WEBVTT 1 00:00:21.960 --> 00:00:25.800 Hello, and Welcome to Western SIV, Episode three hundred and 2 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:32.679 thirteen The Armada. In June of fifteen eighty seven, Dudley 3 00:00:32.759 --> 00:00:35.520 left England at the head of another army bound for 4 00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:40.200 the Netherlands. The Spanish general, the Duke of Parma, sued 5 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:43.679 for peace, since he wanted to play for time. This 6 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:50.359 initiated months of tortured negotiations. On the twenty ninth of July, 7 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:53.880 the Pope signed a treaty with Spain, consenting to Philip 8 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:57.079 to nominate whoever he wanted as the ruler of England, 9 00:00:57.520 --> 00:01:01.359 so long as that person was a Catholic. In September, 10 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:04.840 Philip ordered Parma to assemble a fleet of barges for 11 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:09.719 the coming invasion. Aware of the preparations being made, Elizabeth 12 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:13.359 rested her hopes on the outcome of peace talks. She 13 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:16.239 knew that England was in no position to fight a 14 00:01:16.280 --> 00:01:20.120 war with Spain. England had no standing army at all, 15 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:26.439 and only a very small navy. Meanwhile, such serious differences 16 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:29.920 had arisen between the English and their Dutch allies that 17 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.719 it seemed the Netherlands might erupt in a civil war. 18 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:37.799 And in the autumn, Dudley, whose own incompetence was largely 19 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:40.719 to blame. Advised the Queen that he could be of 20 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:44.359 no further use there, and so she recalled him in November. 21 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:47.920 Before he left, he ordered a medal to be struck 22 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:51.840 bearing the legend quote, I reluctantly leave not the flock, 23 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:56.840 but the ungrateful ones. Back at court, Dudley found his 24 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:01.599 position diminished. Elizabeth was very dis appointed in his performance. 25 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:05.799 Now twice in the Netherlands, Dudley retired for the moment 26 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:09.360 to the country. He even relinquished the title of Master 27 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:12.039 of Horse, which he had held for almost thirty years, 28 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:15.800 asking the Queen to consider bestowing it upon his step son, 29 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:20.800 the Earl of Essex. Elizabeth liked the young Earl, though 30 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:23.759 she did recognize he lacked political acumen. At this point, 31 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:27.719 there was much to be admired in Essex, though he 32 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:32.599 did have a darker side. He could be moody, imperious, petulant, 33 00:02:32.680 --> 00:02:35.639 and difficult when his temper was aroused. He tended to 34 00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:39.280 be impulsive to a fault. He had little sense of 35 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:44.560 self discipline and quote could conceal nothing carries his love 36 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:47.919 and his hatred on his forehead and quote. He was 37 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:52.719 also rather long to forgive. He was a complex man. 38 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:55.960 He seemed to rush through life at times. He was 39 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:58.599 also a dreamer who seemed to inhabit a world of 40 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:02.240 his own. Sometimes he was unaware even of what food 41 00:03:02.280 --> 00:03:05.800 he was eating. He cared little whether his clothes matched 42 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:09.280 at all. He walked with a long stride, his head 43 00:03:09.400 --> 00:03:15.360 famously aggressively thrust forward. It was extremely promiscuous, but after 44 00:03:15.479 --> 00:03:18.639 casual sex, he would hasten to church to meditate on 45 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:22.159 God and beg forgiveness for several hours. He loved the 46 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:25.560 dazzle of the court, but he also yearned to be 47 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:29.199 at home in the country. Since boyhood, he had been 48 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:36.120 terribly procrastination prone. Sometimes he would lay in bed for days, hot, 49 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:39.360 shaking and melancholy, unable to speak or even think rationally. 50 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:45.879 Yet it was egotistical and driven by ambition. He was 51 00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:49.159 desired to be the leader of swordsmen. He wanted to 52 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:52.479 be a warrior. He wanted to be renowned, like Henry 53 00:03:52.520 --> 00:03:57.280 the Fifth before him. He wanted to lead an extravagant lifestyle, 54 00:03:57.879 --> 00:04:00.159 and so he needed money, and that was the one 55 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:05.280 thing Essex never had in plenty. He lived beyond his means, 56 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:09.960 existing in a permanent state of near bankruptcy. The Queen, 57 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:13.360 as best as she could, did her best to bail 58 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:19.759 him out. Essex's chief rival at court was Sir Walter Rawleigh, 59 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:22.279 at least for the moment, though the latter was usually 60 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:25.800 on the outside looking in. Perhaps that was why he 61 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:28.720 spent so much of his life exploring and sailing the 62 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:34.079 high seas. On the twenty first of December, the Queen 63 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:39.279 appointed Charles Lord Howard of Effingham, Lieutenant General, Lord High 64 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:43.120 Admiral and Commander of the English Navy, and ordered the 65 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:46.279 fleet to be put on standby. There was no doubt 66 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:49.600 now that Philip would send his armada soon. She had 67 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:53.560 known his plans since November. The armada of Spanish galleons 68 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:56.720 was set to defeat the English fleet and paved the 69 00:04:56.720 --> 00:04:59.839 way for the Duke of Parma, who would immediately landing 70 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:03.560 and with his army from the Netherlands. When Elizabeth had 71 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:07.839 been deposed and the country secured, Philip would arrive to 72 00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:11.199 claim the crown for his daughter and the Catholic faith. 73 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:16.399 The English government was now firmly on a war footing, 74 00:05:16.439 --> 00:05:20.879 as we might say today. Defenses were rebuilt and strengthened, 75 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:25.160 especially along the coast a chain of beacons was set 76 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:29.720 up along the coastline to signal the invasion. Soldiers and 77 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:34.040 sailors alike were recruited to serve, but when it became 78 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:37.079 clear that the Spanish invasion would not be ready until 79 00:05:37.079 --> 00:05:41.720 the following summer, Elizabeth demobilized her ships because she couldn't 80 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:44.199 afford to keep them outfitted if they weren't going to 81 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:48.879 be used. Now. To be clear, Elizabeth did not want 82 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:53.120 a war. She would be prepared if war came. She 83 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:56.600 had no interest in winning martial glory like her father 84 00:05:56.680 --> 00:06:01.959 had been. Her goal had always been peace. The looming 85 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:06.720 reality of war, however, forced Elizabeth to recall Dudley, who 86 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:11.759 urged her to continue to strengthen her defenses. Diplomacy, he 87 00:06:11.879 --> 00:06:14.680 bluntly told her, was not going to be an option 88 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:20.120 this time. Sir Francis Drake proposed a daring preemptive strike 89 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:24.480 against Philip's fleet in Spain, but Elizabeth would not allow it. 90 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:28.360 She needed every ship she could get and the plan 91 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:32.839 was just too risky. She was still holding out hope 92 00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:35.800 that it might never come to war. In April, the 93 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:40.279 Queen dispatched doctor Valentine Dale, her former ambassador to Paris, 94 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:44.319 to Parma to beg for peace. The commissioners for both 95 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:47.040 sides meant to discuss the matter of the thirtieth of May, 96 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:50.160 the very day on which the Spanish armada of one 97 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:53.639 hundred and thirty ships, manned by some thirty thousand men, 98 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:57.319 under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, set 99 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:01.720 sail from Lisbon, bound for England. By then the English 100 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:05.560 fleet was already at battle stations of Plymouth. On board 101 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:08.759 the Spanish ships worth thousands of printed copies of the 102 00:07:08.759 --> 00:07:14.040 Papa Bull blessing the Enterprise, reaffirming Elizabeth's excommunication and calling 103 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:17.560 upon her subjects to depose her. These were to be 104 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:22.639 distributed in England by the invading force. However, when late 105 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:25.759 in June elizabeth subjects learned of the existence of the Bull, 106 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:31.000 they remained fiercely loyal to their queen. On July seventeenth, 107 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:36.240 Elizabeth ended the peace negotiations. One way or another, this 108 00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:40.839 would be decided at sea. The progress of the Spanish 109 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:43.639 fleet had been held up by a series of storms, 110 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:47.399 but on July nineteenth, what the Spaniards were calling the 111 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:53.040 quote unquote invincible Armada was first cited by the English. 112 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:57.920 According to legend, Sir Francis Drake was gambling at the 113 00:07:57.959 --> 00:08:01.480 time the news came in, declared he had time to 114 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:06.120 finish the game before vanquishing his enemy. As the chain 115 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:10.800 of beacons flared to life. Elizabeth received word of the 116 00:08:10.920 --> 00:08:16.240 Armada's approach on the twenty second of July. Cecil often 117 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:20.639 remarked over the next few days how calmly the Queen behaved. 118 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:25.519 Her tranquill demeanor was the result of knowing that everything 119 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:28.680 which could have been done had been done. England, for 120 00:08:28.759 --> 00:08:30.920 better or worse, was prepared as it was going to 121 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:41.879 get Throughout the kingdom, people waited expectant and fearful. Moving 122 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:45.120 along the south coast, the Armada was making for the Netherlands, 123 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:48.960 where it would escort Parma's army to England. Waiting at 124 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:52.159 Plymouth was the English Fleet, one hundred and fifty strong 125 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:55.399 and flying the white and green colors of the Tudors 126 00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:58.600 from its masts. It was under the command of the 127 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:02.600 Admiral Lord Howard, assisted by the much more experienced Sir 128 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:06.799 Francis Drake. The Admiral, realizing that his rank rather than 129 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:10.480 his naval achievements, had qualified him for this command, announced 130 00:09:10.519 --> 00:09:14.480 immediately that he would quote yield. Ever, unto them of 131 00:09:14.519 --> 00:09:19.720 greater experience and quote. Drake in turn behaved lovingly and 132 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:25.039 kindly towards Howard. The admiral's flagship was the Ark Royal, 133 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:28.639 formerly known as the Ark Raleigh, having been sold to 134 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:31.879 the Queen by Raleigh himself the previous year. Howard had 135 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:34.879 been authorized by the Queen to conduct all engagements according 136 00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:39.039 to his own judgment. By contrast, Philip had written detailed 137 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:44.679 and often unrealistic instructions by which the Spanish admiral was 138 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:48.399 to abide. Howard put out to see in pursuit of 139 00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:52.200 the Armada after nightfall on the nineteenth of July. There 140 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:56.200 was a brief and inconclusive skirmish off Eddystone, near Plymouth 141 00:09:56.480 --> 00:09:59.799 on Sunday the twenty first, followed by two days later 142 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:03.639 of a more vicious engagement near Portland, Dorset, in which 143 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:09.159 several Spanish galleons were severely damaged. Two more were wrecked 144 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:11.840 off the Isle of Wight on the twenty fifth of July. 145 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:15.480 All the while, the English fleet continued to shadow the 146 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:19.320 Armada as it sailed east, avoiding any further engagements by 147 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:22.399 sailing out of range whenever the galleys turned to prepare 148 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:28.159 for battle. Meanwhile, on land, the levees were mustered. Dudley 149 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:31.240 was an overall command. He had an advanced guard of 150 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:34.200 four thousand men stationed at the entrance to the Thames, 151 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:37.559 and had built a blockade of boats across, so that 152 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:40.159 come what may, the Spanish would not be able to 153 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:44.120 simply sail straight into the capitol. On the twenty seventh 154 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:48.840 of July, the Armada anchored off Calais. There, Parma was 155 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:53.399 waiting with sixteen thousand troops four to one to cross 156 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:57.879 the channel. The Dutch fleet was patrolling the sea nearby, 157 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:02.399 hoping to prevent the Spanish from sailing at all. The 158 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:05.480 English followed the Armada to Calais, where at midnight on 159 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:08.799 the twenty eighth, orders were given for five quote unquote 160 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:13.639 hell burners fire ships packed with wood and pitch, to 161 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:18.200 be sent among the galleons. The resulting inferno, flamed by 162 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:23.159 high winds, caused panic and chaos, scattering the Spanish galleons 163 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:26.440 and wrecking the crescent formation of the Armada, which was 164 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:30.120 unable to regroup because of the winds. This meant that 165 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:32.320 the little English ships would now be able to fight 166 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:36.240 on more equal terms. As a result of this action, 167 00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:41.720 morale against the Spanish forces was fatally weakened. On the 168 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:46.039 twenty ninth of July, off Grave Lines, the Spanish admiral 169 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:50.360 made heroic, not entirely unsuccessful efforts to reform his ships 170 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:53.159 before the two fleets engaged in what would be the 171 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:56.799 final battle. But the English, with greater numbers, now had 172 00:11:56.799 --> 00:11:59.919 the advantage and they pressed at home. The Spaniards law 173 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:03.240 lost eleven ships and two thousand men, and the English 174 00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:06.159 just fifty men. The action was only abandoned when both 175 00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:10.200 sides ran out of ammunition. Elizabeth, however, did not yet 176 00:12:10.279 --> 00:12:14.039 know about the victory, so on July thirtieth she moved 177 00:12:14.039 --> 00:12:17.559 to the more defensible Saint James Palace, and it was 178 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:22.080 then that the wind changed direction, driving the remaining Spanish 179 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:27.200 galleons north and destroying many. The wind, what people were 180 00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:32.679 already calling the quote unquote Protestant wind, was responsible for 181 00:12:32.919 --> 00:12:37.240 most of the overall Spanish losses. On August the second, 182 00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:41.600 Lord Howard called off the English pursuit. By this time, 183 00:12:42.039 --> 00:12:46.120 most of the Spanish ships remaining were wandering the Scottish waters. 184 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:49.720 One English sailor wrote, quote many of them will never 185 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:55.000 see Spain again. Although false reports of victory had prompted 186 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:58.919 premature rejoicing in Spain, by the third of August, when 187 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:02.399 the Spanish admirals ordered his remaining few ships to return home, 188 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:05.840 it was clear that the Spanish had suffered the most 189 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:10.519 humiliating label defeat in their history. They lost two thirds 190 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:13.799 of their men, many dying stranded on remote beaches of 191 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:17.600 wounds and sickness, or slaughtered in Ireland by the Lord 192 00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:21.639 Deputy's men, and forty four ships and many more were 193 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:24.799 so badly damaged that they would no longer be sea worthy. 194 00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:28.600 The English, on the other hand, had lost only one 195 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:31.919 hundred men and none of their ships. Elizabeth was cautious 196 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:37.759 this quote tyrannical, proud and brainsick attempt end quote would be, 197 00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:41.919 she observed in a letter to James the sixth, the beginning, 198 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:45.360 though not the end, of the ruin of that King Philip. 199 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:50.600 Contrary to how the defeat of the Spanish Armada is 200 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:55.720 typically portrayed, it wasn't all over. Parma was still just 201 00:13:55.799 --> 00:14:00.360 across the channel with sixteen thousand troops. We all had 202 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:04.759 the necessary transports. All he needed was a favorable wind. 203 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:09.759 Elizabeth herself against the wishes of her counsel wrote out 204 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:13.639 to encourage her troops. On the eighth of August, riding 205 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:17.399 a white gelding and dressed quote like a bright angel. 206 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:22.039 End the quote, she looked like a queen. Triumphant, hundreds 207 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:25.279 fell to their knees, calling out, Lord, preserve our Queen. 208 00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:29.360 As she passed. The following morning, she addressed her troops again, 209 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:35.080 delivering the most famous speech of her reign. My loving people, 210 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:38.080 we have been persuaded by some that are careful of 211 00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:40.960 our safety to take heed of how we commit ourselves 212 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:44.519 to armed multitudes for fear of treachery. But I do 213 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:47.440 assure you I do not desire to live to distrust 214 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:51.240 my faithful and loving people, let tyrants fear. I have 215 00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:54.679 always so behaved myself that under God I have placed 216 00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:57.519 my chiefest strength and safeguards in the loyal hearts and 217 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:01.440 goodwill of my subjects. And therefore I am come amongst you, 218 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:04.240 as you see at this time, not for my recreation 219 00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:07.440 and disport, but being resolved in the midst and heat 220 00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:10.279 of battle, to live or die amongst you all, to 221 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:13.320 lay down for my God and my kingdom, and for 222 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:16.759 my people, my honor and my blood, even in the Dust. 223 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:20.480 I know I have the body of a weak and 224 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:24.039 feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of 225 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:28.159 a king, and a King of England too, And think 226 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:31.519 it foul scorn that Parma, or Spain, or any Prince 227 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:34.559 of Europe should dare invade the borders of my realm, 228 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:38.159 to which, rather than any dishonor shall grow by me, 229 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:41.840 I will myself take up arms. I myself will be 230 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:45.519 your general, judge and rewarder of every one of your virtues. 231 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:50.240 In the meantime, my Lieutenant General Dudley shall be in 232 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:54.039 my stead than whom never Prince commanded a more noble 233 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:57.639 or worthy subject. Not doubting, but by your obedience to 234 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:00.759 my General, by your concord in the camp and valor 235 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:03.799 in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory 236 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:06.840 over these enemies of God, of my kingdom, and of 237 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:12.200 my people. By noon, though word had reached the English 238 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:16.000 that there would be no invasion Parma without the support 239 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:19.440 of the Spanish navy would not advance, Philip, with a 240 00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:23.720 heavy heart, had ultimately agreed the enterprise of England had failed. 241 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:30.279 On August tenth, Elizabeth returned to a triumphant London thanks 242 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:33.519 to the thorough preparations made by the government, the intensive 243 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:36.919 training and organization of troops and resources, the skill of 244 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:41.039 the English commanders, and of course the Protestant wind. The 245 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:44.759 mighty Armana had been vanquished, and England had achieved one 246 00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:50.039 of the greatest victories in all of its history. Most 247 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:53.200 of the men were dismissed on or about August the seventeenth. 248 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:57.919 England lost few men in the actual fighting, but the 249 00:16:57.960 --> 00:17:01.720 ships had been so badly provisioned that many sailors now 250 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:04.799 lay sick or even dying imports up and down the coast, 251 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:09.960 suffering from scurvy and typhoid. Lord Howard and Sir Francis 252 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:12.839 Drake paid out of their own pockets for supplies to 253 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:17.599 alleviate their suffering. On August the twenty sixth, the official 254 00:17:17.960 --> 00:17:24.119 victory celebration went forward at Whitehall. Then on September the 255 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:30.720 fourth tragedy struck. Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, sick 256 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:36.240 for some time, died at four o'clock in the morning. Sadly, 257 00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:39.079 for a man so utterly committed to his queen, he 258 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:42.640 continued to be slandered by his enemies long after his death. 259 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:48.160 The poet Spencer wrote dismissively of Dudley. He is now dead, 260 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:51.200 and all his glory is gone, and all his greatness 261 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:54.720 vapored to naught. His name is Warren, already ought of thought. 262 00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:59.039 Nay any poet seeks him to revive. Yet many poets 263 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:04.960 honored him a lie. Elizabeth was grief stricken. Dudley had 264 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:09.799 been closer to anyone to her, perhaps maybe Cecil. She 265 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:13.519 had often called Dudley her brother and best friend. It 266 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:16.720 was also to Elizabeth a sign that her own end 267 00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:19.880 could not be long in the coming. Her and Dudley 268 00:18:19.880 --> 00:18:22.400 had grown up together, as she had become queen and 269 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:28.839 grew into the role. Now he was gone, Dudley's death 270 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:33.519 went virtually unnoticed and certainly unmourned. In the national elation 271 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:36.319 that followed the defeat of the Armada. Elizabeth had to 272 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:37.920 put on a brave face in order to lead the 273 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:41.079 people in their celebrations, but it was noticed that autumn 274 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:44.559 that she was quote much aged and spent and very 275 00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:49.960 melancholy unquote. When she sat for George Gower for the 276 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:53.240 famous Armada portrait that's in a lot of textbooks today. 277 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:59.079 She wore Dudley's pearls as she would in many subsequent portraits. 278 00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:05.400 Of November was consumed by festivities and celebrations, culminating in 279 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:08.920 a massive feast of Thanksgiving at Saint Paul's Cathedral on 280 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:13.599 November twenty second. There, the English victory was declared to 281 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:19.359 have been the greatest since Agincore. Elizabeth's reputation was never 282 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:22.200 greater than at this time, making her the most respected 283 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:27.240 monarch in Christendom. Even her enemies acknowledged her qualities. The 284 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:30.720 Pope declared, quote, she certainly is a great queen, and 285 00:19:30.759 --> 00:19:33.200 were she only a Catholic, she would be our dearly 286 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:36.799 beloved daughter. Just look how well she governs. She is 287 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:39.880 only a woman, only a mistress of half an island, 288 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:42.759 and yet she makes herself feared by Spain, by France, 289 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:47.480 by the Empire, by all end quote. He jested, this 290 00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:49.359 is the Pope again that he wished he was free 291 00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:52.200 to marry her, writing quote, what a wife she would make, 292 00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:55.599 what children she would have? They would have ruled the 293 00:19:55.640 --> 00:19:59.960 whole world end quote. He also praised Sir Francis Drake, 294 00:20:00.119 --> 00:20:03.160 by the way, who was very much involved in the victory. 295 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:08.079 It was a time for superlatives. Honestly in France and Italy, 296 00:20:08.119 --> 00:20:12.119 as in Rome, Catholics honored the Queen. I'llrie the third 297 00:20:12.799 --> 00:20:15.880 lauded her valor, spirit and prudence, declaring that her victory 298 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:18.559 quote would compare with the greatest feats of the most 299 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:22.799 illustrious men of past times end quote. Even the Ottoman 300 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:27.240 Sultan wrote singing her praises and actually agreed to a 301 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:32.519 peace treaty with Poland for her sake. After fifteen eighty 302 00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:35.960 eight and the Famous Armada, the fame of the Virgin 303 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:38.799 Queens spread far and wide, while in England, where her 304 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:41.400 people bassed in the reflective glow of her victory, her 305 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:47.400 legend grew, giving rise to a new cult figure, Eliza Triumphant. 306 00:20:48.680 --> 00:20:51.359 She was more convinced now than ever that God had 307 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:53.960 destined her to rule her people, and that the victory 308 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:57.680 was a signal manifestation of the divine will. For the 309 00:20:57.720 --> 00:21:01.200 rest of her reign. Writers and artists would portray her 310 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:06.599 all the elements, bowing to her authority. Her Catholic subjects, 311 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:10.359 in the end had proven themselves loyal, and the threat 312 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:15.279 of insurrection had now receded. This worked out for her 313 00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:18.319 Catholic subjects too, by the way, because it paid the 314 00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:22.400 way for more tolerance in the future. The conviction of 315 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:25.599 the Protestant majority that God and Providence had intervened in 316 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:28.599 God's hour of need gave a new stability to the 317 00:21:28.599 --> 00:21:32.799 Anglican Church. Above all, there was a surge of national 318 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:37.720 confidence which led to the flowering of literature and decorative arts, 319 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:41.759 which would become known in later years as the English Renaissance. 320 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:48.640 That Wetsminster. A schoolboy named John Sly admirably expressed the 321 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:51.039 mood of the English people in the text of his 322 00:21:51.720 --> 00:21:54.480 Julius Caesar's Works, which is actually preserved at Oxford. He 323 00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:58.160 can go see it. He repeatedly scribbled the Queen's name 324 00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:03.359 along with this couplet. The rose is read believes are green. 325 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:10.480 God save Elizabeth, our noble queen. Next week we leave 326 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:13.799 England for a moment and roll back to France were 327 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:18.279 despite everyone's best efforts, the line of val law, having 328 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:22.160 ruled France since the thirteenth century, comes to an end.