How did Catholicism and the Catholic plots contribute to Elizabeth’s poor relations with Spain?
- Religious rivalry between the two countries began
when Elizabeth established her Protestant Church in
1559 - Elizabeth increased penalties against Catholics in 1580s
following various Catholic plots - The Pope had excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570, and
Felipe II had been involved in the Ridolfi, Throckmorton
and Babington plots - Cardinal WILLIAM ALLEN was the Pope’s English
cardinal, and he urged the Pope to intervene in
England to restore Catholicism - Pope Sixtus V treated the invasion as a crusade, with
the promise of a subsidy if they succeeded
How did Elizabeth aiding Dutch rebels worsen relations with Spain?
- phillip II of Spain ruled the Netherlands, and in 1579, Elizabeth began sending aid to Protestant rebels led by the Duke of Anjou
- She sent the Duke £60,000 to support his aim of becoming King of the Netherlands
- On the 10th August 1585, she singed the Treaty of Nonsuch, Elizabeth I agreed to supply 6,400 foot
soldiers and 1,000 cavalry, led by Robert Dudley, the first Earl of Leicester
Why did Elizabeth sign the Treaty of Nonsuch in August 1585?
- The Treaty was provoked by the Treaty of Joinville between the Catholic league of France and Felipe
- Elizabeth wanted to protect Protestantism in Europe
- Elizabeth provided an army in return for access to Dutch trading ports (Brill and Flushing)
- If the rebels were defeated, Felipe could use the Netherlands as a base to invade England
Describe how Robert Dudley’s failures could have provoked Spain
- In December 1585, Dudley led English forces in the Netherlands after William of Orange’s death, in an
attempt to complete the Duke of Anjou’s work - Dudley then accepted the title of “Governor General”, implying that the Netherlands was under English
control, which provoked Felipe and Elizabeth also as she didn’t want war, it was too expensive and she wanted to negotiate instead - Dudley then had a poor campaign and then lost the war in 1587
- His work was still able to slow down the advance of the Spanish army under the Duke of Parma
Describe the 1568 Plunder
- In 1568, 5 Spanish ships containing 400,000 florins (£85,000) worth of treasure were
sheltered in the English channel - English pirates performed a plunder from the ports of Plymouth and Southampton
- The English government led by Cecil gave permission
- Spain responded by seizing English property in the Netherlands, and the English then
responded by seizing Spanish property in England - The Spanish then closed the Antwerp port to English ships
Describe the Commercial rivalry between England and Spain during this time
- England had a lucrative woolen cloth trade with Antwerp before 1550, but after Spain took the
Netherlands under tighter control (and after shutting down the port to English ships), English trade broke
down, and they had to find trade elsewhere in India and Russia - Spain controlled the New World, including Mexico, Peru, Chile and the Caribbean. England had no settlements in the new world, so the Spanish held a monopoly on accessing the new wealth these lands brought.
Spain insisted on traders in the new world being licensed by them, and ofc refused licences to english traders meaning that English explorers illegally traded with colonists who were short on many goods, or attacked Spanish fleets for treasure
- Liz financed merchants such as Francis Drake from stealing from Spanish ships, also encouraged Dutch rebels to attack Spanish ships, leading to Spanish losing money, meaning they couldn’t pay their soldiers, leading to the attack on Antwerp in 1576
- Brought them closer to war, and Liz knighted Francis drake, infuriating Phillip and showing him that Elizabeth approved of the actions of the privateers and dramatically increased hostility
Describe the 1579 Cacafuego
During his circumnavigation of the world, Drake attacked Spanish settlements on the West coast of South America. In February 1579 he reached Callao and attacked 12 Spanish ships, capturing large quantities of coin. Drake then pursued the ‘Cacafuego’, (A Spanish treasure ship) and captured its cargo, worth £140,000
Describe the 1572 ‘Nombre de Dios’
Francis Drake knew that Spanish ships full of gold and silver were anchored at Nombre de Dios. He attacked the town with 2 ships and 100 men, and seized silver worth about £20,000
(30 Million in today’s poond)
Describe the 1568 San Juan de Ulua
On his third voyage carrying slaves to the New World, John Hawkins was attacked by the Spanish at San Juan de Ulua in Mexico. Hawkins lost 4 ships and over 300 men. England retaliated by seizing a Spanish bullion ship that was sailing from the Netherlands to pay the Spanish army
Describe the 1562 and 1564 slaving voyages
John Hawkins made two voyages, financially backed by many of Elizabeth’s courtiers. He sailed to West Africa and bough slaves. He then took them across the Atlantic and sold to colonists in the New World. This was an illegal attempt to break into Spain’s trading empire
Name two types of Spanish fleets and give their features
Flotilla - fleets carrying silver from Mexico to Spain
Galleons - fleets carrying silver from Peru to Spain
Why was Felipe II slightly hesitant to invade England?
He feared that an alliance between Mary and Elizabeth would form. Their political rivalry with France meant that he preferred to have Elizabeth as Queen rather than Mary
Describe the Spanish preparations for war with England
- Had troops waiting in Scotland to invade in England
Describe Drake’s raid on Cadiz
News of Felipe assembling a great Armada reaches England, and Drake persuades Elizabeth to allow him to attack the port of Cadiz, which wasn’t well defended, as fewer naval ships were anchored there, but the port was the centre for a large number of naval supplies. In April 1587 Drake sailed into Cadiz harbour and began to attack the ships anchored there, He destroyed around 30 ships and seized many tonnes of supplies. Drake also captured the San Felipe, a Spanish ship returning from the Americas laden with gold, spices and silk
Describe the impact of Drake’s raid on Cadiz in 1587
- It delayed the Spanish Armada by over a year,
destroying about 30 ships - Obtaining fresh supplies and weapons was very
expensive and seriously strained Spain’s finances - Drake captured more than 1000 tons of planks made
from seasoned wood, which were needed to
make the barrels used to carry food and water. As a
result ,the Spanish had to make their barrels from
unseasoned wood, which couldn’t preserve food and
water well (rotted and water supplies lost) - The valuable cargo Drake acquired covered the cost of
Drake’s expedition, and enabled Elizabeth to
improve England’s defences - Affected the morale of the Spanish troops and sailors (Undermined Felipe’s authority)
- Gave England crucial time to prepare
Describe the sailing of the Spanish Armada up to just before the Battle of Gravelines
The Armada set out in May 1588, but was delayed by several weeks due to bad weather in the Bay of Biscay and by an attempt of an English fleet to intercept it. In July the Spanish fleet was sighted off Cornwall and beacons were lit along the south coast to notify Elizabeth in London. English ships set sail from Plymouth to meet the Armada. The English navy carried out a few minor raids, but was unable to inflict much damage. Only 2 Spanish ships were lost, and they were destroyed accidentally.
On 27 July, the Armada anchored off Calais in a tightly packed defensive crescent formation, not far from Dunkirk, where Parma’s army, reduced by disease to 16,000, was expected to be waiting, ready to join the fleet in barges sent from ports along the Flemish coast. Communication was more difficult than anticipated, and word came too late that the Parma army had yet to be equipped with sufficient transport or to be assembled in the port, a process that would take at least six days. As Medina Sidonia waited at anchor, Dunkirk was blockaded by a Dutch fleet of 30 flyboats under Lieutenant-Admiral Justinus van Nassau. Parma wanted the Armada to send its light pataches to drive away the Dutch, but Medina Sidonia would not send them because he feared he would need these ships for his own protection. There was no deep-water port where the fleet might shelter.
On the 28th July, the English sent our 8 fireships (hellburners) filled with flammable objects such as gunpowder and tar. Medina Sidonia’s flagship and the principal warships held their positions, but the rest of the fleet cut their anchor cables and scattered in confusion. No Spanish ships were burnt, but the crescent formation had been broken, and the fleet found itself too far leeward of Calais in the rising southwesterly wind to recover its position. The English closed in for battle.
Describe the formation of the Armada and its purpose
The Armada sailed in a crescent formation. This was an effective defensive strategy which used the large, armed galleons to protect the weaker supply and troop ships
Armada numbers
- Around 130 ships (22 galleons)
- Manned by about 8000 experienced sailors
- Carrying about 19,000 soldiers
- Remainder were servants and priests
Describe the PLANNED Spanish invasion of England
- Felipe appointed the Duke of MEDINA SIDONIA to lead the Armada, as Felipe respected his high
social status and trusted him to obey instructions. However the Duke had little military experience,
and tried unsuccessfully to turn down the command - The Spanish had thousands more soldiers stationed in the Netherlands under the Duke of Parma.
Felipe’s plan was for the Armada to meet the Parma army at Dunkirk. The combined forces would then
sail across the channel to England under the protection of the Armada’s warships
Describe the battle of Gravelines
After the fireships incident :0 the Spanish ships under Medina Sidonia regathered at the port of Gravelines, and the weather made it impossible for them to return to their defensive position at Calais. The English moved in. The English had learnt of the Armada’s weaknesses during the skirmishes in the English Channel - that it was possible to get within 100 yards to penetrate the oak hulls of the Spanish ships. The battle lasted many hours. 5 Spanish ships were sunk, and the rest of the fleet was forced to sail away from the French coast and into the North sea, where they were followed all the way to Scotland by an English fleet, to ensure that they didn’t regroup with Parma
(More info on y they lost on another fc)
What were some of England’s strengths that allowed them to defeat the Armada?
- They had discovered the Armada’s weakness during previous skirmishes in the English channel. and
found out that it was possible close to within 100 yards (91 m) to penetrate the oak hulls of the Spanish
ships - this allowed them to keep their distance, and stay out of the range of Spanish ships, which aimed
to board the enemy vessels and beat them in hand to hand combat. The English fired broadsides (barrages of cannonballs) which could sink them. - The English had improved their ship building, giving them several technological advantages. Spain relied on large ships which were heavy and difficult to manoeuvre, while the English had long, narrow ships designed by John Hawkins, which were faster and easier to handle. New technologies such as lateen sails allowed speed and agility, and more precise performance in battles and raids
- English cannons could be reloaded faster than Spanish ones
- They had experienced, expert sailors e.g. Drake and Hawkins
What were some Spanish weaknesses that led to the defeat of the Armada?
- Most of Spain’s men lacked experience of naval warfare, whereas the English fleet was manned by
experienced soldiers - The Spanish plan to meet Parma at Dunkirk was heavily flawed. Spain didn’t control a deep water port
where the Armada could anchor safely, so the ships were extremely vulnerable to an attack while it waited for Parma’s troops to escape the Dutch blockade. The ships were also more easily buffeted by the wind, which would’ve played a part in losing formation - Spanish heavy guns could not easily be reloaded because of their close spacing and the quantities of
supplies stowed between decks, as Drake had discovered on capturing the damaged Nuestra Señora
del Rosario in the channel. Instead, the Spanish gunners fired once and then transferred to their
main task (English could fire consecutively, Spanish designed to fire once) - There was no efficient communication between the Duke of Medina Sidonia and Duke or Parma, they couldn’t know where each one was
Which ship did Drake capture that allowed him to identify a Spanish weakness during the battle of Gravelines?
The Nuestra Señora del Rosario
What were some aspects of luck that helped the English defeat the Spanish Armada?
- The death of Spain’s leading admiral - Marquess de Santa Cruz, in February 1588, led to the appointment of the
inexperienced Medina Sidonia to lead the Armada - The weather made it impossible for the Spanish fleet to return to the English Channel after the battle of
Gravelines, forcing it to travel into the dangerous waters off the Scottish and Irish coasts
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Origins of the Cold War95
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The Three Crises66
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The end of the Cold War (1969- 1991)98
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Medieval Medicine (1250-1500)49
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The Great Plague8
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Renaissance Medicine58
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Jenner, Koch and Pasteur30
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Nightingale, Simpson and Lister46
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Case Study: Cholera in London23
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The Public Health Act, 187523
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Penicillin and Magic Bullets14
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Modern Medicine53
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The Weimar Republic (1919-29)69
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Hitler's Rise To Power (1919-33)69
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Major Events Leading Up To Hitler's Chancellorship6
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Nazi Control and Dictatorship63
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Life in Nazi Germany (1933-39)73
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Trenches and Weapons21
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Key WW1 Battles29
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WW1 Injuries17
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Elizabethan Challenges Home and Abroad32
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Catholic Plots Against Elizabeth38
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Elizabeth's Early Problems28
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The Religious Settlement (1558-1559)28
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Elizabeth and her Government14
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War with Spain41
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The Poor and Living Standards40
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Elizabethan Education and Leisure21
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Exploration and Discovery25
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Paper 2 crit26
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ww1 overview9
