The Spanish Armada
A History
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In this dramatic hour-by-hour, blow-by-blow account of the Spanish Armada's attempt to destroy Elizabeth's England, Robert Hutchinson spins a compelling and unbelievable narrative.
After the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558, Protestant England was beset by the hostile Catholic powers of Europe, including Spain. In October 1585, King Philip II of Spain declared his intention to destroy Protestant England and began preparing invasion plans, leading to an intense intelligence war between the two countries and culminating in the dramatic sea battles of 1588.
Popular history dictates that the defeat of the Spanish Armada was a David versus Goliath victory, snatched by plucky and outnumbered English forces. In this tightly written and fascinating new history, Robert Hutchinson explodes this myth, revealing the true destroyers of the Spanish Armada—inclement weather and bad luck. Of the 125 Spanish ships that set sail against England, only 60 limped home, the rest wrecked or sank with barely a shot fired from their main armament.
Using everything from contemporary eyewitness accounts to papers held by the national archives in Spain and the United Kingdom, Hutchinson re-creates one of history's most famous episodes in an entirely new way.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this engaging volume, archeologist and historian Hutchinson (Young Henry) sets out to overturn one of the cherished legends taught in British primary schools: that the Spanish Armada was valiantly turned back by heroic Francis Drake and Queen Elizabeth's navy. Drawing heavily on the letters and accounts of witnesses and participants, Hutchinson lays out ample evidence that the Spanish ships sank more from happenstance than heroism. "Despite the triumphant claims by Elizabeth's government, this was not a crushing defeat inflicted by the queen's ships through overwhelming naval tactics," he says, noting that "all the Spanish casualties were lost in accidents or in the fierce storms that raged after the Armada had sailed north to Scotland." Dozens of ships foundered off the coast of Ireland without the English lifting a finger, and one massive warship exploded just out of range of English cannons the unconfirmed rumor was that "a gunner who had been cuckolded by a Spanish naval officer" took his revenge by setting alight a barrel of gunpowder. And as Hutchinson's engrossing work reveals, Drake's reputation as a pirate, if not as a commander, remains unsullied: repeatedly snubbing Elizabeth's top advisers and ignoring direct orders, he proved more interested in chasing after ships carrying Spanish gold than in any tactical concerns.
