Could the Spanish Armada Have Succeeded?
Could the Spanish Armada have succeeded?
The relentless decline in relations between Spain and England post 1558 engender a feeling of certain inevitability within the hostilities that broke out in 1585. Although tension between the two countries was extremely high it took years of preparations to actually instigate war.
When Mary Queen of England died Philip lost all attachments with England and when Elizabeth came to power England no longer remained Catholic, Philip felt that England had now become an enemy rather than an ally. Prior to the Armada Elizabeth kept communication open with Philip and affirmed that they were both clear-cut associates, this was entirely fallacious as Elizabeth; a master at procrastination simultaneously was directing English Pirates to seize Spanish ships and goods in the West Indies. This was a continual irritation for Philip and generated hostility between the two sides but Elizabeth 's obvious support for Protestants in the Netherlands in their revolt against Spanish occupation caused massive aggravation for Philip and was the final push into war for Spain. Philip believed that it was his duty to lead Protestant England back to the true Church; he considered the Armada as a Holy Crusade ' and believed that, God 's service "required" him to intervene in order to liberate the Catholic Queen of Scotts and restore Catholicism in England '. 1. Work commenced on the Armada as early as 1584 although it would take years before it would be ready for battle due to the shear size of the fleet. The plans of attack were drawn up years before completion of the Armada and thought by Phillip to be the finest plan of attack. In fact when put into motion they were of such immense complexity that to achieve them was virtually unfeasible, the lack of technological advances along with almost non-existent communications made it theoretically unattainable. Ultimately contained in the initial plans of Attack were directions that unknowingly
The relentless decline in relations between Spain and England post 1558 engender a feeling of certain inevitability within the hostilities that broke out in 1585. Although tension between the two countries was extremely high it took years of preparations to actually instigate war.
When Mary Queen of England died Philip lost all attachments with England and when Elizabeth came to power England no longer remained Catholic, Philip felt that England had now become an enemy rather than an ally. Prior to the Armada Elizabeth kept communication open with Philip and affirmed that they were both clear-cut associates, this was entirely fallacious as Elizabeth; a master at procrastination simultaneously was directing English Pirates to seize Spanish ships and goods in the West Indies. This was a continual irritation for Philip and generated hostility between the two sides but Elizabeth 's obvious support for Protestants in the Netherlands in their revolt against Spanish occupation caused massive aggravation for Philip and was the final push into war for Spain. Philip believed that it was his duty to lead Protestant England back to the true Church; he considered the Armada as a Holy Crusade ' and believed that, God 's service "required" him to intervene in order to liberate the Catholic Queen of Scotts and restore Catholicism in England '. 1. Work commenced on the Armada as early as 1584 although it would take years before it would be ready for battle due to the shear size of the fleet. The plans of attack were drawn up years before completion of the Armada and thought by Phillip to be the finest plan of attack. In fact when put into motion they were of such immense complexity that to achieve them was virtually unfeasible, the lack of technological advances along with almost non-existent communications made it theoretically unattainable. Ultimately contained in the initial plans of Attack were directions that unknowingly
Bibliography: 1. C. Martin, G. Parker. ‘Armed neutrality 1558-80 ', The Spanish Armada Revised Edition. (1999). Pp.63. 2. C. Martin, G. Parker. Pp.265. 3. C. Martin, G. Parker. Pp.267. 4. C. Martin, G. Parker. Pp.139. 5. ‘The Armada – Difficulties and Blunders '. < http://johnsmilitaryhistory.tripod.com/armada.html > December 2004. 6. Ulm, Wes, ‘Objectives and Planning of the Armada '. < http://www.historybuff.com/library/refarmada2.html > December 2004. 7. C. Martin, G. Parker. Pp.175. 8. ‘Spanish Armada 1588 '. < http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/span-armada.htm > December 2004. 9. C. Martin, G. Parker. Pp.6.