Elizabethan England / 1588
Elizabethan England: Armada Defeat Reasons
England won because of ships, tactics, fireships, supplies and the failure of Spanish coordination.
What To Remember
- English ships were faster and easier to manoeuvre.
- English tactics used long-range cannon fire instead of boarding.
- The Armada had supply problems and could not meet Parma's army on time.
English strengths
New galleons were built to move faster and fire more effectively, so the English could keep their distance and keep shooting.
Drake, Howard and Hawkins had real sea-battle experience, which helped the English commanders stay aggressive.
The fireships at Calais broke the Armada's formation and turned a difficult fight into a panic for Spain.
Spanish weaknesses
The Armada was badly supplied and had spent too long at sea before the decisive fighting began.
Spanish tactics did not work against English distance attacks, because boarding needed a close fight that the English refused to give them.
Communication with Parma in the Netherlands was too slow, so the two halves of the invasion plan never connected.
Revision Prompt
What were the main reasons the Armada was defeated?
Chronological Links
End of this path.