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Spain vs. England: The Isle of Açores

The Hapsburg/Tudor rivalry came to a dramatic turn in 1588. The Hapsburg Empire infamously staged an invasion of England in which its Armada would victoriously sail up and around the English Channel to overthrow Elizabeth I. England had been well prepared for the Spanish attack and staged its defenses accordingly. On August 8, reports of the Spanish Armada nearing the Channel surfaced. The English engaged in a battle with the Spanish fleet near the port city of Gravelines, a territory of the Spanish Netherlands, also a strategic location to invade the English mainland. The Battle of Gravelines resulted in an uneasy English victory and weakened Spanish fleet, but few Spanish ships continued to sail near English waters. However, a series of violent storms put to rest any attempts of a Spanish invasion of England. The Armada returned to Spain in defeat; England began its reign of world supremacy.

The waning authority and supremacy of the Spanish Empire was not an immediate action following the defeat of the Armada. 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. The English, however, did not consider the reports of the victory as factual. As a result, Sir ...

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Raleigh considered his report to be a true account of the English defeat at the Battle at the Isle of Açores. As mentioned before, Raleigh’s social and political positions draws concern over the objectivity of his report. In a less than accurate account of the Battle, one would be able to discern the inconsistency between contemporary accounts of the battle and that of Raleigh’s. Likewise, the account would include an overzealous depiction of English valiancy. Raleigh’s only profound bias exists in his telling of the Spanish identity and the Catholic religion. Considering that the English defeated the Spanish Armada a few years prior, the Protestant and English Raleigh would abhor Spanish identity and Catholicism. Raleigh’s report, however, offers a fair representation of the Battle at Açores, as well as insight into the final years of the Tudor-Hapsburg rivalry.