Today in 1588 England fought the Spanish Armada in the Battle of Gravelines, the decisive battle of the invasion, off the coast of Spanish-held Flanders. The Armada was first spotted off the coast of Plymouth, and the English harried the ships until the Spanish anchored off the coast of Calais on the 27th of July. They set up in a defensive crescent-shaped position. But then the English sent four sacrificed fire ships into their lines, which scattered the Spanish. In the disarray, the English attacked on the 29th. The wind was in their favor, and they were able to sail out of range.
The Spanish lost five ships, 2000 men, and almost all of their ammunition. The English chased the Spanish all the way up above Scotland, and the Spanish were forced to sail around the north of Scotland and return to Spain via Ireland.Â
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there are several Armada episodes.
Suggested links:
The Spanish Armada Part I: A 30 Year Road to Battle
Armada II: The Battle
From my shop:
Old Map Carry-All Pouch
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop. She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.