The Spanish Armada arose in the 1580’s because the so-called “invincible” Spanish armada was on a mission to overthrow the heretic queen Elizabeth I. The Spanish also wanted to put an end to the English robbing their exports from America. Through six days of naval warfare, the English stood victors because of the innovative thinking and tactics by Sir Francis Drake. The Spanish Armada was a test of guts and strategy for both the Spanish and English Navy’s, but Sir Francis Drake, commander of the English Navy, decimated the Spanish fleet with revolutionary tactics.
The Spanish armada was known as the most powerful navy in the world and they were prepared to go overthrow Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabeth was known as a corrupt international political leader, she also encouraged her own Navy to rob Spanish ships that were caring valuable exports from America. The Spanish were ready for revenge; “nearly 140 ships and 24,000 men were supposed to rendezvous with an army of similar size in the Netherlands” (Tompson 1). With a navy this size aiming to overthrow the Queen, the odds were not in favor for the English. The Spanish were even known for having the world’s strongest navy. As they Spanish headed to the Netherlands to meet up with more troops and the other half of their navy, the English fleet intercepted them. On the first day “the English countered with a fleet about 200” they kept their distance and only “annoyed them with long range gunnery” (Tompson 1). As being outnumbered the English were very smart in keeping their distance. This was just the beginning of the English pestering the Spanish with their long-range gunnery. The Spanish armada was heavily weighted with foot soldiers to board the English vessels, but “the English f...
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...ck on the anchored down Spanish Armada. If it were not for this attack, the Spanish would have regrouped the next day with the other half of their army waiting in the Netherlands. Sir Francis Drake came home a war hero uplifted by a boost of national spirit. His out of the box tactics and his ability to make the English navy come together as one powerful force won the battle in the English channel.
Works Cited
Crompton, Samuel Willard. “The Spanish Armada.” Queen Elizabeth and England’s Golden Age. Philadelphia: Facts on File, Inc. Web. March 10, 2014.
“Drake, Sir Francis.” Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. March 11, 2014.
Tompson, Richard S. “Spanish Armada.” Great Britain: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present. New York: Facts on File, Inc. 2003. Modern World History Online. Facts on File, Inc. Web. March 10, 2014.
The passage from Bernal Díaz del Castillo’s The True History of the Conquest of New Spain is a clear example of a narrative source. Díaz is presenting his personal account of Hernan Cortes’s expedition into Tenochtitlan. An interesting aspect of this narrative is that it was written almost 50 years after the events described occurred . Bernal Díaz del Castillo was only 24 years old when on November 8, 1519 he and the rest of Hernán Cortés’s expedition first entered the city of Tenochtitlán . He did not finish his account, titled The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, which many suspect was intended as a slight to Francisco López de Gómara’s accounts of the expeditions , until 1567 . This was not his first travel to the New World, in fact, it was his fourth . Díaz del Castillo was 19 years old the first time he traveled to the Americas, this time was to Panama . Díaz later became a governor in Guatemala, mostly as a reward for his actions as a conquistador . The event that is commonly seen as spurring the not-well-educated Bernal Díaz del Castillo to write of his experiences with Cortés was the publication of Francisco López de Gómara’s Coleccion de historiadores primitivos de las Indias Occidentales, which Díaz saw as seriously flawed and underappreciating the work of the conquistadors . The book this passage comes from languished on shelves until it was published in 1632, posthumously .
The British army woke up the next morning and was amazed to see how much hard work took place that night by the American army. Since the British army was surrounded they had no other option but to surrender, and vacate the city.... ... middle of paper ... ... But he always learned from his mistakes.
up to a mile out to sea and the Armada's ships needed at least 20
Drake’s real opportunity came in 1577 when Queen Elizabeth gave him a grant to make the first circumnavigation of the world by an Englishman. On December 13th Drake sailed from Plymouth in the Golden Hind with four other small ships and about 160 men. They were set out to raid the Spanish property on the Pacific coast of the New World. He abandoned two ships in the Rio de Plata in South America, and, with the remaining three, navigated the Straights of Magellan.
Pretty, Francis. n.d. Sir Francis Drake's Famous Voyage Round the World. Hoboken, N.J.: BiblioBytes, n.d. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2014).
“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
Sir Francis Drake is known for England's defeat of the Spanish Armada. He was a sea dog and he sailed around the world. Drake was actually the first one to sail around the world since Magellan died in his journey.
...e gun, it seemed, the greater the owner‘s pride in it.” (McCullough 33) The Continental army certainly did not look like an army yet these people were brought together in this fight for freedom and prevailed even winning the support of Americans who had no hope the British would be defeated.” Merchant Erving had sided with the Loyalists primarily because he thought the rebellion would fail. But the success of Washington‘s army at Boston had changed his mind as it had for many” (McCullough 108). The reader must comprehend the power of this accomplishment for the rag-tag army. “Especially for those who had been with Washington and who knew what a close call it was at the beginning-how often circumstance, storms, contrary winds, the oddities or strengths of individual character had made the difference- the outcome seemed little short of a miracle.” (McCullough 294).
The Spanish Armada was one of the most important historical events during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The fleet, under the command of Duke Medina Sidonia, and named in Spanish “Grande y Felicísima Armada” or “Armada Invencible” which translated literally to the "Great and Most Fortunate Navy" or "Invincible Fleet”, was comprised of 130 ships, with the purpose of attacking England, overthrowing Elizabeth Tudor and her Protestantism, which was in direct conflict with the Spanish Catholicism under the rule of King Philip II of Spain. Nothing was to go right for the Spanish - the Armada chose not to advance on the English at Plymouth, then after fire ships damaged the Spanish fleet, they finally dropped anchor near Calais. What followed is known as the Battle of Gravelines, the primary battle, and with the loss of many of their fleet, they managed to regroup, and progress north, still pursuing English defeat. It proved that England had the weather in their favour as the winds harrying the Spanish picked up as they tried to advance on the West Coast, and consequently nearly a third of the fleet was lost to the Scottish and Irish coast.
Spain and England also had quarrels within their foreign policy through piracy. “Elizabeth herself had encouraged the activities of the English pirates, who plundered Philip's ships as they made their way from the New World, seizing their treasures.”(“Queen Elizabeth” Page 1). As England was the weaker of the two countries, Elizabeth I was paranoid about an attack from Spain. “Queen Elizabeth had heard mutterings of the intended invasion of England by Spain for some time.”(“Queen Elizabeth” Page 1) Because of these rumors, Elizabeth decided to tell English vessels to raid Spanish ships on
Sir Francis Drake, Greatest seaman of the 15th Century, was born and raised in Devonshire, England. He was presumably born in 1544 because of several paintings that he had gotten of himself when he was supposedly forty-two. The documentation on his life was not that accurate and many dates had to be assumed. Drake was the eldest of twelve children, which all of the children were boys. His father, Edmund Drake, was a protestant farmer and his mother, mary mylwaye was not a working women but had her own job as a stay at home mom. During his childhood there were many people who were persecuting christians, catholics, religious people, etc. Due to all the persecution, the family had to flee to a safer town called kent in England. As you may assume he became a “sea-dog” at a young age; 18 as a matter-of-fact and earned a command of his own ship in the 1560s (“Francis Drake History”). As they lived there, Drake’s father apprenticed him to a neighbor who was a master shipman of a barque. A barque is a ship that was used back then for transporting merchandise and other kinds of valuables to France. Drake was exceptionally good at his job and able to be single with no kids, the ship captain had gave Drake his ship, which he named The Pelican as a reward for having good character. This put Drake in control and at the helm of his first ship and thus sparking the infamous Sir Frances
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 house of Tutor brought England from one of the least powerful powers in Europe to be the supreme power of the world. In 1492 when Spain was the first country to capitalize of the discovery of the new world Spain became the richest nation in Europe. With that money they were able to finance the worlds most power navy at the time, which was called the Spanish Armada. When Philip II of Spain sent his entire armada with thirty thousand troops to invade England, the smaller faster English fleet defeated his giant armada. From that point on Spain was never a giant world power again and England reigned supreme for centuries. The monarch in power when this great battle happened was Elizabeth I.
The Spanish Armada, also known as the Invincible, was a fleet of about 130 ships in 1588, in hopes to defeat England. Its aim was to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and Tudor establishment of Protestantism in hopes to stop English interference in Spanish Netherlands. During the 1500’s, Spain attained great power over much of the world. As being the world’s leader, King Philip II wanted to convert Protestants to Church of Roman. Ultimately, the final events leading to his decision of invasion were the Treaty of Nonsuch and the continuous raids brought from Sir Francis Drake against Spanish commerce. King Philip also saw this opportunity to completely take over England in order to defeat the Dutch, while resolving the long-standing religious rivalry between each other.