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Why was the Spanish Armada defeated (Resources (Less important (Both sides…
Why was the Spanish Armada defeated
Tactics
Night on 7th August, English scattered the Spanish fleet
This broke up the Armada's formation
The use of fireships was very effective
Made it easier to defeat
The Spanish relied on effective communication but this was hard because of the lack of technology
Important reason
Could be picked off more easily
Lack of communication made objectives impractical and unrealistic
Spanish ships were scared so they ran away
Made Armada more vulnerable
Less Important
Fireships did not directly sink
Fireships failed to set light to any ships in Calais
Spanish fleet was not directly weakened by the English tactics
Resources
Spanish cannons had a shorter range and could only fire once
This meant that they could maintain fire from a longer range
English appeared as small targets
English ships were out of danger, so longer as the Spanish ships could not get close
This meant they were more manoeuvrable
This meant the Spanish could not board the English ships
English ships were smaller and faster
Less important
Both sides had around 2000 cannons across all their ships
Had similar number of ships but Spanish had slightly more battleships
Advantages in resources was very small
Important
This happened at the Battle of Gravelines
English sank 5 Spanish galleons and forced Spanish to retreat
Advantage in cannons and ships meant the English could sink more Spanish ships
Weather
Wind pushed the Armada into the North Sea after battle of Gravelines
This meant that the Spanish could not sail straight back towards Spain through the Channel
Fireship attack was only possible because the wind was blowing towards the Spanish ships were
Wind carrying fireships towards the Spanish fleet in Calais
Resulted in Spain having to take the long treacherous route around the north coast of Scotland and Ireland
Less important
At different points, the wind favoured different sides
Spanish could have attacked the English near Portland but the Spanish commanders chose not to attack
The wind did not always favour the English
Important
When the wind started to blow, Spanish ships were moored just off Calais
This created the possibility that English could use fireships against the Armada
Wind made the Spanish more vulnerable
Over 40 ships were wrecked on the north coast of Scotland
Weather directly sank many ships after Battle of Gravelines
Leadership
English commanders were fighting on home territory
The Duke of Medina Sidonia did not have a naval background
They were less knowledgeable about the complex tides and ocean currents
Phillip II made numerous of key mistakes
They were less experienced in fighting in the stormy English Channel
He failed to see the importance of capturing a deep water port in the Netherlands where Armada could have moored
Spanish commanders were less experienced in English conditions
More important
More experienced Naval commander might have been able to foreseen that the English could use fireships against the Spanish
When Spanish ships were moored at the coast of Calais, this made them an easy target
Duke of Medina Sidonia's Sidonia's made Spanish ships more vulnerable
Less important
Organisation and discipline of the Armada to maintain their crescent formation shows they had many skilful commanders
Francis Drake made a number mistakes y setting of on mission to gain personal glory rather than working or the good of the English cause
There was not much difference between the two sides