430 years ago, on August 8, 1588, during the Anglo-Spanish War, the English fleet dealt a strong blow to the Spanish "Invincible Armada". The huge Spanish fleet, destined for the landing of an amphibious army in England, was half destroyed by British ships and the storm. The era of the domination of the British fleet begins.
Background
In the 16th century, Europeans were able to make a leap outside the Old World. The era of the so-called. "Great geographical discoveries". Western predators reached America, circled Africa and "discovered" India, China and other countries in South and Southeast Asia. The division of the world began. The Europeans "discovered" new lands (most often they were known, but earlier the paws of European murderers and marauders could not reach them), seized, plundered and enslaved. Millions, tens of millions of people all over the planet have become their victims. Whole civilizations and cultures perished, ancient states fell and were plundered, previously powerful nationalities and tribes were destroyed and turned into slaves.
The leading role in the predatory colonization at this time belonged to Spain and Portugal, which even divided the world among themselves (with the blessing of the Pope). Relentless conquistadors destroyed entire states, Spanish ships ruled over the oceans and carried gold, silver, precious stones, etc. to the metropolis. After the young Portuguese king Sebastian I laid his head in North Africa in 1578 - the battle of El Ksar- El Kebire, and with him most of the Portuguese army perished, Portugal was in a deep crisis. The king left no heir, a dynastic crisis and a war for the throne began. The Spanish king Philip II in 1580, using military force, achieved recognition of his rights to the Portuguese throne (on the maternal side, his grandfather was King Manuel I of Portugal, and his grandmother was Maria of Aragon,so he had the formal right to claim the throne). In 1581, Philip II arrived in Lisbon and was crowned as King of Portugal Philip I. The period of the Iberian Union began - the personal union of the crowns of Spain and Portugal in 1580-1640. As king of Portugal, Philip received her overseas possessions: Brazil and ports in Africa and Asia. Also during his reign, Spain established control over the Philippines and a number of other islands in the Pacific Ocean (the Philippines were named after King Philip II.) After studying the winds and currents of the Pacific Ocean, the Spaniards established a regular trade route between Mexican Acapulco and Manila. As king of Portugal, Philip received her overseas possessions: Brazil and ports in Africa and Asia. Also during his reign, Spain established control over the Philippines and a number of other islands in the Pacific Ocean (the Philippines were named after King Philip II.) After studying the winds and currents of the Pacific Ocean, the Spaniards established a regular trade route between Mexican Acapulco and Manila. As king of Portugal, Philip received her overseas possessions: Brazil and ports in Africa and Asia. Also during his reign, Spain established control over the Philippines and a number of other islands in the Pacific Ocean (the Philippines were named after King Philip II.) After studying the winds and currents of the Pacific Ocean, the Spaniards established a regular trade route between Mexican Acapulco and Manila.
Map of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires during the Union Period.
The Spanish Empire has reached the peak of its power. Gold, silver, spices, fabrics came in an endless stream to the Iberian Peninsula. Wealth has led to a cultural upsurge - the so-called. "Golden Age" of Spain. But, apparently, it was this flow of gold and silver that stopped the development of the country. The Spanish elite was decaying and enriching, forgetting about development. Huge revenues were spent on luxury and the restoration of the dominance of the Catholic Church in Europe (Counter-Reformation) and the dominance of the Habsburgs in European politics. At the same time, the most powerful power in the West remained mainly agrarian, the old feudal order continued to operate in the country, the leading ideology was intolerant Catholicism. The Catholic Church and the Inquisition turned out to be closely connected with the state apparatus and carried out bloody repressions against the Moors, Moriscos (Moors,adopted Christianity) and Jews, who in many ways represented the most developed part of the country's trade and craft population. Spain was constantly at war (with Turkey and African Muslim pirates, England, enemies of Catholicism in France, Dutch rebels, opponents of the Habsburgs in Germany), which spent huge funds necessary for the development of the country. So, Spanish policy led in 1566 to the Netherlands uprising and revolution (the Netherlands was then under Spanish rule). To finance wars, the needs of the court and the Spanish nobility, ruinous taxes for the population were introduced, and external and internal loans were taken. Under King Philip II (reigned from 1556 to 1598), the tax burden on Castilians almost quadrupled. Philip inherited about 20 million from his father.national debt and left the heir five times the debt. During his reign, his treasury three times (1557, 1575 and 1596) declared partial default on its short-term loans to Genoese, German and Dutch bankers, but many of them again lent to the Spanish crown, knowing that they would be paid with American silver. All this worsened the situation of the bulk of the population and further suppressed the development of trade and crafts, caused the degradation of the national economy, which in the long term led to the military-strategic defeat of Spain from the Protestant countries of North-Western Europe.however, many of them again lent to the Spanish crown, knowing that they would be paid with American silver. All this worsened the situation of the bulk of the population and further suppressed the development of trade and crafts, caused the degradation of the national economy, which in the long term led to the military-strategic defeat of Spain from the Protestant countries of North-Western Europe.however, many of them again lent to the Spanish crown, knowing that they would be paid with American silver. All this worsened the situation of the bulk of the population and further suppressed the development of trade and crafts, caused the degradation of the national economy, which in the long term led to the military-strategic defeat of Spain from the Protestant countries of North-Western Europe.
It is clear that Spain's dominance in the New World did not suit other European predators. Her wealth and possessions aroused burning envy. In particular, in the second half of the XVI century. England is also increasingly declaring its territorial claims. The British also wanted to take part in a global robbery ("initial accumulation of capital"). At the same time, London claims to be the new "command post" of European (Western) civilization. The old "command post" was Rome. Representatives of the Italian aristocracy settled in London - the Mediterranean trade no longer brought the previous income, the Ottoman Empire blocked the way to the East. In England, a new form of the slave-owning order is beginning to form - capitalism. Unlike Spain, England moved rapidly along the path of technical, political and social progress. The peasants are driven out of the land by the most cruel and bloody "fencing" and turned into completely powerless "free" from the land, instruments of labor of workers' factories. Beggars and vagabonds who did not go to workhouses were sent without a word to the chopping block and the gallows. During the reign of Elizabeth, tens of thousands of people were executed. Capital is formed through the cruel exploitation of factory workers (people were literally driven into a coffin). Merchants, owners of manufactures and ships strengthened their influence, cities grew. The English Church did not obey Rome; the English monarch himself became its head. Thus, London is gradually becoming the new "command post" of the West, preconditions are being created for the creation of a global colonial empire, a "workshop of the world" and "ruler of the seas." But for the complete victory of England, it was necessary to crush the naval hegemony of Spain.
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A conflict between two Western predators begins - the old and the young model of the "new world order". Spain represented the "old order" - based on Catholicism, traditional feudalism; England - the "new order", Protestantism with its division of people into the "chosen" (rich) and losers (poor) and rapacious capitalism with the cruel exploitation of the common people. Thus, it was a struggle between England and Spain (and the papal throne behind it) for leadership in the Western project and for dominance in the world.
Portrait of King Philip II of Spain by an unknown artist (16th century).
War
Formally, the interests of the two powers collided at this time in a number of places. First, the Spanish king Philip II had claims to the English throne. While still heir to the throne, in 1554, Philip married Mary Tudor, Queen of England. When Mary died, he wanted to marry her successor Elizabeth, but the latter rejected this matchmaking. Secondly, the Spanish king wanted England to return to the fold of Catholicism. Pope Gregory XIII (d. 1585) and his successor, Sixtus V, urged him to do this. And the English Catholics emigrants repeatedly called on Philip to extend the Counter-Reformation to England. The Spanish king was annoyed by the fact that Elizabeth I pursued a tough policy towards English Catholics and was the spiritual leader of Protestants throughout Europe. The Spanish aristocracy wanted to punish the English "heretics".
Third, England supported the Dutch rebels. Spain since 1567 has been fighting the rebels in the Netherlands. The British unofficially supported the rebels, but the English Queen Elizabeth I, wanting to avoid a head-on collision with the mighty Spain, did not officially proclaim her intervention in the Dutch war. In 1584, Philip II concluded the Treaty of Joinville with the French Catholic League to prevent the Huguenot Henry of Navarre from accessing the throne of France. Fearing that Spain would act in alliance with France, in 1585 the English queen sent the Earl of Leicester to the Netherlands as Lord Regent with 6,000 BC. detachment. Also London promised to pay annual subsidies to fight the Spaniards. This became the most important principle of the policy of England, and in the future of the United States - to financially support various insurgents, rebels,revolutionaries, weakening and undermining the strength of their competitors. Philip II naturally took this as a declaration of war.
Fourthly, the British pirates constantly harassed the Spanish ships and caused damage to the colonial empire, its trade and sea communications. The former leaders of the robbery, the French, were mired in their own civil war, but the British quickly mastered the lucrative "business". Plymouth became the main base of the pirates. With the permission and support of London, numerous pirate ships went out to sea, attacking Spanish ships carrying colonial goods and silver that raided the Spanish coast in the New World. Constant attacks by British pirates on Spanish possessions in America and ships, which took place with the tacit support of Elizabeth I personally (she was in a share with the pirates), undermined the economy of the Habsburg empire and royal finances, and dealt a blow to the prestige of Spain. The Spaniards had to introduce a ban on solo voyages and equip the Silver or Gold Fleet (Spanish Flota de Indias - "Indian fleet"), intended for the export of various values from the American colonies to Europe.
Another source of income for the English "gentlemen of fortune" was the slave trade. The Portuguese could not control the entire coast of Africa. Portugal exported slaves mainly from the Congo and Angola, and the British operated further north, in Nigeria, buying people from local leaders and taking them to America. The Spanish landowners willingly bought people, labor was valuable (the Indians were bad slaves - they quickly died in captivity).
The luckiest pirates became the wealthy and national heroes. John Hawkins became rich in the slave trade, pirated, became a member of parliament and treasurer of the Royal Navy. His son Richard plundered Valparaiso. The young pirate Walter Raleigh made two raids into the West Indies, for which he received a knighthood and became the Queen's favorite. Elizabeth showered him with favors and awards. Raleigh became one of the richest men in England.
One of the famous pirates, marked by the grace of the English crown, was Francis Drake. His trip around the world in 1577 - 1580. (the second in history after Magellan) pursued intelligence and predatory goals. The predatory campaign was extremely successful - Drake crossed the Strait of Magellan, along the Pacific coast of South America to the north, attacking Spanish ports, including Valparaiso, and then explored the coast significantly north of the Spanish colonies, approximately to modern Vancouver. On June 17, 1579, Drake landed, it is assumed, in the San Francisco area (according to another hypothesis, in modern Oregon) and declared this coast an English possession ("New Albion"). Then Drake crossed the Pacific Ocean and went to the Moluccas. Bypassing Africa from the south, Drake returned to England with a £ 600,000 worth of looted treasures.an amount twice the annual income of the English kingdom. Drake was greeted as a national hero and awarded a knighthood. During the next expedition to the West Indies, Drake ravaged the Spanish harbors of Vigo, Santo Domingo (on the island of Haiti), Cartagena (in New Granada) and San Augustin (in Florida). In 1587 he became famous for his daring attack on the Spanish port of Cadiz. It is not surprising that the Spaniards frightened their children with his pirate name; in their literature, he was allegorically depicted as a dragon. In 1587 he became famous for his daring attack on the Spanish port of Cadiz. It is not surprising that the Spaniards frightened their children with his pirate name; in their literature, he was allegorically depicted as a dragon. In 1587 he became famous for his daring attack on the Spanish port of Cadiz. It is not surprising that the Spaniards frightened their children with his pirate name; in their literature, he was allegorically depicted as a dragon.
At the same time, Drake applied new tactics of naval combat. Previously, the ship with a large number of guns was considered the winner. Drake countered the large and clumsy Spanish ships with speed and maneuverability. On his Golden Hind galleon, Drake has proven this many times. With the help of special shells - knipples (consisted of two massive cast-iron parts - cores connected by an iron rod, later by a chain), the pirates destroyed the rigging of an enemy ship, immobilizing it. After that, the ship could be safely shot, persuaded to surrender, or boarding.
Thus, Madrid had every reason to carry out a large-scale operation to eliminate the hostile and arrogant Elizabethan regime. The direct reason for the start of the offensive was the pirate raids on Spanish ships and settlements in the Caribbean, made by Drake in 1585-1586. Finally, in February 1587, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, who also claimed the English throne, was executed for participating in a conspiracy against Elizabeth, and Philip wanted to avenge her death. Preparations began for a grand military expedition to England.
Spanish commander of the Armada Don Alonso Perez de Guzmán y de Zúñiga-Sotomayor, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia.
Invincible armada
In financing the expedition, the Spanish king counted on loans from Italian and German bankers, the usual receipts to the royal treasury, and wealth collected in the colonies. He collected from all fleets (Mediterranean and Atlantic, Portuguese, as well as from the Allies) more than 130 large and medium ships (with a total displacement of more than 59,000 tons with 2,630 guns on the sides) and 30 auxiliary. The squadron was called the "Invincible Armada" by the Spaniards. The fleet was trained in Cadiz and Lisbon. The ships housed 8 thousand sailors and 19 thousand soldiers. For the landing in England, they were supposed to be joined by 30 thousand. an army in the Netherlands under the command of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma.
Small flat-bottomed ships were built in Flanders. They planned to carry out the transfer of troops to the ships of the "Armada". It is worth noting that the landing of an amphibious army in England was a sensible idea, since England actually did not have an army. The Queen had a small guard and the defense of the country was entrusted to the local militias - poorly trained and armed, which Spanish soldiers and European mercenaries could easily disperse. That is, if the Spaniards could land the army, then the Elizabeth regime fell.
The organization of the squadron was initially handled by one of Lepanto's heroes, the experienced Admiral Don Alvaro de Basan, the Marquis of Santa Cruz, but he did not live to see her sail. In place of Santa Cruz was appointed Alonso Pérez de Guzman, Duke of Medina Sidonia, a smart man, but little familiar with the naval business and indecisive. Realizing his incompetence, he even tried to recuse himself, but to no avail.
Spanish flagship, galleon "San Martin" in battle with British ships. Written by Cornelis Hendrix Wrom. The ship was built in 1580. The galleon had a total length of approximately 55 meters and a width of approximately 12 meters. It carried over 40 heavy cannons on two decks and a host of smaller caliber weapons. The vessel had a displacement of approximately 1000 tons. The ship escaped destruction and returned to Spain.
Drake's Raid
The British and Dutch knew about these plans of Philip as early as 1586. In order to prevent the connection of the land army of the Duke of Parma with the Spanish fleet, the commander-in-chief of the English fleet, Lord Howard, Baron of Effingham, dispatched small squadrons under the command of Winter and Seymour to patrol the coast along with the Dutch. And Francis Drake invited Elizabeth I to deliver a preemptive strike and attack Spanish ships right in the ports. On April 12, 1587, the English fleet sailed from Plymouth and headed for the coast of Spain. Elizabeth placed four galleons under Drake's command (Bonaventure, Golden Lion, Fear Nothing, and Rainbow) and about 20 armed ships. On April 29, Drake and his ships entered the Bay of Cadiz. Their appearance came as a complete surprise to the Spaniards. The sailors of many ships were on the shore, and the ships were not ready for battle. Meanwhile, Drake's squadron engaged the galleys guarding the port. Two of them were incapacitated, and the rest fell under the protection of coastal artillery. The British began to seize the Spanish ships one by one: the most valuable cargoes were seized, after which the ships themselves were set on fire.
The next day, Drake led the pinnacle flotilla (a small sailing and rowing vessel), which broke into the inner roadstead. There, the British burned a galleon that belonged to the Spanish commander, Alvaro de Basan. On the night of April 30 to May 1, the Spaniards tried to use fire ships against the British pirates, but unsuccessfully, and only increased the confusion and fire in the port. At dawn on May 1, the British squadron left the harbor of Cadiz. Of the 60 karakkas (a large sailing ship) and a large number of other ships that were stationed there, the British burned or sent to the bottom from 24 (Spanish estimate) to 38 (according to Drake himself). The British then headed north along the Iberian coast. At Sagres, the British landed troops and captured the city fortress, as well as the forts of Beliche and Baleira. Drake ordered the transport of the heavy guns from Sagres to his ships,and the fortress itself - to destroy. The fleet then stopped at Cascais, near Lisbon. All the way along the coast, Drake's squadron destroyed merchant and fishing vessels, the cargo of which (water, wine, corned beef, ship timber, etc.) was intended mainly for the Spanish fleet.
De Basan, who was in Lisbon with his ships, did not dare to go to sea and give battle to the enemy: his galleons and galleys were not fully equipped, their teams were not completed. The British could not attack the port because of its strong fortifications. Drake sent de Basan an offer to accept the battle, but was refused. Realizing that it would not be possible to lure the Spaniards out of Lisbon, Drake took his ships back to Sagres. On June 1, after ten days of rest, the squadron left Sagres. On the way, Drake captured a rich prize - a karakka, which was coming from Goa with a large load of gold, spices and silk (for 108 thousand pounds sterling). During the entire campaign off the coast of Portugal and Spain, Drake's squadron destroyed more than 100 ships with various reserves. This delayed the performance of the "Invincible Armada" by more than a year,however, it could not force the Spaniards to completely abandon the idea of landing in England.
English pirate and admiral Francis Drake.
Hike "Armada"
In the same year, in order to prepare a base on the Dutch coast, Farnese's troops besieged and captured the port of Slays on August 5, which was defended by the English garrison. A canal was also dug from Sas van Gent in Bruges and the Iperle fairway from Bruges to Newport was deepened so that ships approaching the shore would not fall under the fire of the Dutch fleet or the guns of the Vlissingen fortress. Troops were transferred from Spain, Italy, Germany and Burgundy and volunteers flocked to take part in the expedition against England. Farnese saw that the harbors of Dunkirk, Newport and Slays at the disposal of the Spaniards were too small for the heavy ships of the Spanish fleet to enter. He proposed to seize the deeper-water port of Vlissingen before sending the "Armada" to the coast of England. However, Philip rushed to start the operation as soon as possible.
The Armada left Lisbon on May 9, 1588. The main forces of the fleet were divided into 6 squadrons: "Portugal", "Castile", "Vizcaya", "Gipuzcoa", "Andalusia" and "Levant". In addition to soldiers, sailors and rowers, there were 300 priests on the ships, ready to revive Catholicism in the British Isles. The storm drove the "Armada" to A Coruña, from where, after repairs, the ships returned to sea only on 22 July.
After much debate, the English commander Charles Howard agreed to Drake's plan to withdraw 54 of the best English ships from Plymouth Harbor and try to destroy the Spanish fleet before it went to sea. However, a change in wind prevented this operation, and on July 29, 1588, the Armada appeared near the Isles of Scilly, off the western tip of the Cornwall Peninsula. The first clash occurred in Plymouth's sight on July 31st. The Spaniards lost three ships here, and the British suffered almost no damage.
English ships were superior to the Spanish in maneuverability, they were commanded by experienced admirals Drake, Howard, Hawkins, Frobisher. Dutch ships, piloted by experienced sailors, also came to the aid of the British. British ships did not carry troops with various supplies, which gave an advantage in speed and maneuver. In battles, the British also used the advantage of their artillery, not letting the enemy get closer than a cannon shot and thereby preventing them from boarding, using the numerical advantage of the crews. The Spaniards had mostly heavy, cumbersome high-board vessels, with many short-range cannons. With massive towers at the bow and stern, they resembled floating fortresses, well suited for close combat. The British ships were lower, but more maneuverable. Besides,they were equipped with a large number of long-range cannons. For each shot of the ship "Armada" the British answered with three.
"Armada" continued sailing northeast, deep into the English Channel. The Spanish fleet was located in a crescent moon: along the edges were the strongest warships, under their cover in the center were grouped slow merchant and cargo ships. In addition, the vanguard (actually the rearguard) of the best ships under the command of Rekalde was placed closer to the enemy. From whatever side the enemy approached, this detachment had to turn around and repel the attack. The rest of the fleet was required to maintain formation and not lose mutual support. Taking advantage of the advantage in maneuverability, the British from the very beginning took the Spanish into the wind. From this vantage point, they could attack or dodge combat at will. The British pursued the Armada as it moved across the Channel, harassing it with attacks. However, it took a long time to break the defensive order of the Spaniards.
Throughout the English Channel, both fleets fought and fought several small battles. Plymouth was followed by skirmishes at Start Point (August 1), Portland Bill (August 2) and the Isle of Wight (August 3-4). The defensive tactics occupied by the Spaniards paid off: the British, with the help of long-range guns, did not manage to sink a single Spanish ship. However, the Spanish lost two heavily damaged ships. The Duke of Medina Sidonia sent a fleet to meet the Duke of Parma and his troops. Waiting for a response from the Duke of Parma, Medina Sidonia ordered the fleet to anchor at Calais.
The English fleet approached the Spanish again in the middle of the night from 7 to 8 August, when the Armada anchored opposite Calais in the Strait of Dover. Lord Howard sent eight burning fire-ships directly into the center of the Spanish fleet. The signal "to sail immediately" was raised from the flagship. Many of the Spanish ships had time only to cut the anchor lines, after which they rushed away in panic and confusion. One large Spanish galeas ran aground and many ships were severely damaged.
Not giving the enemy the opportunity to regroup, the next morning the British again attacked the Spaniards (the Battle of Gravelines). During the eight-hour battle, Spanish ships were swept into the banks northeast of Calais, against Gravelin. It seemed that the Spanish fleet was about to inevitably run aground, delivering an easy victory to the British. However, the northwest wind gave way to the southwest and carried the Spanish ships into the waters of the North Sea. The British managed to sink one or two Spanish ships and damage several more. Having lost control, one Spanish ship ran aground near Calais, three ships blown to the east, where they also ran aground, were soon captured by the Dutch. The British did not lose a single ship, the loss of personnel for several days of continuous battles amounted to about 100 people. The Spaniards in this battle lost 600 people killed and about 800 wounded.
The defeat of the Invincible Armada on August 8, 1588. Painting by the Anglo-French artist Philippe-Jacques (Philippe-James) de Lutherburg.
As a result, the battle did not bring the British a complete victory, moreover, they ran out of ammunition, which they could not quickly replenish. The Spaniards did not know about this and did not dare to attack the enemy, especially since his own supply of gunpowder and cannonballs was coming to an end. The Spanish admiral decided that with the available forces it was impossible to establish control over the strait, and there was no question of moving to the mouth of the Thames, so on August 9, without warning Parma, he headed north, intending to go around Scotland and descend to south along the west coast of Ireland (final decision was made on 13 August). Medina Sidonia also did not dare to return back, fearing new attacks from the British fleet. The British pursued the enemy as far as the Firth of Forth on the east coast of Scotland, where a storm separated the opponents on 12 August.
The British, having received the news that the Duke of Parma's army was ready to be loaded onto ships - the Duke still hoped that the "Armada" would approach Dunkirk and cover his transports, turned back to repel a possible landing. The British did not know about the plans of the Spaniards, they assumed that the "Armada" could replenish supplies off the coast of Denmark or Norway and return, so the British fleet was on alert for a long time.
The Spaniards had to give up the idea of joining the forces of the Duke of Parma, and they undertook a voyage around the British Isles - circled the Shetland Islands from the north, passed along the western coast of Ireland, and then returned to Spain. The Spanish sailors did not know the area well, they did not have navigational charts for it, and autumn storms began. On the way back, a violent storm near the Orkney Islands scattered the already pretty battered fleet in all directions. Many ships sank, crashed on the rocks, thousands of corpses were thrown ashore. Some of the Spaniards who landed were killed or captured. About 60 ships and less than half of the sailors and soldiers returned to the Spanish port of Santander on the Bay of Biscay between September 22 and October 14. So the campaign of the "Invincible Armada" ended ingloriously. Thus,natural disaster struck the most tangible blow to the "Armada" when the Spanish fleet was already returning home. During the expedition, more than 60 ships were lost (and only 7 of them were combat losses).
Outcome
Spain suffered heavy casualties. Only about 60 (out of 130) ships returned home; casualties were estimated at 1/3 to 3/4 of the number of crews. Thousands of people were killed, drowned, and many died of wounds and diseases on the way home. However, this did not lead to the immediate collapse of the maritime and colonial power of Spain. The Habsburg Empire successfully defended and counterattacked. An attempt by the British to organize a "symmetrical response", finish off the "Armada" in the ports of Portugal and Spain, take Lisbon with the subsequent restoration of Portugal as an independent power, led to the failure and defeat of the English fleet in 1589 (the defeat of the "English Armada"). Then the Spanish fleet inflicted several defeats on the English in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1595, Elizabeth sent Drake to the Spanish West Indies to plunder and capture the Spanish Silver Fleet. However, the expedition failed with considerable losses, the Spanish colonial troops and navy managed to establish an effective defense of Cuba, the Isthmus of Panama and all their fortifications of the Caribbean coast, and the lack of water and food and an unusual climate caused an outbreak of the disease among the British (Drake himself died). The Spaniards learned a lesson from the Armada's failure by ditching heavy ships in favor of lighter ships equipped with long-range guns.equipped with long-range guns.equipped with long-range guns.
As a result, after the death of Queen Elizabeth, the finances of England were in a state of collapse. Ascended to the English throne, the Scottish king James I went to meet the requirements of the Spaniards, and in 1604 the parties concluded the London Peace. According to him, Spain recognized the legitimacy of the Protestant monarchy in England and refused to assert the dominance of Catholicism in this country, in exchange England curtailed aid to the Netherlands and opened the English Channel for Spanish ships.
But strategically, the defeat of the Spanish Armada was a victory for England. Madrid had to abandon the idea of the restoration of Catholicism in England and involve it in the sphere of influence of the Habsburg Empire. And England has taken an important step towards the future position of "ruler of the seas" and leadership in Europe and the world. The position of the Spaniards in the Netherlands deteriorated, which ultimately led to the defeat and the emergence of another maritime and trading power - Holland (Republic of the United Provinces), another competitor to the Spanish Empire. Spain will begin to decline. Losing dominance at sea, the colonies will now be captured not by the Spaniards, but by the British, Dutch and French.
Moreover, for the peoples and tribes of America, Africa and Asia, it will be worse than the domination of the Spaniards. For all their cruelty, the Spaniards still considered the conquered peoples, especially when they adopted Christianity, people, subjects of the king, protected by law. Therefore, the Spaniards easily took aboriginal women as legal wives, their children were completely full subjects. The Protestants, on the other hand, were terrifying racists - they did not consider local residents to be people, and would destroy and destroy by all means (weapons, hunger, disease, alcohol, etc.), clearing the "living space" for themselves. It was not for nothing that Hitler and his assistants later admired the British colonial empire, they considered themselves disciples of the British racists.
Author: Samsonov Alexander
