The Spanish Armada From the Spanish Perspective - J J Herrero Gimenez

The image of Sir Francis Drake calmly playing bowls on Plymouth Hoe despite the sighting of the Spanish Armada has been handed down as one of history's great examples of English insouciance. In reality, the English commander knew the wind and the tides precluded the English fleet from putting to sea at that time. It forms part of the story of what is considered one of England's greatest triumphs, but to the Spanish, even today the defeat of Duke of Medina Sidonia’s fleet still sticks in their hearts as probably the most humiliating period in their history. At the mere mention of its name, they are outraged and vehemently affirm that the Armada was defeated by storms and bad weather, and not by the Royal Navy. For the first time in the English language, this pivotal battle is analysed by a Spaniard, drawing on contemporary Spanish accounts and more recent critical histories. The background to the conflict between Philip II and Elizabeth I – the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585 to 1604 – is explained as seen from the Spanish viewpoint and the main characters of the age, such as Álvaro de Bazán, Alexander Farnese and, of course, Drake and Hawkins, are shown in a somewhat different light to that usually presented to British readers. The Spanish Armada From The Spanish Perspective begins with a description of the Spanish navy, its origins and its composition, and an examination of the usual claim that it was, at that time, the finest in the world. The Spa
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