Why Did The Spanish Armada Fail?
Why did the Spanish Armada fail?
The Spanish Armada was a fleet of 130 ships which sailed from Spain in July 1588 with an intention of overthrowing protestant England ruled by Elizabeth I and making England Catholic once again. This sea battle was between Spain - King Philip of Spain and England - Sir Francis Drake. Sir Francis had sailed in the Cadiz harbour and set 30 of Spain’s most finest warships alight. Their surprise attack on England had failed because they’re spotted off Cornwall on 29th July. To help prepare England for attack, they had to warn everyone so they lit a bonfire to tell everyone the Spanish were gonna attack.
Spain had a fantastic fleet and are very confident but they have one problem, the Spanish commander, Duke of Medina Sidonia, suffered from seasickness! The spanish commander was very weak, inexperienced and had no naval background. This was a huge disadvantage because if the commander was seasick all the time down in the hull, he couldn’t tell the Spanish what to do and what strategies to use; this was one very big downside for the Spanish. Lord Howard had an advantage, because the commander was seasick all the time and couldn’t lead the Spanish in the right directions, Howard could tell the English where to go and where to attack. Duke of Medina Sidonia couldn’t do anything because he was seasick all the time! …show more content…
The Spanish sailed out in a crescent shape, which the English would find hard to attack so Sir Francis Drake attacks the Spanish ships with a weapon they fear the most - fireships. Eight old ships - with no one on of course, were filled with straw, gunpowder, tar and barrels of pig fat and then set alight. These fireships act like floating bombs and drift towards the Spanish, who panic and break their crescent formation when they seen
The Spanish Armada was a fleet of 130 ships which sailed from Spain in July 1588 with an intention of overthrowing protestant England ruled by Elizabeth I and making England Catholic once again. This sea battle was between Spain - King Philip of Spain and England - Sir Francis Drake. Sir Francis had sailed in the Cadiz harbour and set 30 of Spain’s most finest warships alight. Their surprise attack on England had failed because they’re spotted off Cornwall on 29th July. To help prepare England for attack, they had to warn everyone so they lit a bonfire to tell everyone the Spanish were gonna attack.
Spain had a fantastic fleet and are very confident but they have one problem, the Spanish commander, Duke of Medina Sidonia, suffered from seasickness! The spanish commander was very weak, inexperienced and had no naval background. This was a huge disadvantage because if the commander was seasick all the time down in the hull, he couldn’t tell the Spanish what to do and what strategies to use; this was one very big downside for the Spanish. Lord Howard had an advantage, because the commander was seasick all the time and couldn’t lead the Spanish in the right directions, Howard could tell the English where to go and where to attack. Duke of Medina Sidonia couldn’t do anything because he was seasick all the time! …show more content…
The Spanish sailed out in a crescent shape, which the English would find hard to attack so Sir Francis Drake attacks the Spanish ships with a weapon they fear the most - fireships. Eight old ships - with no one on of course, were filled with straw, gunpowder, tar and barrels of pig fat and then set alight. These fireships act like floating bombs and drift towards the Spanish, who panic and break their crescent formation when they seen