The events leading up to the Spanish Armada?

The armada was the brainchild of Spain’s King Philip II.

His reasons

• The English navy was exercising too much control over the sea routes to the New World, where many of Spain’s colonies were situated.
• Then there was the religious rivalry between Catholic Spain and Protestant England, as England was not a nice place to be a Catholic, which meant that he that the Pope would fund his plans to help the English Catholics.
• He was frustrated by the help and support the English were giving those fighting his army in the Low Countries.

This meant that from Philip’s point of view, it was a no brainer, he had to invade England, solving all his problems in one stroke.

His cunning plan

He had a cunning plan, send an armada of fighting ships up the English Channel to Dunkirk where the Duke of Palma, the Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, would assemble an army of 30,000 soldiers.

The ships would ferry the troops across the Channel and, once in England, march on London and capture the capital, forcing Queen Elizabeth to surrender.

It took 2 years to prepare his plan.

King Philip spent over two years preparing the fleet, the reason was that he didn’t only need galleons and warships, he also needed troop and cargo ships, which he had to build, to transport all the men and equipment. Totally he built an armada of more than 130 ships, this was as well as several small ships that would act as scouts and carry messages between the bigger ones.

Spain was the richest and most powerful nation on earth at that time, or so they thought, which meant that Philip knew it would be simple and easy.

But he was wrong!

Our sister site Educationalmusicals.co.uk has published a musical The Spanish Armada – The Invasion of England tells the story of what happened through both dialogue, which never has more than five lines in any speech, and twelve original songs, that you children will walk round the school singing.  

To hear two of the songs and read two pages of script please click on The Spanish Armada – The Invasion of England

Let’s make History fun.

Here are 10 questions on this blog:

1. 1. 1. Who was the mastermind behind the Armada?
      2. What was one of the main reasons for the creation of the Armada related to the New World?
      3. How did religious rivalry influence King Philip II’s decision to invade England?
      4. What support did King Philip II expect from the Pope for his plans against England?
      5. What assistance from England was frustrating King Philip II in the Low Countries?
      6. What was King Philip II’s plan for the Armada once it reached the English Channel?
      7. Where was the Duke of Parma supposed to assemble an army of 30,000 soldiers?
      8. What was the ultimate goal of the Armada after ferrying troops across the Channel?
      9. How long did King Philip II spend preparing the fleet for the invasion?
      10. What types of ships did King Philip II build for the Armada and what was their purpose?

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