The loss of the Spanish Armada, off the coast of England in 1588, was a military disaster for the Spanish. Not only did it mean an end for Spanish plans to invade England, but the losses the Spanish suffered, particularly when it came to ships, were extremely expensive to replace. However, while the English did have a hand in defeating the Spanish fleet, it was the weather,that truly destroyed the Spanish Armada. For those Spanish who were lucky enough to survive, but were unfortunate enough to fall into English hands or to the local population, a horrible fate awaited them, for the English saw them as subhuman, but the Spanish also thought the same way about the English.
The loss of the Spanish Armada was a combination of a variety of factors. Not only did, the weather play a role, but the English recognizing the Spanish skill in boarding and close-quarter fighting operations and adjusting made the Armada even more vulnerable: "... The English adopted new tactics, which were to use their maneuverability and greater speed to fire cannon from a longer range." As such, the English were not often able to concentrate their fire enough to sink the Spanish ships but they did cause damage which would be detrimental on the Armada's journey in the North Sea. The English also used the Fireship which, even though the Spanish anticipated it, it still caused great damage to Spanish moral . "Receiving signals about the impending danger, anxious captains slipped or cut their cables to move out to sea... [and] lost precious anchors that they would need desperately during the epic that lay before them."
The subsequent Battle of Gravelines was inconclusive but once more succeeded in doing significant damage to the Spanish fleet. However, th...
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...of factors, ranging from Spanish designs for the Armada, to the inhospitable weather of the North Sea, to English tactical skill in negating Spanish superiority in numbers. The subsequent fate of those who were captured by the English or the local population varied. Some were killed outright, while others were stripped of anything of value and then killed. A small minority, Captain Cuellar among them, were able to make their way to sympathetic territory with the help of the local population and eventually made their way back to Spain, but the vast majority who became shipwrecked never saw Spain again.
Works Cited
Archer et al. World History of Warfare. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002.
De Cuellar, Francisco. (2011). "Captain Cuellar's Adventures in Connacht and Ulster," [Online]. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T108200/index.html. [2014 January].
Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca. "The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca" University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
Díaz del Castillo, Bernal. "The True History of the Conquest of New Spain." In Sources of Making of the West, by Katarine J. Lualdi, 269-273. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009.
Made famous by Theodore Roosevelt’s volunteer Rough Rider’s and the Buffalo Soldiers, the Battle of San Juan Hill (July 1, 1898), also known as The Battle of San Juan Heights, was the bloodiest battle of the Spanish American War. After landing on the beachhead, the US V Corps under the command of Major General William Shafter fought their way west toward the port town of Santiago. After an indecisive clash at Las Guasimas on June 24, Shafter readied his men to take the strategic heights around the city, while Cuban insurgents blocked any Spanish reinforcements arriving on the roads to the north, in what would be one of the most decisive battles of America’s “Splendid Little War.” 1
The trouble really began on December 1, 1598, when Zaldivar and most of his men were killed. They had reached the great fortress and camped two leagues away. “Three days later, with eighteen men, he ascended the rock to procure cornmeal the Indians had promised” (James 9). But without and warning, the Spanish detachment was attacked by Chief Zutucapan and his warriors. Zaldivar and twelve of his men were killed, while the rest survived and returned to Onate to tell him the news (James 9).
In A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Bartolomé de Las Casas vividly describes the brutality wrought on the natives in the Americas by the Europeans primarily for the purpose of proclaiming and spreading the Christian faith. Las Casas originally intended this account to reach the royal administration of Spain; however, it soon found its way into the hands of many international readers, especially after translation. Bartolomé de Las Casas illustrates an extremely graphic and grim reality to his readers using literary methods such as characterization, imagery, amplification, authorial intrusion and the invocation of providence while trying to appeal to the sympathies of his audience about such atrocities.
The Spanish defeat of the Aztecs has been extensively criticized for many years. Religion was a motive for discovery, enabled the Spanish to enter the heart of the empire, and was used as justification for torture of the natives. The centrality of religion as a force in Spanish conquest is undeniable. Virtually all of Aztec culture was destroyed and the Spanish victory has had lasting effects for both natives and Europeans up to and including the present-day.
Smitha, Frank E. “Rebellion against Spain in Latin America.” Macrohistory and World Report. Frank E. Smitha, 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .
“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
inexperienced and out of form with foreign combat, the U.S. quickly defeated the Spanish in
Preston, Paul. The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution and Revenge. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2007. Print.
The Conquest of New Spain Cortés came not to the New World to conquer by force, but by manipulation. Bernal Daz del Castillo, in the "Conquest of New Spain," describes how Cortés and his soldiers manipulated the Aztec people and their king Montezuma from the time they traveled from Iztapalaopa to the time when Montezuma took Cortés to the top of the great Cue and showed him the whole of Mexico and its countryside, and the three causeways which led into Mexico. Castillo's purpose for recording the mission was to keep an account of the wealth of Montezuma and Mexico, the traditions, and the economic potential that could benefit Cortés' upcoming conquest. However, through these recordings, we are able to see and understand Cortés' strategy in making Mexico "New Spain." He came as a wolf in sheep's clothing and manipulated Montezuma through his apparent innocence.
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...
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
Ronsley, Joseph, ed., Myth and Reality in Irish Literature, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Canada, 1977
In October 1805, the Battle of Trafalgar took place between the British Royal Navy and the combined Navies of France and Spain. The results of said battle were devastating to the French and Spaniards, but proved to be a great victory for the British. This victory was accomplished by the superiority of the British Navy in three aspects: leadership, tactics, and gunnery.