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Why did the Spanish Armada fail? - Coggle Diagram
Why did the Spanish Armada fail?
Tactics
Spanish
plan - too ambitious - impractical - lack of communication - between Duke of Parma and Armada
English
English use of fire ships - effective - 7th August - fire ships broke the Armada's formation - easier to defeat
made Armada more vulnerable - Spanish ships scared and ran away in different directions - easier for English to defeat them
Fire ships didn't directly sink any Spanish ships - failed to light ships anchored in Calais - S not directly weakened by E's tactics
Resources
English
ships faster and smaller - more manoeuvrable - Battle of Gravelines - english ships were able to avoid fire of Spanish guns due to this advantage
E sinks could sink more S ships in battle
Battle of Gravelines - E sank 5 S galleons - forced S to retreat
advantage was small - 2000 canons each side - similar number of ships
Spanish
canons had shorter range and could only fire once - E able to maintain fire from a longer range - E ships out of danger as long as S ships weren't close
S ships - more battleships whereas E's ships - merchant ships
Weather
wind carried fire ships towards S fleet in Calais
fire ships unmanned - E depended on weather
wind pushed Armada into North Sea after Battle of Gravelines
S couldn't sail back to Spain through English Channel - had to take long route around north coast of Scotland and Ireland
**weather directly sank S ships after Battle of Gravelines - over 40 wrecked.
S ships vulnerable - wind allowed possibility of E fire ships against S in Calais **
weather advantages were small - S had favourable wind for attacking E near Portland but S commanders chose not to
Leadership
English
E commanders more experienced - more knowledge on currents and complex tides of English Channel - fighting in known home territory
Spanish
S commanders less experienced - used to calm mediterranean water - but English water is complex - Duke of Medina Sidonia - leader of Armada - had no naval background/knowledge
Sidonia's decision made S ships vulnerable - easy target when moored in Calais - experienced commander would have foreseen E's use of fire ships
Philip II - unclear instructions - failed to see importance of Armada mooring in a port in Netherlands - waiting for Duke of Parma's army
Armada's crescent formation - S skillful commanders - Francis Drake - worked for personal glory - made mistakes - so leadership was not so different