The English Armada (also known as the Counter Armada, or The Drake-Norris Expedition, 1589) was a fleet of warships sent to the Iberian coast by Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1589, during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). It was led by Sir Francis Drake as admiral and Sir John Norreys as general, and failed in its attempt to drive home the advantage England had won upon the defeat and dispersal of the Spanish Armada in the previous year. This article is about Elizabeth I of England. ... Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588-08-08 by Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, painted 1796, depicts the battle of Gravelines. ... 1585 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. ... Events January 14 – Hampton Court conference with James I of England, the Anglican bishops and representatives of Puritans September 20 – Capture of Ostend by Spanish forces under Ambrosio Spinola after a three year siege. ... This article is about the Elizabethan naval commander. ... Sir John Norreys frequently referred to as John Norris (1547?–July 3, 1597) was a skillful and courageous English soldier of a Berkshire family of court gentry, son of Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys a life-long friend of Queen Elizabeth. ... For the modern navy of Spain, see Armada Española. ...

Aims and Planning

Queen Elizabeth's intentions were to capitalise upon Spain's temporary weakness at sea after the successful repulsion of the Spanish Armada and to compel Philip II to sue for peace. It was not a simple matter, and the expedition had three distinct aims: to burn the Spanish Atlantic fleet, to make a landing at Lisbon and raise a revolt there against Philip II, and then to continue south and establish a permanent base in the Azores. A further aim was to seize the Spanish treasure fleet as it returned from America to Cadiz, although this depended largely on the success of the Azores campaign. For other uses, see Lisbon (disambiguation). ... Philip II of Spain (1527 – September 13, 1598), King of Spain (r. ... A treasure fleet is being loaded with riches. ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World consisting of the continents of North America[1] and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... This article is about the Spanish city. ...

The critical calculation was based on an understanding of Portuguese politics. The Portuguese empire included Brazil, and the East Indies, among others, and trading posts in India and China. By securing an allegiance with the Portuguese crown, Elizabeth hoped to curb Spanish power in Europe and open up for her favourites the trade routes that these possessions commanded. The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and South-East Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and...

It was a tricky proposition, because the domestic aristocracy of Portugal had accepted Philip II as their king in 1580. The pretender to the throne, Antonio, Prior of Crato — last surviving heir of the House of Aviz — failed to establish an effective government in exile in the Azores, and turned to the English for support. But he was not a charismatic figure, and with his cause compromised by his illegitimacy, he faced an opponent with perhaps the better claim, in the eyes of the Portuguese nobles of the Cortes, Catherine, Duchess of Braganza. History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... Anthony I of Portugal (Portuguese: António) (Lisbon, 1531 – Paris, August 26, 1595), known by The Prior of Crato (and, rarely, as The Determined, The Fighter or The Independentist), was a grandson of Manuel I, claimant of the Portuguese throne during the 1580 crisis (struggle for the throne of Portugal... The House of Aviz is a dynasty of kings of Portugal. ... Hernán Cortés, 16th century Spanish conquistador Pablo Cortés, 18th century Spanish slave trader Corte (disambiguation), for the judicial bodies of the Spanish-speaking Americas, and the communes in France and Italy Cortes Generales (General Courts), usually just las Cortes, national legislative assembly of Spain The term Cortes... Catarina, Duchess of Braganza (pron. ...

The complex politics were not the only drawback for the expedition. Like its Spanish predecessor, the English Armada suffered from overly optimistic planning, based on hopes of repeating Drake's successful raid on Cadiz in 1587. A critical contradiction lay between the separate plans, each of which was ambitious in its own right. But the most pressing need was the destruction of the Spanish Atlantic fleet lying at port at La Coruña, San Sebastián and Santander along the north coast of Spain, as directly ordered by the Queen. 1587 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Torre de Hércules View from the Torre de Hércules A Coruña (Galician name, also known in English as Corunna; in Spanish as La Coruña) is a Galician city, in north-western Spain at 43° 22′ 0″ N 8° 22′ 60″ W. It is the capital of... Location Image:Donostia (San Sebastian), Euskadi location. ... Cantabria Population (2004) 183,799 inhabitants Area 34 km² Altitude 15 metres, at its peak Population density (2004) 5406 people/km² The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain between Asturias (to the west) and the Basque...

The expedition was floated as a joint stock company, with capital of about £80,000 — one quarter to come from the Queen, and one eighth from the Dutch, the balance to be made up by various noblemen, merchants and guilds. Concerns over logistics and adverse weather delayed the departure of the fleet, and confusion grew as it waited in port. The Dutch failed to supply their promised warships, a third of the victuals had already been consumed, and the number of veteran soldiers was only 1,800 while the ranks of volunteers had increased the planned contingent of troops from 10,000 to 19,000. The fleet also lacked siege guns and cavalry — items that had been lavishly laid on in the Spanish Armada expedition of the previous year — which raises serious doubts about the intentions of those in charge of the preparations.

Execution

When the fleet sailed, it was made up of 6 royal galleons, 60 English armed merchantmen, 60 Dutch flyboats and about 20 pinnaces. In addition to the troops, there were 4,000 sailors and 1,500 officers and gentlemen adventurers. Drake assigned his vessels to five squadrons, led respectively by himself in the Revenge, Sir John Norreys in the Nonpareil, Norreys' brother Edward in the Foresight, Thomas Fenner in the Dreadnought, and Roger Williams in the Swiftsure. Also sailing with them — against the Queen's express orders — was the Earl of Essex. A Spanish galleon. ... Dutch fluyts of the 17th Century A fluyt or a flute (IPA: ) is a type of sailing vessel originally designed as a dedicated cargo vessel. ... A pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a tender for guiding merchant and war vessels. ... Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (10 November 1566 – 25 February 1601), favourite of Queen Elizabeth I of England, is the best-known of the many holders of the title Earl of Essex. ...

Most of the ships lost in Philip II's expedition of 1588 had been armed merchantmen, while the core of the armada — the galleons of the Spanish navy's Atlantic fleet — survived their voyage home and docked in Spain's Atlantic ports for a refit, where they lay for months, vulnerable to attack. For the fictional unit of money called a galleon, see Money in Harry Potter. ... The Spanish Navy (in Spanish, Armada Espa ola) is the navy of Spain. ...

Unforeseen delays and a fear of becoming embayed in the Bay of Biscay led Drake to bypass Santander, where most of this refitting was underway, and attack A Coruña in Galicia instead. Norreys took the lower town and killed 500 Spaniards, while Drake managed to destroy a few unimportant ships. A feeble siege of a A Coruña's fortified upper town consumed their efforts for the next two weeks, with little to show. A pair of Spanish galleys slipped past the English fleet and repeatedly resupplied the defenders, forcing the English at length to abandon the siege and turn their attention to Lisbon, having lost four captains and several hundred soldiers in the fighting. Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name A Coruña (Galician) Spanish name La Coruña Postal code 15xxx Area code 34 (Spain) + 981 (A Coruña) Website http://www. ... Galicia (Spain) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Lisbon was said to be defended by a disaffected garrison, but while the English bloodied themselves at A Coruña the Spaniards spent a crucial fortnight shoring up Portugal's defences. When Norreys invested the city, the expected uprising was not forthcoming and little was achieved. Drake did take the opportunity on 30 June of seizing a fleet of Hanseatic ships, which had broken the English blockade on trade with Spain by sailing all around the north of Scotland only to fetch up before the English cannon in the mouth of the Tagus. This seizure later required a publicly-printed justification, a Declaration of Causes, from the Queen's own printer, as, without booty, she and her fellow English investors faced considerable losses. is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The foundations of the Hanseatic League (German: Hanse), an alliance of trading cities that for a time in the later Middle Ages and the Early Modern period maintained a trade monopoly over most of Northern Europe and the Baltic, can be seen as early as the 12th century, with the...

Despite the bravado of Essex, who thrust a sword in at the gates of the city with a challenge to the defenders, the English could not take Lisbon. Essex received Elizabeth's orders to return to court, and it was decided to concentrate on the third aim of the expedition, the establishment of a permanent base in the Azores. But the campaign had taken its toll. Drake's forces had initially caught the Spanish authorities off guard, perhaps mainly by sheer audacity, but were now suffering increasingly from disease.

It was soon understood that any attempt to land in the Azores was out of the question, and Drake made a final attempt to retrieve the mission. At this point, there were only 2,000 men fit to be mustered, after losing 17.000 men, and stormy weather had damaged a number of ships. While Norreys sailed for home with the sick and wounded, Drake took his pick of what was left and set out with twenty ships to hunt for the treasure fleet. He was struck by another heavy storm and was unable to carry out even that task, and while Porto Santo in Madeira was plundered, his flagship, the Revenge, sprung a leak and almost foundered as it led the remainder of the fleet home to Plymouth. For other uses, see Madeira (disambiguation). ...

Consequences

With the opportunity to strike a decisive blow against the weakened Spanish lost, the failure of the expedition further depleted the crown treasury that had been so carefully restored during the long reign of Elizabeth I. The Anglo-Spanish war was very costly to both sides, and Spain itself, also fighting France and the United Provinces, had to default on its debt repayments in 1596, following another raid on Cadiz. But the failure of the English Armada was a turning point, and the fortunes of the various parties to this complicated conflict fluctuated until the Treaty of London in 1604, when a peace was agreed. This article is about Elizabeth I of England. ... Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588-08-08 by Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, painted 1796, depicts the battle of Gravelines. ... The United Provinces (Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden/Provinciën, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands/Provinces — 1581–1795) was a European republic which is now known as the Netherlands. ... The Somerset House Conference. ...

Spain's rebuilt navy had quickly recovered and exceeded its pre-Armada dominance of the sea, until defeats by the Dutch fifty years later marked the beginning of its decline. With the peace, the English were able to consolidate their hold on Ireland and make a concerted effort to establish colonies in North America.

References

• Winston Graham The Spanish Armadas (reprint, 2001) pp.166ff. ISBN 0-14-139020-4
• R. B. Wernham, "Queen Elizabeth and the Portugal Expedition of 1589: Part I" The English Historical Review 66.258 (January 1951), pp. 1-26; "Part II" The English Historical Review 66.259 (April 1951), pp. 194-218. Wernham's articles are based on his work editing Calendar State Papers Foreign: eliz. xxiii (January-June 1589).

The most detailed account, written in the form of a letter by an anonymous participant (Anthony Wingfield), was published in 1589: A true Coppie of a Discourse written by a Gentleman, employed in the late Voyage of Spain and Portingale… which set out openly to restore the credit of the participants.

See also

Spanish Armada in Ireland The Spanish Armada in Ireland refers to the descent upon the coast of Ireland in September 1588 of a large portion of the 130 strong fleet sent by King Philip II of Spain for the invasion of England. ...

External links

• Wes Ulm, "The Defeat of the English Armada and the 16th-Century Spanish Naval Resurgence: A More Detailed Look at the Spanish Armada, its Immediate Results, its Long-Term Effects, and its Lesser-Known Aftermath"
• Library of Congress: Hans P. Kraus, "Sir Francis Drake: A Pictorial Biography": "The Beginning of the End: The Drake-Norris Expedition, 1589"