Why Did the Spanish Armada Fail?
Why did the Spanish armada fail?
Introduction
The Spanish armada started in 1588 and finished around a month later. The Spanish lost dramatically for several reasons. This essay will tell you why the Spanish failed so badly and why England won.
Admirals
Medina Sidonia the Spanish admiral was not as strong as the English admirals Drake and Howard for a lot of reasons. This will have caused the Spanish a major setback from winning the Spanish armada because they would not have been as strong as the English navy. Medina was not as strong as drake and Howard because he had never commanded a navy at sea before. If the Spanish had maybe chosen an admiral that had commanded at sea before they might have had a greater chance of winning.
Also the Spanish admiral suffered from sea sickness. I think that this is a reason why the Spanish armada failed because I am sure he would have lost his concentration when planning attacks and formations. Medina chose to put his ships in the formation of a crescent. This wasn’t a good choice because it would have been harder for the ships to move and react to the English ships however though it would have given them great protection.
Drake and Howard however worked as a great team and both balanced each other out really well. They balanced each other out well because Howard wanted to move slowly and wouldn’t attach until he was sure he would win against the Spanish whereas drake wanted to attach as soon as he could.
Tactics of the English
Overall I think that the English had much better tactics than the Spanish. Firstly the English decided that they didn’t want to fight at a close range they wanted to fight far away with the guns on their ships. They ‘snapped at the heels of the Spanish fleet and wore it down.’
Another reason why I think the Spanish armada failed is because they weren’t as used to the choppy English Channel as the English sailors. This was a good advantage to the English navy because not as many ships would have
Introduction
The Spanish armada started in 1588 and finished around a month later. The Spanish lost dramatically for several reasons. This essay will tell you why the Spanish failed so badly and why England won.
Admirals
Medina Sidonia the Spanish admiral was not as strong as the English admirals Drake and Howard for a lot of reasons. This will have caused the Spanish a major setback from winning the Spanish armada because they would not have been as strong as the English navy. Medina was not as strong as drake and Howard because he had never commanded a navy at sea before. If the Spanish had maybe chosen an admiral that had commanded at sea before they might have had a greater chance of winning.
Also the Spanish admiral suffered from sea sickness. I think that this is a reason why the Spanish armada failed because I am sure he would have lost his concentration when planning attacks and formations. Medina chose to put his ships in the formation of a crescent. This wasn’t a good choice because it would have been harder for the ships to move and react to the English ships however though it would have given them great protection.
Drake and Howard however worked as a great team and both balanced each other out really well. They balanced each other out well because Howard wanted to move slowly and wouldn’t attach until he was sure he would win against the Spanish whereas drake wanted to attach as soon as he could.
Tactics of the English
Overall I think that the English had much better tactics than the Spanish. Firstly the English decided that they didn’t want to fight at a close range they wanted to fight far away with the guns on their ships. They ‘snapped at the heels of the Spanish fleet and wore it down.’
Another reason why I think the Spanish armada failed is because they weren’t as used to the choppy English Channel as the English sailors. This was a good advantage to the English navy because not as many ships would have