England at war, 1585-1604
Move towards war:
- Netherlands: murder of William ‘the Silent’ in 1584 deprived Protestant revolt against Spanish
rule of its key leader. At the same time the Duke of Parma was regaining control of the country
from the Protestants
- France: death of the Duke of Alençon deprived Elizabeth of a useful ally who had been prepared
to fight Spain in the Netherlands. Pushed the French Catholics into an alliance with Spain be-
cause there was risk of a Huguenot king.
- If the rebellion ended, Spain would gain control of the northern part of the cross-Channel frontier
and would have a large army stationed there.
- Recognised at the alliance of French Catholics and Spanish might result in a joint attack on Eng-
land
- Treaty of Nonsuch (1585)- England agreed to send 5,000 troops and 1,000 cavalry to the
Netherlands- in return the Duke would hand over Flushing and Brill and Elizabeth would accept
the title of Protector of the Netherlands
- Sir Francis Drake’s fleet was sent to raid Spanish shipping in the Caribbean
Anglo-Spanish War:
- Spain attempted to invade England in 1588
- The distance between Spain and the Netherlands ensured that England would hear about the
attack and therefore prepare before the ships reached the Channel
- It would depend upon good communication of the two sets (S+N)
- Philip’s advisers had ignored that the Dutch ports were in shallow water which would make
boarding the Armada from the port impossible and that south-westerly winds which blow into the
Channel would make sailing into it very difficult
- Fleet was under-provisioned and poorly led by the Duke of Medina Sidonia
- Philip had unfounded hopes that the mere presence of the Armada would force Elizabeth to see
reason over the Netherlands and her Protestantism
- Brilliant naval tactics for the British
- English fire-ships burned and scattered its ships
- The Battle of Gravelines took place off the coast of Flanders which left the Duke of Medina Sido-
nia with no other alternative than to pull away and take a suicidal journey home around the west
coast of ireland and north coast of Scotland
- Bad weather = wreckage of Spanish ships on the coastline
- Defeat of the Armada seemed to indicate God’s approval of Elizabeth’s government and the An-
glican Church it had created
Foreign Policy after the Armada:
- War continued with Elizabeth sending Drake to Portugal in 1589 for a counter-attack- landed
with 15,000 men and 130 ships with the aim of throwing out the Spaniards - no Portuguese ris-
ing in their favour and forced to withdraw failing to capture Lisbon
- Attacks on Spanish Bullion ships but success dwindled as Spanish developed a convoy system
- In 1590 the Duke of Parma invaded France from the Spanish Netherlands
- In 1592 Elizabeth sent an English force to Normandy to help Henry of Navarre led by Robert De-
vereux- he achieved nothing and returned the following year- Henry IV effectively stopped the
civil war by declaring himself Catholic
Move towards war:
- Netherlands: murder of William ‘the Silent’ in 1584 deprived Protestant revolt against Spanish
rule of its key leader. At the same time the Duke of Parma was regaining control of the country
from the Protestants
- France: death of the Duke of Alençon deprived Elizabeth of a useful ally who had been prepared
to fight Spain in the Netherlands. Pushed the French Catholics into an alliance with Spain be-
cause there was risk of a Huguenot king.
- If the rebellion ended, Spain would gain control of the northern part of the cross-Channel frontier
and would have a large army stationed there.
- Recognised at the alliance of French Catholics and Spanish might result in a joint attack on Eng-
land
- Treaty of Nonsuch (1585)- England agreed to send 5,000 troops and 1,000 cavalry to the
Netherlands- in return the Duke would hand over Flushing and Brill and Elizabeth would accept
the title of Protector of the Netherlands
- Sir Francis Drake’s fleet was sent to raid Spanish shipping in the Caribbean
Anglo-Spanish War:
- Spain attempted to invade England in 1588
- The distance between Spain and the Netherlands ensured that England would hear about the
attack and therefore prepare before the ships reached the Channel
- It would depend upon good communication of the two sets (S+N)
- Philip’s advisers had ignored that the Dutch ports were in shallow water which would make
boarding the Armada from the port impossible and that south-westerly winds which blow into the
Channel would make sailing into it very difficult
- Fleet was under-provisioned and poorly led by the Duke of Medina Sidonia
- Philip had unfounded hopes that the mere presence of the Armada would force Elizabeth to see
reason over the Netherlands and her Protestantism
- Brilliant naval tactics for the British
- English fire-ships burned and scattered its ships
- The Battle of Gravelines took place off the coast of Flanders which left the Duke of Medina Sido-
nia with no other alternative than to pull away and take a suicidal journey home around the west
coast of ireland and north coast of Scotland
- Bad weather = wreckage of Spanish ships on the coastline
- Defeat of the Armada seemed to indicate God’s approval of Elizabeth’s government and the An-
glican Church it had created
Foreign Policy after the Armada:
- War continued with Elizabeth sending Drake to Portugal in 1589 for a counter-attack- landed
with 15,000 men and 130 ships with the aim of throwing out the Spaniards - no Portuguese ris-
ing in their favour and forced to withdraw failing to capture Lisbon
- Attacks on Spanish Bullion ships but success dwindled as Spanish developed a convoy system
- In 1590 the Duke of Parma invaded France from the Spanish Netherlands
- In 1592 Elizabeth sent an English force to Normandy to help Henry of Navarre led by Robert De-
vereux- he achieved nothing and returned the following year- Henry IV effectively stopped the
civil war by declaring himself Catholic
