Page 15 - NS-2 Textbook

8 MARITIME HISTORY

crusade against the uheretic and usurper" Queen Eliza- During their first encmmters in the English Chmmel,
beth I in Protestant England. Having proved himself and each side used more than 100,000 rounds of shot. Span-
his great fleet at Lepanto, Philip accepted this task. ish fire had little effect because of the distance kept by the
Elizabeth, on the other hand, wanted to protect her English ships. The English pounded the Spanish ships,
throne against the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots. She causing many casualties on the packed decks but little
began to strengthen England's defenses against the at- daJllage to the hulls.
tack she knew would soon come from Spain. After se- Ignoring a chance to attack the English off Plymouth,
curing England's flank by an alliance with the king of the Spaniards sailed on up the chmmel. The English
France, she secretly released her forhme-seeking seamen picked away at them with little effect. But by the time
to raid Philip's treasure ships from the New World, a Medina-Sidonia sought rest and resupply in the neutral
practice called "privateering." And she began rebuilding French port of Caiais, he found that he had fired all of his
her navy. heavy shot. During the night, Howard sent eight fire-
The privateering of the English "seadogs"-Sir Fran- ships into the Spanish ships anchored at Caiais, forcing
cis Drake, Martin Frobishel; and Sir John Hawkins-was the Spaniards out in confusion during darkness. The next
extremely successful and pleased the queen. In 1578 Sir day the English and their Dutch allies attacked without
Francis Drake, the most famous of the English raiders, fear of the now-silent Spmush glms, facing only the small
sailed his Goldel! Hi1ld into the Pacific through the Strait border-repellers and muskets.
of Magellan and raided Spanish cities and shipping Howevel; the English supply system also proved to
along the west coast of South America. He returned to be inadequate. After Howm'd had Slmk two Spanish
England in 1581 via the Cape of Good Hope, laden with ships, driven three onto the rocks, and littered the enemy
gold, silver, and jewels ·worth half a million pounds ster- decks with casualties, he too ran out of ammunition. But
ling (equal to many millions of today's dollars). Queen the Spanish were already on the run. With the wind
Elizabeth accepted the treasure and knighted Drake on against them and the English behind them, the Spaniards
the quarterdeck of his ship. fled northward into the North Sea, intending to round
Elizabeth had a significant advantage in her superb Britain and Ireland to get home.
seanlen. The ·widespread privateering had created a If the English ammUlution had held out, they probably
group of men who had great knowledge of ships and the would have crushed the Spanish Armada then and there.
sea. With these seadogs in command of the world's best As it "vas, hunger and thirst, St01TI1S, and poor navigation
sailors, England prepared to meet Spain in a great con- finished the task for the English. About forty of the Span-
test for supremacy on the seas. ish ships sank at sea, and at least twenty were wrecked on
the rocky shores of Scotland and Ireland. In October, only
about half of the great naval force that Philip had confi-
DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMADA
dently sent to conquer England rehl1'lled to Spain.
In the early summer of 1588 Philip sent forth what he be- The failure of the Armada marked the beginning of
lieved to be an 1mbeatable naval armada. Its purpose was Spain's decline. The defeat of the Armada was a signal to
to stop the English raids on his ships and ports and to seafaring nations, especially England, France, and the
bring England back into the Catholic Church. The Span- Netherlands, to strike out for colonies and commerce
ish Annada consisted of a fleet of 124 galleons with 1,100 around the world. The fact that these efforts often in-
gtms. It was crewed by 8,000 sailors and carried 19,000 volved taking over territories and trade routes claimed
soldiers, all under the command of the Duke of Medina- by the king of Spain made little difference to the
Sidonia. mariners. TIley did not attempt to conquer Spanish
To oppose it, the English had reinforced the queen's colonies in Centrai and South America. But pirates and
34 men-of-war with 163 armed merchantmen, 16,000 privateers often phmdered the Spanish Main, stretching
men, and 2,000 glms. The English fleet was under the from Colombia and Panama to the islands in the
overall command of Charles Howard, lord admiral of Caribbean. Asia, Africa, and North America east of the
England. Mississippi River were considered wide open for colo-
So the scene was set. The Armada had fewer gtms, nization and trade.
but had superior total firepower. The English had
smaller ships and long-range culverins (a type of can- ENGLAND BUILDS ITS EMPIRE
non). The English had an advantage in maneuverability,
clear decks, and range. King Philip's orders were to England's efforts at colonization in the seventeenth cen-
"grapple and board and engage hand to hand." But the hoy were paid for by private groups who received char-
English intended to fight with guns alone, for they car- ters (licenses) for that purpose from the Crown. TI,e first
ried fewer soldiers. The sailors and marines doubled as successful colony in North America was founded in 1607
antiboarding defenders and cannoneers. at JaJIlestown, Virginia. Later colonies in Massachusetts,