God blew and they were scattered

Lesson at a glance

Suitable for: Key stage 2, Key stage 3, Key stage 4

Time period: Early modern 1485-1750

Curriculum topics: Changing power of monarchs, Tudors

Suggested inquiry questions: How did the English defeat the Spanish Armada?

Potential activities: Draw and label a map to show what happened during the conflict with Spain; Make a timeline to show the sequence of events.

Download: Lesson pack

Did God really help the English defeat the Spanish Armada?

In 1588, King Philip II of Spain sent an armada (a fleet of ships) to collect his army from the Netherlands, where they were fighting, and take them to invade England. This was done in the name of religion, because England had become Protestant and no longer accepted the Pope as the head of the Church; Spain was Catholic and the Pope had encouraged Philip to try to make England become Catholic again. He also had a political reason to go to war with England because Spain ruled the Netherlands, but the people there were rebelling against Spanish control and England had been helping them.

The English were worried about the threat of invasion and they attacked the Spanish ships as they sailed along the Channel, but the Armada was so strong that most of the ships reached Calais safely.

The Armada was difficult to attack because it sailed in a ‘crescent’ shape. While the Armada tried to get in touch with the Spanish army, the English ships attacked fiercely. However, an important reason why the English were able to defeat the Armada was that the wind blew the Spanish ships northwards. To many English people this proved that God wanted them to win and there were pictures and medals made to celebrate this fact.

Use this lesson to work with original documents which tell the story of England and the invasion of the Spanish Armada.


Tasks

1. This is an extract from a letter to the English government which gives details about the progress of the Armada.

  • How useful do you think this information would be to the English government?
  • Why were there more soldiers than sailors?

2. This is a report from Lord Howard of Effingham, the Admiral of the English fleet.

  • How do you think the news that the Spanish Armada had been sighted was able to reach Lord Howard so quickly when he was at Plymouth, over a hundred miles away?
  • Why do you think Howard complained to Walsingham about the wind?
  • Howard says that the Spanish fleet was ‘soe strong’. What made it strong?

3. The dates mentioned in this account are based on an old calendar which is slightly different from the one we use now. These events took place at the end of July and first week of August according to our calendar.

  • According to Hawkins, what was the main problem for the English fleet in the battle near Portland?
  • Why was the ‘fyring of ships’ a turning point in the fighting?
  • Does Hawkins think that the English have a chance to beat the Spanish Armada?
  • What is causing the biggest problem to the Spanish ships?
  • Does Hawkins seem confident that the Spanish have been defeated?
  • Why did the English chase the Spanish as they sailed towards Scotland?

4. An extract from a Spanish captain’s account of the events. He had survived after being shipwrecked on the Irish coast and was then interrogated by the English, but eventually returned home to Spain.

  • The Spanish Armada fought the English fleet for two days without losing any ships. What happened next that changed this?
  • Why was it a good thing that the Spanish plans were stopped?
  • If you could change one thing to give the Spanish a better chance of winning what would it be and why?
  • The English celebrated their victory with a medal saying ‘God Blew and they were Scattered’ – how would the Spanish have explained their defeat?

5. As this was an invasion in the name of religion, it was felt that any unexpected event was a sign from God; study the points below and decide which ones show God helped the English and which ones show other reasons for English success.

  • Santa Cruz, the Spanish admiral who was to lead the Armada, died and the man who took over, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, had very little experience
  • The Armada set sail on 28 May but bad weather forced the ships to go back into port for repairs
  • The Armada kept a very strong crescent shaped formation which protected the smaller ships as they sailed up the Channel and the English were unable to make a proper attack
  • The Armada was supposed to sail up the channel to the Netherlands and collect the Duke of Parma with an army to invade England. However, the Spanish army was attacked and could not get to the ships in time
  • The weather was very bad during the Battle of Gravelines and the storms got worse as the Spanish sailed towards the North Sea
  • The English were constantly complaining that they were short of gunpowder, cannon balls, food etc.
  • Bad weather continued as the Spanish ships sailed up around the coast of Scotland and down the coast of Ireland on their way home, so that only half the Armada actually got back to Spain

6. Explain in a short paragraph why many people thought that God had helped the English defeat the Spanish Armada.


Background

When Mary I died in 1558, England and Spain were allies in a war against France. As the war ended, Philip II of Spain wanted to stay on good terms with the new queen, Elizabeth I, and even suggested that they marry but Elizabeth politely refused. However, Elizabeth also wanted to stay friends with Spain because there was an alliance between Scotland and France – a situation which was very dangerous for her. Until Elizabeth married and had children, the next in line for the throne was her relative, Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scotland. Many Catholics believed Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn had not been not lawful, which meant Elizabeth should not be queen at all and Mary, Queen of Scots, should take over immediately. To make matters worse, Mary was going to marry the French prince, so it was possible that French and Scottish armies would invade England to make Mary queen. Luckily for Elizabeth, Philip did not want to see France becoming so powerful and he was willing to protect her, even though she made England Protestant again.

When Philip had to deal with a rebellion in the Netherlands, it was even more important to him to be on good terms with England because his ships had to sail along the English Channel. However, England felt some sympathy with the people in the Netherlands because one of the reasons they were rebelling against Spain was that some of them wanted to be Protestant. On top of this, there was a lot of anger among English sailors and traders because Philip would not let other countries share in the wealth that had been found in the areas Spain controlled in Central and South America. Meanwhile, England was less threatened because Mary, Queen of Scots’ husband had died, which ended the link with France and she had returned to Scotland. Also, two groups in France were fighting for control, which meant there was far less danger to England.

By the 1580s, the two countries were clearly enemies and Spain was supporting attempts to make England Catholic again. Plans for an invasion began in 1585 but had to be delayed when Francis Drake burned some ships and destroyed lots of water barrels. Drake called this ‘singeing the King of Spain’s beard’ (burning the edges), but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Armada which was ready to sail in 1588.


Teachers' notes

Students are introduced to a range of different original documents. The first is an extract from a letter giving details of the progress of the Spanish Armada from Lord Howard of Effingham, the Admiral of the English fleet and a letter from John Hawkins, a sea captain and one of the earliest English people to be involved in the Transatlantic Slave trade and was later funded by Elizabeth I. He was knighted for his service in the fleet against the Spanish invasion. The final source is an extract from a Spanish captain’s account of the events. He had survived after being shipwrecked on the Irish coast and was then interrogated by the English.

All documents are provided with transcripts and simplified transcripts will be added. Students can work through the questions individually or in pairs and report back to the class.

If you are using these documents with Key stage 2 for work on Significant Events it suggested that you limit the size of the extracts again and introduce some visual sources relating to Armada.

You could also carry out some of these activities:

Activities for Key stage 2

1. Hold a Privy Council meeting to give Elizabeth advice on:

  • how to get sufficient supplies to the ships
  • where the army should meet
  • how to arrange sufficient food etc. to keep the army supplied
  • how to get news of the invasion from the coast to London
  • what to do about English Catholics

2. Draw of list items which could be included in a painting of Elizabeth intended to commemorate the English victory and explain the symbolism of each item. This could then be compared with Elizabeth I’s Armada portrait by George Gower. This video explains the portrait.

3. Draw a strip cartoon showing at least four key events, e.g. :

  • the first sighting of the Armada
  • the English sailing behind the Armada in its strong crescent formation
  • the use of fire-ships
  • the battle at Gravelines
  • the Spanish sailing towards Scotland
  • Spanish ships being shipwrecked on the coast of Ireland

4. After this defeat, when fewer than half the ships managed to get back to Spain, why did Philip send other ‘armadas’ against England?

5. As the English troops waited at Tilbury to fight against an invasion, Elizabeth made a famous speech in which she said that even though she was a ‘weak and feeble woman’, the fact that she was the ruler of England made her strong. What did she mean by this? Do you think a female ruler would have been at a disadvantage if the invasion had taken place?

6. Find the text of Elizabeth’s speech at Tilbury and put it your own words


External links

Find more detail on the Spanish Armada here:
https://www.britishbattles.com/the-spanish-war/the-spanish-armada/

The first visual representations of the defeat of the Spanish Armada. The maps are a set of ten ink and watercolour drawings:
https://www.nmrn.org.uk/membership-fundraising/armada-maps/view-armada-maps

Connections to curriculum

Key stage 2
Significant Event: Invasion of Spanish Armada; Significant People, Elizabeth I
Key stage 3
The Elizabethan religious settlement and conflict with Catholics (including Scotland, Spain and Ireland)
Key stage 4
Edexcel GCSE History: Early Elizabethan England, 1558–88: The Armada
OCR GCSE History: The Elizabethans, 1580–1603: the Armada and war with Spain

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Lesson at a glance

Suitable for: Key stage 2, Key stage 3, Key stage 4

Time period: Early modern 1485-1750

Curriculum topics: Changing power of monarchs, Tudors

Suggested inquiry questions: How did the English defeat the Spanish Armada?

Potential activities: Draw and label a map to show what happened during the conflict with Spain; Make a timeline to show the sequence of events.

Download: Lesson pack

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