ships was to meet the Turkish navy head on. However, the Turkish outmaneuvered the Christian forces. It is said that when this crucial hour was at hand, Doria went into his cabin to kneel and pray before the Image of Guadalupe. By nightfall the direction of the battle started to shift. One Turkish squadron was defeated and captured causing the others to panic which lead to the destruction of the whole fleet. Fifteen thousand Christians that were enslaved in the Turkish galleys were freed. This battle marked the end of the Ottoman Empire’s expansion into the western Mediterranean.1
The inquisition was a religious institution that policed the new Christians in the Iberian Peninsula. The inquisition was a by-product of hundreds of years of negative relations towards non-catholic people in Europe. It began around 1478 and in ended in 1834; during the three hundred and fifty-six years responses to the inquisition change immensely. This was partly due to many laypeople being indoctrinated by anti-Semitic and pro- Catholic propaganda. The pre-existing anti-Semitic feeling in Europe along with previous medieval inquisitions, helped to allow the Iberian inquisition to become a part of the Spanish and Portuguese way of life. This acceptance changed later in Iberian history because of the many factors lead to the abolishment of the Inquisition.
Spain was once of the powerful nations in Europe. However, by the 20th century it was poor and backwards country where corruption was experienced on a commonly basis. After losing its overseas possessions Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and Philippines during the Spanish-American War Spain was in a state of political tension due extreme measures of wealth, poverty and clearly social tensions. Essentially Spain was a deeply divided country during this time although it was a constitutional monarchy during 1920. During this year King Alfonso XIII remained as the royal figurehead however, Miguel Primo de Rivera was the dictator. The tension was between the right-wing Nationalists and left-wing Republican parties. The nationalist’s party was made up of monarchists, landowners, employers, the Roman Catholic Church and the army. The Republicans consisted of the workers, trade unions, socialists, and peasants. The nationalists were described as traditionalists and fascists, while the republicans were socialists and communists. The real political tension started occurring post 1930 when growing opposition to Miguel Primo de Rivera right-wing government started growing rapidly and leading to his resignation. Miguel Primo de Rivera was not able to solve Spain’s financial disaster from the result of the Great Depression, where unemployment rates increased drastically and Rivera never provided any solutions. Miguel was so unsuccessful throughout his dictatorship even the army refused to support his dictatorship. This then concluded in republican receiving the majority of the election votes, throwing out King Alfonso XIII the following year. The abdication of the King was the turning point; where Spain was now considered the Republic of Spa...