Armada4

George King
 * Q: WHAT WAS THE DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMADA? WHY IS THIS EVENT SIGNIFICANT? **

A: The defeat of the Spanish Armada is one of the most important events in English history. At the time Spain was the world powerhouse. It also led to England becoming a world powerhouse. Spain had been constructing a massive naval fleet of 100 ships to attack the English according to "Heather Thomas who wrote The Spanish Armada at []". Spain had many setbacks while constructing the fleet. One was that Santa Cruz, the Spanish commander, had died, and his successor died as well. Queen Elizabeth had heard tell of the invasion for a while and never thought much of it because it was just a rumor at the time. However her council wasn’t so calm about this, and finally Elizabeth accepted that Spain was planning an invasion. Spain’s plan was to use their gargantuan fleet and meet up with the forces of the Duke of Parma. Then they were going to sail to England, overwhelm their forces, and capture the Queen also according to Thomas. The English had watchmen along the coasts and they lit beacons to communicate messages back to London. The English and Queen Elizabeth were at Tilbury, and while they were there, Elizabeth made her most famous speech of all time. Spain had no chance against the England’s strategy and they were out-maneuvered by the more technologically advanced English ships. They also had the weather against them, according to Thomas. The Spanish were defeated and fled to back Spain. England was ecstatic and celebrated a most joyous victory. England was no longer second best.

Sources Used: Thomas, Heather. "The Spanish Armada." //Elizabethan-R//1/30/10: n. pag. Web. 12 Apr 2010. . Chris, Peter. //Shakespeare//. New York: Dorling Kingsley, 2004. Print. Marlin, Albert. //The Sea King//. New York: Antheneum, 1995. Print.