On 7-8 August 1588, the Battle of Gravelines was fought between the English under Francis Drake against the Spanish under the Duke of Medina-Sidonia during the Anglo-Spanish War.
Why did it happen?
During the sixteenth century, England and Spain were the most powerful kingdoms in Europe. Despite conflicting interests in terms of trade in South America and the Caribbean, England subdued its hostilities with Spain due to King Philip II of Spain being married to Queen Mary I of England. After Mary died in 1558, however, her younger sister Elizabeth became ruler of England, and when it became clear that England would not return to Catholicism, relations with Spain became strained. The final straw came in 1585 when Elizabeth I sent troops to support the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish, who declared war on England in 1587. On 30 May 1588, a Spanish fleet of 130 warships carrying a crew of 18,000 infantry set sail from Lisbon to invade England. On 29 July, the Armada sighted Cornwall and engaged the English navy through the English Channel over the next week. Having lost two warships during the engagement, the Spanish Armada anchored at Calais on 6 August, hoping to receive reinforcements from the Spanish Netherlands.
Who was involved?
The Spanish navy at Gravelines numbered 128 warships: 18 galleons, 4 galleasses, 4 galleys, 44 armed merchantmen and 58 smaller vessels. A galleon was an early sailing ship that could carry a crew of 200-300 sailors. However, they were generally slower and less manoeuvrable than their English equivalents and relied on boarding and grappling to win naval battles. During the Spanish Armada campaign, the Spanish adopted a crescent formation for their fleet, with the fighting ships sheltering the transports in the centre. The English navy at Gravelines numbered 140 warships: 65 galleons, 67 armed merchantmen and 8 fireships. Although they were just as well armed with sailors and guns as the Spanish fleet, the English navy relied on long-range fire to defeat the Spanish warships in battle. English warships often used a tactic known as “Giving the Prow”, which involved sailing towards an enemy vessel, discharging their broadside guns, and withdrawing to a safe distance to reload before repeating the manoeuvre. This tactic allowed the English to fire as many of their naval guns as possible without giving the Spanish the chance to come close enough to board.
What happened?
On the night of 7 August, the English sent eight fireships sailing towards the Spanish Armada anchored off Calais. Although this attack was repulsed with grapnels, the Spanish panicked, cut their cables, and fled. On the morning of 8 August, the English fleet closed in to attack the scattered Spanish Armada. Four Spanish ships under the Duke of Medina-Sidonia fought a rear-guard action against the English left wing to allow the Spanish fleet to reorganise. In response, Francis Drake’s squadron of warships battered Medina-Sidonia’s squadron with cannon and musket fire. After two hours, Medina-Sidonia joined the rest of the Spanish fleet. In the confusion following the fireship attack, three Spanish warships attempted to row to the safety of Calais Harbour but ran aground and were captured. After nine hours of fighting, the English broke off the engagement due to bad weather. At the same time, the wind changed direction and forced the Spanish Armada northward away from the invasion army stationed at Dunkirk. During the Battle of Gravelines, the English lost only 400 dead, while the Spanish suffered 2,000 casualties and 4 warships sunk or captured.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Gravelines was a decisive English victory. The surviving Spanish warships gave up their attempt to conquer England and tried sailing around Scotland and Ireland back to Spain. Of the 124 warships that survived the Battle of Gravelines, only 63 vessels returned to Spain. Despite the fiasco of the Spanish Armada campaign, English attempts to organise their own “Counter Armada” in 1589 failed to exploit temporary Spanish weakness, and Spain reasserted itself as the dominant oceanic naval power in 1591 at the Battle of the Azores. After the deaths of Philip II in 1598 and Elizabeth I in 1603, their successors signed the Treaty of London in 1604, which ended the Anglo-Spanish War. By this time, England had gained prestige as the champion of Protestantism and carried their imperial ambitions out into the Atlantic Sea and Caribbean before establishing its first colonies in North America in 1607.
Bibliography
Grant, R.G. 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History. London, Cassell Illustrated, 2011.
Grant, R.G. Battle At Sea: 3,000 Years of Naval Warfare. New York, Dorling Kindersley, 2008.
Regan, Geoffrey. Battles That Changed History: Fifty Decisive Battles Spanning Over 2,500 Years of Warfare. London, Andre Deutsch, 2002.