The Last Years of Elizabeth and Ireland
Overview
- Had cleared £300,000 of debt left from mary and give herself £300,000 to fund war with
Spain
- Winchester had managed the treasury after Mary but was replaced later by Burghley
who was not as effective as Winchester. Cecil sells former church lands, raises rents and
brings in monopolies.
- remained as popular as ever
- after 1588, most of Europe regarded the once-mocked queen with profound awe
- associated with supernatural imagery, especially that of Diana, the Virgin Huntress
- outlived all of her advisors and friends
- Robert Devereux (Earl of Essex) and the stepson of the late Leicester attempted to win
the favour once bestowed on deceased ministers.
War and its impact
Spain
Defeat of the Spanish Armada was not the end of the war with Spain
- 16 years
- Fought at sea off western Europe and the Caribbean and on land in France, the
Netherlands and Ireland → connected with the Irish revolt
Elizabeth’s war aims:
- national security
- autonomous Netherlands
- anxious to avoid the Huguenots in France
England was involved in a war for both national and religious survival against a universal
Catholic conspiracy → nature of the conflict required an explicit commitment to the assistance of
co-religionists in France and the Netherlands
View shared up to a point by Lord Burghley → saw Philip in a war of conquest
War at sea
1592: Drake’s expedition with abortive attack on Lisbon
Profitable plundering expeditions of Frobisher and Cumberland
1593: Unprofitable plundering expeditions by Hawkins and Frobisher
1594: Capture of treasure ship Madre de Dios
1595: Failed plundering expedition of Drake and Hawkins in West Indies
1596: Capture of Cadiz
Some wanted a more expensive naval campaign and they argued that:
- The war in the Netherlands tended to be expensive and difficult
, - England was successful with small-scale naval attacks in the Caribbean and Spain
(1585/7)
Naval Blockade
The Queen was not persuaded by Hawkins’s suggestion immediately after the Armada but
agreed in 1589 to an expedition in Portugal that aimed to:
- Destroy what remained of the Armada
- Place the pretender Don Antonio on the Portuguese throne and in the process reassert
Portuguese independence
- Secure the Azores
- Intercept Spanish vessels bound from America laden with treasure
Initial Reaction
- Early example of public-private partnership financed partly by Crown and partly private
investment
- Attracted the irritation of the English commander in the Netherlands as it removed men
from command → made his immediate task more difficult
Failure
- strategic flaws
- poor command
- lack of artillery
- drunkenness
- disease
- Queen accused leaders of putting profit and pursuit of fame before strategic needs
- No coherent objectives
- Scheme was overambitious, under-resources and contradictory
Role of the Crown
- minor participant in this naval warfare → mostly undertaken by private vessels
- 236 vessels operated from 1589 to 1591
1589:
- Expedition led by Earl of Cumberland and Martin Frobisher → profited and damaged
Spanish shipping
1590:
- expeditions were much less profitable
1592:
- leading privateers all made a profit and able to present a substantial sum to the Queen
→ capture of Madre de Dios
- Record of the privateering operations was mixed → some profited some made a loss
Overview
- Had cleared £300,000 of debt left from mary and give herself £300,000 to fund war with
Spain
- Winchester had managed the treasury after Mary but was replaced later by Burghley
who was not as effective as Winchester. Cecil sells former church lands, raises rents and
brings in monopolies.
- remained as popular as ever
- after 1588, most of Europe regarded the once-mocked queen with profound awe
- associated with supernatural imagery, especially that of Diana, the Virgin Huntress
- outlived all of her advisors and friends
- Robert Devereux (Earl of Essex) and the stepson of the late Leicester attempted to win
the favour once bestowed on deceased ministers.
War and its impact
Spain
Defeat of the Spanish Armada was not the end of the war with Spain
- 16 years
- Fought at sea off western Europe and the Caribbean and on land in France, the
Netherlands and Ireland → connected with the Irish revolt
Elizabeth’s war aims:
- national security
- autonomous Netherlands
- anxious to avoid the Huguenots in France
England was involved in a war for both national and religious survival against a universal
Catholic conspiracy → nature of the conflict required an explicit commitment to the assistance of
co-religionists in France and the Netherlands
View shared up to a point by Lord Burghley → saw Philip in a war of conquest
War at sea
1592: Drake’s expedition with abortive attack on Lisbon
Profitable plundering expeditions of Frobisher and Cumberland
1593: Unprofitable plundering expeditions by Hawkins and Frobisher
1594: Capture of treasure ship Madre de Dios
1595: Failed plundering expedition of Drake and Hawkins in West Indies
1596: Capture of Cadiz
Some wanted a more expensive naval campaign and they argued that:
- The war in the Netherlands tended to be expensive and difficult
, - England was successful with small-scale naval attacks in the Caribbean and Spain
(1585/7)
Naval Blockade
The Queen was not persuaded by Hawkins’s suggestion immediately after the Armada but
agreed in 1589 to an expedition in Portugal that aimed to:
- Destroy what remained of the Armada
- Place the pretender Don Antonio on the Portuguese throne and in the process reassert
Portuguese independence
- Secure the Azores
- Intercept Spanish vessels bound from America laden with treasure
Initial Reaction
- Early example of public-private partnership financed partly by Crown and partly private
investment
- Attracted the irritation of the English commander in the Netherlands as it removed men
from command → made his immediate task more difficult
Failure
- strategic flaws
- poor command
- lack of artillery
- drunkenness
- disease
- Queen accused leaders of putting profit and pursuit of fame before strategic needs
- No coherent objectives
- Scheme was overambitious, under-resources and contradictory
Role of the Crown
- minor participant in this naval warfare → mostly undertaken by private vessels
- 236 vessels operated from 1589 to 1591
1589:
- Expedition led by Earl of Cumberland and Martin Frobisher → profited and damaged
Spanish shipping
1590:
- expeditions were much less profitable
1592:
- leading privateers all made a profit and able to present a substantial sum to the Queen
→ capture of Madre de Dios
- Record of the privateering operations was mixed → some profited some made a loss
