Speaker 1: Hello, and Welcome to Western SIV, Episode three hundred and
Speaker 1: thirteen The Armada. In June of fifteen eighty seven, Dudley
Speaker 1: left England at the head of another army bound for
Speaker 1: the Netherlands. The Spanish general, the Duke of Parma, sued
Speaker 1: for peace, since he wanted to play for time. This
Speaker 1: initiated months of tortured negotiations. On the twenty ninth of July,
Speaker 1: the Pope signed a treaty with Spain, consenting to Philip
Speaker 1: to nominate whoever he wanted as the ruler of England,
Speaker 1: so long as that person was a Catholic. In September,
Speaker 1: Philip ordered Parma to assemble a fleet of barges for
Speaker 1: the coming invasion. Aware of the preparations being made, Elizabeth
Speaker 1: rested her hopes on the outcome of peace talks. She
Speaker 1: knew that England was in no position to fight a
Speaker 1: war with Spain. England had no standing army at all,
Speaker 1: and only a very small navy. Meanwhile, such serious differences
Speaker 1: had arisen between the English and their Dutch allies that
Speaker 1: it seemed the Netherlands might erupt in a civil war.
Speaker 1: And in the autumn, Dudley, whose own incompetence was largely
Speaker 1: to blame. Advised the Queen that he could be of
Speaker 1: no further use there, and so she recalled him in November.
Speaker 1: Before he left, he ordered a medal to be struck
Speaker 1: bearing the legend quote, I reluctantly leave not the flock,
Speaker 1: but the ungrateful ones. Back at court, Dudley found his
Speaker 1: position diminished. Elizabeth was very dis appointed in his performance.
Speaker 1: Now twice in the Netherlands, Dudley retired for the moment
Speaker 1: to the country. He even relinquished the title of Master
Speaker 1: of Horse, which he had held for almost thirty years,
Speaker 1: asking the Queen to consider bestowing it upon his step son,
Speaker 1: the Earl of Essex. Elizabeth liked the young Earl, though
Speaker 1: she did recognize he lacked political acumen. At this point,
Speaker 1: there was much to be admired in Essex, though he
Speaker 1: did have a darker side. He could be moody, imperious, petulant,
Speaker 1: and difficult when his temper was aroused. He tended to
Speaker 1: be impulsive to a fault. He had little sense of
Speaker 1: self discipline and quote could conceal nothing carries his love
Speaker 1: and his hatred on his forehead and quote. He was
Speaker 1: also rather long to forgive. He was a complex man.
Speaker 1: He seemed to rush through life at times. He was
Speaker 1: also a dreamer who seemed to inhabit a world of
Speaker 1: his own. Sometimes he was unaware even of what food
Speaker 1: he was eating. He cared little whether his clothes matched
Speaker 1: at all. He walked with a long stride, his head
Speaker 1: famously aggressively thrust forward. It was extremely promiscuous, but after
Speaker 1: casual sex, he would hasten to church to meditate on
Speaker 1: God and beg forgiveness for several hours. He loved the
Speaker 1: dazzle of the court, but he also yearned to be
Speaker 1: at home in the country. Since boyhood, he had been
Speaker 1: terribly procrastination prone. Sometimes he would lay in bed for days, hot,
Speaker 1: shaking and melancholy, unable to speak or even think rationally.
Speaker 1: Yet it was egotistical and driven by ambition. He was
Speaker 1: desired to be the leader of swordsmen. He wanted to
Speaker 1: be a warrior. He wanted to be renowned, like Henry
Speaker 1: the Fifth before him. He wanted to lead an extravagant lifestyle,
Speaker 1: and so he needed money, and that was the one
Speaker 1: thing Essex never had in plenty. He lived beyond his means,
Speaker 1: existing in a permanent state of near bankruptcy. The Queen,
Speaker 1: as best as she could, did her best to bail
Speaker 1: him out. Essex's chief rival at court was Sir Walter Rawleigh,
Speaker 1: at least for the moment, though the latter was usually
Speaker 1: on the outside looking in. Perhaps that was why he
Speaker 1: spent so much of his life exploring and sailing the
Speaker 1: high seas. On the twenty first of December, the Queen
Speaker 1: appointed Charles Lord Howard of Effingham, Lieutenant General, Lord High
Speaker 1: Admiral and Commander of the English Navy, and ordered the
Speaker 1: fleet to be put on standby. There was no doubt
Speaker 1: now that Philip would send his armada soon. She had
Speaker 1: known his plans since November. The armada of Spanish galleons
Speaker 1: was set to defeat the English fleet and paved the
Speaker 1: way for the Duke of Parma, who would immediately landing
Speaker 1: and with his army from the Netherlands. When Elizabeth had
Speaker 1: been deposed and the country secured, Philip would arrive to
Speaker 1: claim the crown for his daughter and the Catholic faith.
Speaker 1: The English government was now firmly on a war footing,
Speaker 1: as we might say today. Defenses were rebuilt and strengthened,
Speaker 1: especially along the coast a chain of beacons was set
Speaker 1: up along the coastline to signal the invasion. Soldiers and
Speaker 1: sailors alike were recruited to serve, but when it became
Speaker 1: clear that the Spanish invasion would not be ready until
Speaker 1: the following summer, Elizabeth demobilized her ships because she couldn't
Speaker 1: afford to keep them outfitted if they weren't going to
Speaker 1: be used. Now. To be clear, Elizabeth did not want
Speaker 1: a war. She would be prepared if war came. She
Speaker 1: had no interest in winning martial glory like her father
Speaker 1: had been. Her goal had always been peace. The looming
Speaker 1: reality of war, however, forced Elizabeth to recall Dudley, who
Speaker 1: urged her to continue to strengthen her defenses. Diplomacy, he
Speaker 1: bluntly told her, was not going to be an option
Speaker 1: this time. Sir Francis Drake proposed a daring preemptive strike
Speaker 1: against Philip's fleet in Spain, but Elizabeth would not allow it.
Speaker 1: She needed every ship she could get and the plan
Speaker 1: was just too risky. She was still holding out hope
Speaker 1: that it might never come to war. In April, the
Speaker 1: Queen dispatched doctor Valentine Dale, her former ambassador to Paris,
Speaker 1: to Parma to beg for peace. The commissioners for both
Speaker 1: sides meant to discuss the matter of the thirtieth of May,
Speaker 1: the very day on which the Spanish armada of one
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty ships, manned by some thirty thousand men,
Speaker 1: under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, set
Speaker 1: sail from Lisbon, bound for England. By then the English
Speaker 1: fleet was already at battle stations of Plymouth. On board
Speaker 1: the Spanish ships worth thousands of printed copies of the
Speaker 1: Papa Bull blessing the Enterprise, reaffirming Elizabeth's excommunication and calling
Speaker 1: upon her subjects to depose her. These were to be
Speaker 1: distributed in England by the invading force. However, when late
Speaker 1: in June elizabeth subjects learned of the existence of the Bull,
Speaker 1: they remained fiercely loyal to their queen. On July seventeenth,
Speaker 1: Elizabeth ended the peace negotiations. One way or another, this
Speaker 1: would be decided at sea. The progress of the Spanish
Speaker 1: fleet had been held up by a series of storms,
Speaker 1: but on July nineteenth, what the Spaniards were calling the
Speaker 1: quote unquote invincible Armada was first cited by the English.
Speaker 1: According to legend, Sir Francis Drake was gambling at the
Speaker 1: time the news came in, declared he had time to
Speaker 1: finish the game before vanquishing his enemy. As the chain
Speaker 1: of beacons flared to life. Elizabeth received word of the
Speaker 1: Armada's approach on the twenty second of July. Cecil often
Speaker 1: remarked over the next few days how calmly the Queen behaved.
Speaker 1: Her tranquill demeanor was the result of knowing that everything
Speaker 1: which could have been done had been done. England, for
Speaker 1: better or worse, was prepared as it was going to
Speaker 1: get Throughout the kingdom, people waited expectant and fearful. Moving
Speaker 1: along the south coast, the Armada was making for the Netherlands,
Speaker 1: where it would escort Parma's army to England. Waiting at
Speaker 1: Plymouth was the English Fleet, one hundred and fifty strong
Speaker 1: and flying the white and green colors of the Tudors
Speaker 1: from its masts. It was under the command of the
Speaker 1: Admiral Lord Howard, assisted by the much more experienced Sir
Speaker 1: Francis Drake. The Admiral, realizing that his rank rather than
Speaker 1: his naval achievements, had qualified him for this command, announced
Speaker 1: immediately that he would quote yield. Ever, unto them of
Speaker 1: greater experience and quote. Drake in turn behaved lovingly and
Speaker 1: kindly towards Howard. The admiral's flagship was the Ark Royal,
Speaker 1: formerly known as the Ark Raleigh, having been sold to
Speaker 1: the Queen by Raleigh himself the previous year. Howard had
Speaker 1: been authorized by the Queen to conduct all engagements according
Speaker 1: to his own judgment. By contrast, Philip had written detailed
Speaker 1: and often unrealistic instructions by which the Spanish admiral was
Speaker 1: to abide. Howard put out to see in pursuit of
Speaker 1: the Armada after nightfall on the nineteenth of July. There
Speaker 1: was a brief and inconclusive skirmish off Eddystone, near Plymouth
Speaker 1: on Sunday the twenty first, followed by two days later
Speaker 1: of a more vicious engagement near Portland, Dorset, in which
Speaker 1: several Spanish galleons were severely damaged. Two more were wrecked
Speaker 1: off the Isle of Wight on the twenty fifth of July.
Speaker 1: All the while, the English fleet continued to shadow the
Speaker 1: Armada as it sailed east, avoiding any further engagements by
Speaker 1: sailing out of range whenever the galleys turned to prepare
Speaker 1: for battle. Meanwhile, on land, the levees were mustered. Dudley
Speaker 1: was an overall command. He had an advanced guard of
Speaker 1: four thousand men stationed at the entrance to the Thames,
Speaker 1: and had built a blockade of boats across, so that
Speaker 1: come what may, the Spanish would not be able to
Speaker 1: simply sail straight into the capitol. On the twenty seventh
Speaker 1: of July, the Armada anchored off Calais. There, Parma was
Speaker 1: waiting with sixteen thousand troops four to one to cross
Speaker 1: the channel. The Dutch fleet was patrolling the sea nearby,
Speaker 1: hoping to prevent the Spanish from sailing at all. The
Speaker 1: English followed the Armada to Calais, where at midnight on
Speaker 1: the twenty eighth, orders were given for five quote unquote
Speaker 1: hell burners fire ships packed with wood and pitch, to
Speaker 1: be sent among the galleons. The resulting inferno, flamed by
Speaker 1: high winds, caused panic and chaos, scattering the Spanish galleons
Speaker 1: and wrecking the crescent formation of the Armada, which was
Speaker 1: unable to regroup because of the winds. This meant that
Speaker 1: the little English ships would now be able to fight
Speaker 1: on more equal terms. As a result of this action,
Speaker 1: morale against the Spanish forces was fatally weakened. On the
Speaker 1: twenty ninth of July, off Grave Lines, the Spanish admiral
Speaker 1: made heroic, not entirely unsuccessful efforts to reform his ships
Speaker 1: before the two fleets engaged in what would be the
Speaker 1: final battle. But the English, with greater numbers, now had
Speaker 1: the advantage and they pressed at home. The Spaniards law
Speaker 1: lost eleven ships and two thousand men, and the English
Speaker 1: just fifty men. The action was only abandoned when both
Speaker 1: sides ran out of ammunition. Elizabeth, however, did not yet
Speaker 1: know about the victory, so on July thirtieth she moved
Speaker 1: to the more defensible Saint James Palace, and it was
Speaker 1: then that the wind changed direction, driving the remaining Spanish
Speaker 1: galleons north and destroying many. The wind, what people were
Speaker 1: already calling the quote unquote Protestant wind, was responsible for
Speaker 1: most of the overall Spanish losses. On August the second,
Speaker 1: Lord Howard called off the English pursuit. By this time,
Speaker 1: most of the Spanish ships remaining were wandering the Scottish waters.
Speaker 1: One English sailor wrote, quote many of them will never
Speaker 1: see Spain again. Although false reports of victory had prompted
Speaker 1: premature rejoicing in Spain, by the third of August, when
Speaker 1: the Spanish admirals ordered his remaining few ships to return home,
Speaker 1: it was clear that the Spanish had suffered the most
Speaker 1: humiliating label defeat in their history. They lost two thirds
Speaker 1: of their men, many dying stranded on remote beaches of
Speaker 1: wounds and sickness, or slaughtered in Ireland by the Lord
Speaker 1: Deputy's men, and forty four ships and many more were
Speaker 1: so badly damaged that they would no longer be sea worthy.
Speaker 1: The English, on the other hand, had lost only one
Speaker 1: hundred men and none of their ships. Elizabeth was cautious
Speaker 1: this quote tyrannical, proud and brainsick attempt end quote would be,
Speaker 1: she observed in a letter to James the sixth, the beginning,
Speaker 1: though not the end, of the ruin of that King Philip.
Speaker 1: Contrary to how the defeat of the Spanish Armada is
Speaker 1: typically portrayed, it wasn't all over. Parma was still just
Speaker 1: across the channel with sixteen thousand troops. We all had
Speaker 1: the necessary transports. All he needed was a favorable wind.
Speaker 1: Elizabeth herself against the wishes of her counsel wrote out
Speaker 1: to encourage her troops. On the eighth of August, riding
Speaker 1: a white gelding and dressed quote like a bright angel.
Speaker 1: End the quote, she looked like a queen. Triumphant, hundreds
Speaker 1: fell to their knees, calling out, Lord, preserve our Queen.
Speaker 1: As she passed. The following morning, she addressed her troops again,
Speaker 1: delivering the most famous speech of her reign. My loving people,
Speaker 1: we have been persuaded by some that are careful of
Speaker 1: our safety to take heed of how we commit ourselves
Speaker 1: to armed multitudes for fear of treachery. But I do
Speaker 1: assure you I do not desire to live to distrust
Speaker 1: my faithful and loving people, let tyrants fear. I have
Speaker 1: always so behaved myself that under God I have placed
Speaker 1: my chiefest strength and safeguards in the loyal hearts and
Speaker 1: goodwill of my subjects. And therefore I am come amongst you,
Speaker 1: as you see at this time, not for my recreation
Speaker 1: and disport, but being resolved in the midst and heat
Speaker 1: of battle, to live or die amongst you all, to
Speaker 1: lay down for my God and my kingdom, and for
Speaker 1: my people, my honor and my blood, even in the Dust.
Speaker 1: I know I have the body of a weak and
Speaker 1: feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of
Speaker 1: a king, and a King of England too, And think
Speaker 1: it foul scorn that Parma, or Spain, or any Prince
Speaker 1: of Europe should dare invade the borders of my realm,
Speaker 1: to which, rather than any dishonor shall grow by me,
Speaker 1: I will myself take up arms. I myself will be
Speaker 1: your general, judge and rewarder of every one of your virtues.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, my Lieutenant General Dudley shall be in
Speaker 1: my stead than whom never Prince commanded a more noble
Speaker 1: or worthy subject. Not doubting, but by your obedience to
Speaker 1: my General, by your concord in the camp and valor
Speaker 1: in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory
Speaker 1: over these enemies of God, of my kingdom, and of
Speaker 1: my people. By noon, though word had reached the English
Speaker 1: that there would be no invasion Parma without the support
Speaker 1: of the Spanish navy would not advance, Philip, with a
Speaker 1: heavy heart, had ultimately agreed the enterprise of England had failed.
Speaker 1: On August tenth, Elizabeth returned to a triumphant London thanks
Speaker 1: to the thorough preparations made by the government, the intensive
Speaker 1: training and organization of troops and resources, the skill of
Speaker 1: the English commanders, and of course the Protestant wind. The
Speaker 1: mighty Armana had been vanquished, and England had achieved one
Speaker 1: of the greatest victories in all of its history. Most
Speaker 1: of the men were dismissed on or about August the seventeenth.
Speaker 1: England lost few men in the actual fighting, but the
Speaker 1: ships had been so badly provisioned that many sailors now
Speaker 1: lay sick or even dying imports up and down the coast,
Speaker 1: suffering from scurvy and typhoid. Lord Howard and Sir Francis
Speaker 1: Drake paid out of their own pockets for supplies to
Speaker 1: alleviate their suffering. On August the twenty sixth, the official
Speaker 1: victory celebration went forward at Whitehall. Then on September the
Speaker 1: fourth tragedy struck. Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, sick
Speaker 1: for some time, died at four o'clock in the morning. Sadly,
Speaker 1: for a man so utterly committed to his queen, he
Speaker 1: continued to be slandered by his enemies long after his death.
Speaker 1: The poet Spencer wrote dismissively of Dudley. He is now dead,
Speaker 1: and all his glory is gone, and all his greatness
Speaker 1: vapored to naught. His name is Warren, already ought of thought.
Speaker 1: Nay any poet seeks him to revive. Yet many poets
Speaker 1: honored him a lie. Elizabeth was grief stricken. Dudley had
Speaker 1: been closer to anyone to her, perhaps maybe Cecil. She
Speaker 1: had often called Dudley her brother and best friend. It
Speaker 1: was also to Elizabeth a sign that her own end
Speaker 1: could not be long in the coming. Her and Dudley
Speaker 1: had grown up together, as she had become queen and
Speaker 1: grew into the role. Now he was gone, Dudley's death
Speaker 1: went virtually unnoticed and certainly unmourned. In the national elation
Speaker 1: that followed the defeat of the Armada. Elizabeth had to
Speaker 1: put on a brave face in order to lead the
Speaker 1: people in their celebrations, but it was noticed that autumn
Speaker 1: that she was quote much aged and spent and very
Speaker 1: melancholy unquote. When she sat for George Gower for the
Speaker 1: famous Armada portrait that's in a lot of textbooks today.
Speaker 1: She wore Dudley's pearls as she would in many subsequent portraits.
Speaker 1: Of November was consumed by festivities and celebrations, culminating in
Speaker 1: a massive feast of Thanksgiving at Saint Paul's Cathedral on
Speaker 1: November twenty second. There, the English victory was declared to
Speaker 1: have been the greatest since Agincore. Elizabeth's reputation was never
Speaker 1: greater than at this time, making her the most respected
Speaker 1: monarch in Christendom. Even her enemies acknowledged her qualities. The
Speaker 1: Pope declared, quote, she certainly is a great queen, and
Speaker 1: were she only a Catholic, she would be our dearly
Speaker 1: beloved daughter. Just look how well she governs. She is
Speaker 1: only a woman, only a mistress of half an island,
Speaker 1: and yet she makes herself feared by Spain, by France,
Speaker 1: by the Empire, by all end quote. He jested, this
Speaker 1: is the Pope again that he wished he was free
Speaker 1: to marry her, writing quote, what a wife she would make,
Speaker 1: what children she would have? They would have ruled the
Speaker 1: whole world end quote. He also praised Sir Francis Drake,
Speaker 1: by the way, who was very much involved in the victory.
Speaker 1: It was a time for superlatives. Honestly in France and Italy,
Speaker 1: as in Rome, Catholics honored the Queen. I'llrie the third
Speaker 1: lauded her valor, spirit and prudence, declaring that her victory
Speaker 1: quote would compare with the greatest feats of the most
Speaker 1: illustrious men of past times end quote. Even the Ottoman
Speaker 1: Sultan wrote singing her praises and actually agreed to a
Speaker 1: peace treaty with Poland for her sake. After fifteen eighty
Speaker 1: eight and the Famous Armada, the fame of the Virgin
Speaker 1: Queens spread far and wide, while in England, where her
Speaker 1: people bassed in the reflective glow of her victory, her
Speaker 1: legend grew, giving rise to a new cult figure, Eliza Triumphant.
Speaker 1: She was more convinced now than ever that God had
Speaker 1: destined her to rule her people, and that the victory
Speaker 1: was a signal manifestation of the divine will. For the
Speaker 1: rest of her reign. Writers and artists would portray her
Speaker 1: all the elements, bowing to her authority. Her Catholic subjects,
Speaker 1: in the end had proven themselves loyal, and the threat
Speaker 1: of insurrection had now receded. This worked out for her
Speaker 1: Catholic subjects too, by the way, because it paid the
Speaker 1: way for more tolerance in the future. The conviction of
Speaker 1: the Protestant majority that God and Providence had intervened in
Speaker 1: God's hour of need gave a new stability to the
Speaker 1: Anglican Church. Above all, there was a surge of national
Speaker 1: confidence which led to the flowering of literature and decorative arts,
Speaker 1: which would become known in later years as the English Renaissance.
Speaker 1: That Wetsminster. A schoolboy named John Sly admirably expressed the
Speaker 1: mood of the English people in the text of his
Speaker 1: Julius Caesar's Works, which is actually preserved at Oxford. He
Speaker 1: can go see it. He repeatedly scribbled the Queen's name
Speaker 1: along with this couplet. The rose is read believes are green.
Speaker 1: God save Elizabeth, our noble queen. Next week we leave
Speaker 1: England for a moment and roll back to France were
Speaker 1: despite everyone's best efforts, the line of val law, having
Speaker 1: ruled France since the thirteenth century, comes to an end.