You’ve heard of the Spanish Armada. Did you know there was an English Armada?In 1588 King Phil

You’ve heard of the Spanish Armada. Did you know there was an English Armada?In 1588 King Philip II of Spain sent a force of 130 ships and 20,000 men to Britain in an attempt to oust Queen Elizabeth I from her throne and restore Catholicism to England.  Unfortunately the Spanish fleet was scattered by the English navy and half of its ships were destroyed in a large Atlantic storm.  Today the massive failure that was the Spanish Armada is common knowledge, taught in schools and colleges across Europe and North America.  However, few know of the events of the English Armada, an equally large and ill fated attempt by the English to get back at the dastardly Spanish in 1589.Led by Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norreys, the English Armada consisted of almost 150 ships and 24,000 men.  The expedition had two major strategic goals and one secondary goal.  The first was to capture Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.  At the time Portugal was ruled by Phillip II, but it was thought that the Portuguese were ready to rebel against their king, and the English had plans to restore another ruler named Antonio, the Prior of Canto, as king. Antonio was the last heir of the House of Aziz, an unintelligent, womanizing, wishy washy man, he was just the sort of puppet king the English wanted on Phillip II’s doorstep.  The second goal of the expedition was to capture the Azores, a large island chain in the North Atlantic that would make a perfect base for English raiders in their attacks against the Spanish treasure fleets arriving from the New World.  The third and final goal of the expedition was to capture a Spanish treasure fleet laden with gold and silver due to arrive at the time.While the English Armada was formidable, the expedition was doomed from the beginning.  Due to unexpected delays and disorganization, by the time the fleet set sail from England it had already consumed much of its supplies.  When the fleet reached Portugal the men were already suffering from the effects of malnutrition and disease.  Once the English laid siege to Lisbon it was readily apparent that they were at a grave disadvantage.  Lisbon was a heavily fortified walled city and the English brought no siege guns or siege equipment.  The siege of Lisbon was an extremely disorganized affair, led by privateers, pirates, and gentleman adventurers who cared more about plunder than Queen and Country.  The fleet was so disorganized that Spanish blockade runners seemed to travel in and out of the city at will.  Attacks were often halted not by the enemy, but by its own soldiers, who would halt the advance in order to loot and pillage. Worst of all, the presence of Antonio, Prior of Canto did not inspire the Portuguese to rebel as predicted.  The Portuguese were more than happy with Phillip II, and resent the English for trying to impose a bastard snake slime puppet king on them.As the siege wore on the English suffered more and more.  Thousands died of malnourishment, disease, and combat with the Spaniards/Portuguese.  By then out of 24,000 men, only 2,000 were able bodied and fit for service.  The fleet set sail in hopes of accomplishing its other goals.  The fleet was ordered to set sail back to England, but Drake had hopes of raiding the incoming Spanish treasure fleet on the return trip.  By then the force was too undermanned to capture the Azores, but Drake hoped that fortune and booty awaited him in the North Atlantic.  Instead of gold and silver, his fleet ran into a large and terrible Atlantic squall.  Seven of his ships were destroyed in one night.  Many more were damaged, and the fleet was scattered, much like the Spanish Armada had a year before. Overall the expedition lost thirty ships and suffered 11,000 casualties out of its 24,000 men.  The English treasury was bankrupted, as were all the investors and financiers of the expedition.  The now forgotten English Armada was every bit as disastrous as the famed Spanish Armada. -- source link

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