Giménez, J. J. Herrero The Spanish Armada From the Spanish Perspective

The Tudors’ Greatest Naval Victory

The image of Sir Francis Drake calmly playing bowls on Plymouth Hoe, despite the sighting of the Spanish Armada, has gone down in history as one of the great examples of English composure. In reality, the English commander knew that the wind and tides made it impossible for the English fleet to put to sea at that particular moment. This forms part of the narrative surrounding what is considered one of England's greatest triumphs; for the Spanish, however, the defeat of the Duke of Medina Sidonia's fleet remains deeply etched in their collective memoryperhaps the most humiliating episode in their history. At the mere mention of the name, they react with indignation, vehemently asserting that the Armada was defeated by storms and foul weatherand not by the Royal Navy. For the first time in the English-speaking world, this pivotal battle is analyzed by a Spaniard, drawing upon contemporary Spanish accounts as well as more recent critical historical scholarship. The background to the conflict between Philip II and Elizabeth Ithe Anglo-Spanish War of 15851604is elucidated from a Spanish perspective; furthermore, the key figures of that erasuch as Álvaro de Bazán, Alexander Farnese, and, of course, Drake and Hawkinsare portrayed in a somewhat different light than is typically presented to British readers. The work, *The Spanish Armada from the Spanish Perspective*, opens with a description of the Spanish navyits origins and compositionalong with an examination of the common assertion that it was the finest in the world at that time. Spanish dominance in the western Mediterranean and the Atlantic is outlined, and the great galleons of the era, as well as their capabilities, are described. The organization and composition of the Armada are examined in detail, as are the seven squadrons into which it was divided. Its ships and commanders are examined in depthparticularly its supreme commander, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, a man who possessed scant nautical knowledge. All of this serves as a prelude to the Armadas departure and its dramatic voyage toward England. The battleor, more precisely, the five engagements that took place on July 31, 1588, off Plymouth; on August 2 off Portland Bill; on August 3 and 4 off the Isle of Wight; and, as the final battle, on August 7 off Gravelines (Calais)forms the central focus of this book. Equally compelling is the account of the arduous return journey undertaken by the few ships that survived the battlesa route skirting the coasts of Scotland and Ireland, where foul weather ultimately claimed many of the vessels, and where, moreover, a great number of those sailors who managed to swim ashore were killed immediately upon reaching land. The fate of many of these captives is brought to light. The book also lists the key Spanish commanders who lost their lives during the battles or on the return voyagefigures such as Juan Martínez de Recalde and Miguel de Oquendo. Finally, the aftermath of the campaign is examined from the Spanish perspective. Did Spain succeed in rapidly recovering from the terrible losses it had suffered? Did England capitalize on the weakened position in which the Spanish navy now found itself? Perhaps, at last, a truly balanced view of the Spanish Armadas defeat can be attained, now that we are finally able to examine these events from the Spanish perspective as well.