28 May: The Spanish Armada

On this date in 1588 The Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel. 10 things you might not know about this historic event.

1. Why was there a Spanish Armada in the first place? You can blame Henry VIII and his break from Rome so that he could divorce Catherine of Aragon. Philip of Spain did not recognise the divorce and believed Elizabeth I was therefore illegitimate. He'd also been married to her elder half sister, Queen Mary I. Philip wanted Catholicism to be reinstated in England, and Mary Queen of Scots to be queen. So it was essentially about religion with a family feud thrown in.
2. The word Armada means “Great and Most Fortunate Navy”.
3. The Spanish Armada consisted of 130 ships, some of which were fighting galleons, but many were converted merchant ships. It took two days for them all to sail out of Lisbon harbour. They carried about 30,000 soldiers, 180 priests, 2,500 guns, 14,000 barrels of Wine, 11,000 pairs of sandals and 4,990,000 kg of ship’s biscuits. The English fleet had more ships - 200 of them, but the Spanish had better guns. Their firepower was 50% greater.
4. The commander of the Armada was the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an administrator with no naval experience whatsoever. He hadn't even wanted the job, telling the king of Spain, “I know by the small experience I have had afloat that I soon become sea-sick.” Not only that, Sidonia was convinced Philip was making a big mistake, and wrote to him saying as much, and that it would take a miracle for it to work. Philip never received the letter - his counsellors were too afraid to show it to him. Instead, they threatened Sidonia with the loss of his "reputation and esteem" if he didn't do it, reassuring him that God was on their side and “nobody knows more about naval affairs than you”. (Politics hasn't changed much, has it?)
5. Nevertheless, Philip, known as "Philip the Prudent" spent two years planning the enterprise. He knew a little of the strength of the English navy, having been married to Queen Mary I, so he knew invading England wouldn't be straightforward. There was a set back in 1587 when England raided the port of Cadiz and destroyed thirty of Philip's warships. Philip had the support of the Pope, Sixtus V, who saw the whole thing as a holy crusade and allowed Philip to collect crusade taxes to fund his Armada. Philip also hoped that Catholics living in England would rise up and support his troops when they landed. There were also some merchants in England who, as one source put it, "placed profit ahead of patriotism" (Like I said, politics hasn't changed much) and supplied the Spanish with ammunition, gunpowder and ordnance. However, they were found out and sent to the Tower. It's unlikely they survived the experience.
6. The English fleet was led by Lord Howard and Sir Francis Drake. The latter is said to have insisted on finishing his game of bowls before setting sail against the Armada. It's likely his reason for doing that was because he knew the tide was against him and there wasn't much he could do until the tide turned, anyway.
7. Sir Francis Drake was the hero of the hour - but in reality he had his eye on financial gain. Instead of following orders to follow the Armada with a light in his stern to guide the rest of the fleet, he stopped to loot the Rosario, one of the Spanish ships which was floundering. Drake claimed he'd actually left his post to give chase to some strange ships which he'd assumed were Spanish but had turned out to be innocent German merchant ships. Since people believed Drake to be their national hero, he escaped a court martial but Martin Frobisher, the captain of another ship, was furious and said if Drake didn't share the spoils from the Rosario, he would "make him spend the best blood in his belly.”
8. The Armada encountered 66 English ships taking on supplies in Plymouth, but decided not to attack those. A mistake as the English ships gave chase and fired on them. The Armada retreated to the coast of France to await reinforcements, near a port called Gravelines. The English engaged with it there, sending ships on fire into their formation and using Spain's own tactics against them. They knew the Spanish marines would fire their guns and then climb the rigging ready to board the enemy ships, leaving inexperienced men to man the guns. By staying just out of range of a boarding party, the English fleet were able to gain the upper hand.
9. The actions of the English fleet caused the Armada to break formation with a number of ships having to "cut and run" which basically means cutting the ship free of its anchor and sailing off. Spain lost five ships during the battle, but returned home with only two thirds of the fleet. It turned out that the British weather, rather than the English navy, proved to be their undoing. After fleeing from the Channel, they regrouped in the North Sea, but the winds prevented them from taking the shortest route home. They had to go the long way, via the top of Scotland and the west coast of Ireland. More ships and men were lost to storms during that voyage than through the battle. Philip, of course, was not pleased. "I sent the Armada against men, not God’s winds and waves," he grumbled. When in 1596 and 1597 Philip sent more Armadas to try again, they too were defeated by the British weather.
10. The English were a little disappointed that they'd not destroyed more of the Armada themselves but nevertheless, Elizabeth was able to use the victory to enhance her own reputation. It was at a public appearance in Tilbury, Essex, once the danger had passed, that she said her famous line: “I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.” There was propaganda and fake news, too - a statement was issued, in verse, that even though fish had no doubt fed on the disease-ridden corpses of Spanish sailors, it was still safe to eat fish.

Closing the Circle

A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.

Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. 

Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.

The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.

Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.

Available from:

Amazon (Paperback)

Amazon Kindle

Completes The Raiders Trilogy. 

Other books in the series:

Book One

Book Two