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GCSE History The Elizabethans Elizabethan Adventurers and the War with…
GCSE History
The Elizabethans
Elizabethan Adventurers and the War with Spain
The Spanish Armada
In 1588, King Phillip of Spain sent an Armada of 170 ships to attack England.
Phillip wanted Elizabeth dead, and wanted to convert England to Catholicism, and to be part of his Empire. He was angered because the English had helped the Dutch rebels, and because of the trouble that Francis Drake had caused him by stealing his gold and destroying his ships.
Why the Armada failed
Tactics
The Spanish leader, the Duke of Medina Sidonia was a a soldier, not a sailor, and suffered from sea-sickness. He also refused to listen to the advice of his vice-admiral, who was a navy officer, and had experience at sea.
The English leaders, Lord Howard of Effingham, Sir Francis Drake, and John Hawkins had years of experience, and knew the waters in the English channel like the back of their hands.
Drake sent a number of fire ships into the Spanish fleet while they were harboured in Calais, causing panic.
Weather
Storms resulted in 50 Spanish ships being wrecked.
Luck & Allies
The Duke of Parma was supposed
to bring an army which the Armada
would pick up at Calais, and take to
England, so that they could then invade
England by land.
The Spanish had been intending
to use the Armada mainly as a
means to take the Duke of Parma's
army across the English channel.
It was never supposed to be a sea
battle: it was meant to be a land fight.
However, the Duke of Parma's Army
didn't turn up on time.
Ships and Weapons
The English ships were smaller, faster, and more manoeuvrable.
English Guns had a larger range, but there were only 150.
The Spanish Ships were like huge floating castles.
The Spanish preferred to try and pull alongside their enemies and board the ships to fight hand-to-hand
The Story of the Armada
1) 170 ships set out from Lisbon.
2) The Armada was first sighted from Cornwall on July 29th. Beacons were lit along the coast to warn everyone.
Drake probably didn't really insist on finishing his game of bowls. This story was almost certainly made up as an analogy for how casual and sure of himself he was that he could defeat the Armada
3) The English launched their ships and chased the Spanish through the Channel. Not a single ship was sunk.
4) on August 6th, the Spanish anchored near Calais to wait for the Duke of Parma's army to arrive. They didn't. Drake sent burning fire ships into the port, causing the armada captains to panic and sail away.
5) Dutch ships blocked the Duke of Parma's army in the Netherlands, stopping the Spanish soldiers from joining up with the Armada.
6) On 8th August, the Battle of Gravelines took place. The English ships attacked the Spanish for 9 hours. One Spanish ship was sunk, and 1000 Spanish men were lost, but only 50 English were killed, and no ships were lost.
7) The Spanish ships were driven north by the winds. They tried to flee back to Spain by sailing around the top of Scotland. Many sailors became sick from polluted water and rotten food, and other starved.
8) Powerful storms wrecked about 44 of the ships off the west coast of Scotland and Ireland. Thousands of Spanish died. Some survivors swam ashore but were attacked by Irish.
9) Only half of the Armada returned to Spain.
Adventurers
Sir James Lancaster
Sailed to the East
On his first voyage, the portuguese stopped him from trading.
Invested in the East India Company
Sir Francis Drake
Between 1577 and 1580, he circumnavigated the globe
(sailed all the way around the Earth)
He planned to explore the coast of South America looking for opportunities for English colonisation, and pillaging Spanish ships and ports along the way.
When he returned to England, he was Knighted.
He was a privateer, which meant he was like a pirate, but did it in the name of Queen Elizabeth, and stole for England's gain, so she didn't have him killed.
Sir Walter Raleigh
A privateer similar to Drake
He funded expeditions to establish England's colony.
Ralph Fitch
In 1583, he sailed to Syria, then made the journey to India.
He gained knowledge of the trade route between England and India
He discovered the wealth of places like India and China
Sir Humphrey Gilbert
Driven by his hatred of the Spanish.
Sailed around the top of America to reach China
He failed to establish a colony because it was too barren and cold in northern Canada.
John Dee
One of Elizabeth's Advisors - he advised on science and astrology.
He planned to shift the balance of power to England from Spain by advising Queen Elizabeth to establish colonies in North America
He called his vision The British Empire
The Colonisation of Roanoke
Raleigh wanted to establish a colony on Roanoke Island to begin a British Empire.
He hoped they would be able to find gold and silver
He wanted to establish Roanoke as a base from which to attack Spanish treasure ships
However, violent storms meant that the colony lost lots of supplies.
There was a lack of trust between the English and Algonquian people (natives of Roanoke island)
Phillip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe discovered the Island of Roanoke in July 1584
The Queen refused to let Raleigh go to Roanoke himself, so he sent his cousin Richard Grenville and a military commander named Ralph Lane to go in his place.
The Colony started well, despite the loss of supplies on the journey. Relations with the native Algonquians were good.
However, it began to go downhill very quickly. The Algonquians mistook a silver cup shown to them by the English a gift. In anger, the English burnt down their village.
In September 1585, Richard Grenville returned to England for supplies, leaving 100 men in a small fort under the command of Ralph Lane.
Harsh conditions meant there was not enough food for the explorers. They began to starve.
In the spring, the English were angry at the Native Americans for not helping them through the winter. They attacked, and the Algonquian chief, Wingina, was killed.
In June 1586, Drake arrived to see the settlement. He discovered an island on the verge of war. So, he took the colonists back to England with him. Grenville arrived a little later, and found no-one. He left men, including John White.
In 1587, John White left Roanoke, and returned to England, to find them preparing for the Armada. He was not allowed to return until the Armada was defeated.