Who was in charge of the spanish armada?
The armada (“Invincible Armada”) was smashed by storms, after which Francis and the Fleet simply mopped up what very little was left. The commanding officer, Duke of Medina Sidonia, was a landlubber who was forced to take command when the intended admiral, Alvarado de Bazan, the Marquis of Santa Cruz, had the good timing to die of apparently natural causes. The concept of the operation was that after clearing the channel of heretical protestant naval forces, the armada would link up with the army of the Duke of Parma, who had brought his army out of the [Spanish] Netherlands to Calais. The armada would convoy the army of the Duke directly to Dover, whence they would march to and burn London and bring the witch-heretic Elizabeth to Spain to burn at the stake. Drake had the foresight to launch a spoiling raid against Cadiz, destroying the Spanish vanguard of 30 ships. The resulting delays in the sailing of the Armada broght the mission smack up against the storms that destroyed the armad
Spain The truth is that in 1588 the most powerful, best-organised, best-equipped army in Europe – was the Spanish ‘Army of Flanders’ . It had almost crushed the Dutch revolt in the northern provinces of the Spanish Netherlands. Their commander, the respected and feared Duke of Parma was poised ready to embark his troops to cross the narrow end of the North Sea. They planned to land in the Deal – Sandwich area. England’s land defences were poor: troops were hastily recruited volunteers with little equipment or training; there were no modern fortifications, and Henry VIII’s 50-year old coastal castles were already vulnerable to modern guns. It is likely that the battle-hardened Spanish troops with their powerful artillery would have swept through Kent overwhelming the opposition, and have captured London within a week. It is fairly certain that Spanish king Philip II did not want or intend to rule England as part of the Spanish empire – or to make English people speak Spanish. As a zealo
The actual leader of the Spanish Armada was the Duke of Medina Sedonia, who served under Philip II. It failed because the English had superior sailors, especially Sir Francis Drake. The English ships were smaller and faster than the bulky Spanish ones, which were really designed to transport men and cargo than engage in naval battle. The English hammered the Spanish. Also, Philip II wasn’t exactly the master of strategy, while Drake was a wily sea dog. Storms accounted for more of the Spanish troops and men. English weather is a b*tch.
Philip II was a Hapsburg king. The Hapsburgs being Spanish. In 1588 I think Philip II sent the Armada to defeat England. He wanted to do this to make England Catholic again. But when the Spanish fleet got there England set some of their own ships on fire and sent them towards the Spanish fleet. The Spanish fleet lost BIG TIME basically because it all burned up. Elizabeth I was the Queen of England at the time.
