The Spanish Armada: Superior Commanding

(619). The Spanish admiral, Pascual Cervera, gloomily expected that his fleet would “like Don Quixote go out to fight windmills and come back with broken heads”. (619). With better ships, and guns, and men the battle in the sea didn’t last very long. Having the Spanish fleet up against a wall basically the entire fleet was destroyed or captured.

Facts On File, Inc. 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.

The English and Spanish were involved in further combat, particularly on the Iberian Peninsula. The Battle of Flores (1591), although fought in the Açores, represented England’s growing hubris, as the purpose of the expedition was to destroy the remaining Spanish fleet, stir a revolt against Philip II’s rule in Portugal, and establish a naval outpost in the Isle of Açores. The expedition was a failed military endeavor. The Spanish plundered the English fleet, a sight reminiscent of the English plunder of the Spanish Armada. Spain enthusiastically rejoiced in its victory over the English.

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Spanish leader King Phillip II had reasons to eliminate their arch-rival England. His reasons were to convert the Protestants in England to the Church of Rome and to eliminate one of the major sea-fearing rivals for economic wealth. In 1587, Francis Drake cruised off the coast of Spain and under Elizabeth's wishes; Francis Drake attacked the Spanish shipping, burnt the half-finished and unmanned ships at Cadiz, and did enormous damage to the Spanish navy. King Philip II at last convinced that Spain must invade England in order to dominate the region. But his inefficiency as an organizer was never more evident.

Firstly, the British were kidnapping American sailors. Britain was already involved in a heated naval war with France, and they were in desperate need of more sailors. Because the “British sailors were poorly paid, poorly fed, and badly treated,” (The American Journey 290) they deserted the British Royal Navy in hopes of a better life. As the number of deserters was steadily increasing, Great Britain resorted to stopping and searching any American vessel they could find to see if any deserters were aboard. The British managed to retrieve their original sailors off of the Ameri... ... middle of paper ... ...at sea, that America was ready to press for war to protect her people.

Some of the factors that have to be looked at was the American and foreign military support, Cornwallis defeat and the weapons used to defeat the British army and navy. These were some of the important factors that pushed the young American army into beating a military super power. September 5th, 1781, a French Naval Fleet inhabited the lower Chesapeake Bay, which was a major advantage

History of the Battle of the Spanish Armada The great naval battle between Spain and England in 1588- one of the most important battles in the history of the world- is known as the Battle of the Invincible Armada. But in a sense, this is a misnomer. An invincible armada is one that cannot be defeated, yet the mighty fleet of warships that Spain sent to invade England, was defeated so badly that Spain could never again rule the oceans. How was it possible that this armada, which had awed all of Europe with its size and strength, was unable to stand up against the forces of a much smaller and less powerful enemy? The answer lies in the differences between these two countries and their rulers, Elizabeth I of England and Philip II of Spain.

Lord Charles Howard intercepted it with a larger English fleet near Plymouth, and for the next week made small attacks on the Spanish in battles off of Plymouth, Portland Bill, and the Isle of Wight. Unable to break the Spanish Armada, they waited for their chance at a big blow. The opportunity finally arrived when the armada anchored near Calais, France, hoping to join troops scheduled to sail from the Netherlands. Ingeniously, Howard ordered ships set on fire to be sent against the armada, producing a panic that broke the Spanish formation. In the ensuing battle of Gravelines, on August 8, the Spanish were defeated by England and the armada sailed home with remaining ships that were heavily damaged to Spain; 67 of the original 130 ships reached Spain, most in poor condition.

McKinley was reluctant to start a war even though many people knew that America had to prove their power and dominance in the world to keep up with numerous growing empires at that time. On February 15, 1898 USS battleship Maine had an explosion killing 266 sailors when docked in Havana to protect American citizens and their interests; American people saw it as an attack on them and use... ... middle of paper ... ...an reputation would be far different. Works Cited 1. Alger, Russell The Spanish American War New York, Harper & brothers Publishers, 1901 2. Berbusse, Edward J The United Sates in Puerto Rico, 1898-1900 The University of North Carolina Press, 1966 3.