The mighty Spanish Armada (or
Grande y Felicísima Armada, "Great and Most Fortunate Navy") sailed
from Lisbon (in occupied Portugal) in 1588 with the intention of tranporting a Spanish
army to the shores of England, where they hoped to overthrow the Protestant realm of
Queen Elizabeth I. The Armada totaled at least 150 armed ships, bound for the coast of
Flanders where a Spanish army of 30,000 men awaited transport to England, and at least
25,000 soldiers and sailors were already aboard when the fleet
embarked.
The British awaited the Armada with nearly 200
ships of their own, but the Spanish firepower was much stronger. The much smaller
British ships actually held an advantage over the Armada: The large-hulled Spanish ships
needed a deepwater port for anchorage, a rarity along the English
Channel.
The
English had learned more of the Armada's strengths and weaknesses during the skirmishes
in the English Channel and had concluded it was necessary to close within 100 yards to
penetrate the oak hulls of the Spanish ships... During all the engagements, the Spanish
heavy guns could not easily be run in for reloading because of their close spacing and
the quantities of supplies stowed between
decks...
At the Battle of
Gravelines, the English ships, with their smaller hulls and superior maneuverability,
were able to "maintain a position to windward so that the heeling Armada hulls were
exposed to damage below the water line." The ensuing British victory culminated in the
eventual destruction of more than 60 Spanish ships,
... resulting in a revolution in naval warfare
with the promotion of gunnery, which until then had played a supporting role to the
tasks of ramming and boarding. The battle of Gravelines is regarded by some specialists
in military history as reflecting a lasting shift in the naval balance in favour of the
English, in part because of the gap in naval technology and armament it confirmed
between the two nations, which continued into the next
century.
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