Hearing that a 17th Spanish galleon replica is to visit Ayr in August this year, I had one of those memory flashes. This:
Watching Lucy Worsley in December 2022, I was shocked, deeply, to hear of the disastrous Counter Armada of 1599 when more than 20 000 lost their lives, twice the Spanish losses the previous year.
Following the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Queen Elizabeth I of England sought to exploit Spain’s temporary naval vulnerability. The English Armada, also called the Counter Armada or the Drake–Norris Expedition, was launched on 28 April 1589 during the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) and the Eighty Years’ War.
The expedition had several objectives: destroy the Spanish Atlantic fleet undergoing repairs in northern Spain, land in Lisbon to incite a revolt against Philip II of Spain (who had also claimed the Portuguese throne), establish a permanent base in the Azores, and seize the Spanish treasure fleet returning from the Americas
Why shocked? I’ve been reading and watching accounts of the history, of most parts of the globe, for more than 50 years, on a daily basis. Why had I never seen even a mention of this event despite hearing on a yearly basis of the prior Spanish Armada and England’s heroic victory?
The English Armada ended in disaster. None of its objectives were achieved: the attempt to incite a Portuguese revolt failed, the Azores were not captured, and the Spanish treasure fleet remained secure.
Dozens of ships were lost, thousands of English soldiers and sailors died, and the expedition caused severe economic losses for England.
The failure allowed Philip II to revive Spain’s naval power, sending 37 ships with 6,420 men to Brittany the following year, and ensured Spain remained a dominant European power for decades. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Armada
I asked friends, some even more history buffs, and none knew of it.
I tried a wee twitter survey. Two out of 41 respondents had. I await detail of from whom, where when?
For more: https://reviews.history.ac.uk/review/2312
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It may be that in the long reaches of human history, Scots might have had no great interest of the “Spanish Armada” if Scotland (and our England-centric school history lessons) had not been yok-it tae England.
In Spain there might be knowledge of the “English Armada”, but as an English disaster, it has been hidden from view for the punters in the UK…….unlike the Darian Scheme which is shoved down Scottish throats with the regularity of the Chines water torture….often by the gloating “Scottish” mostly privately educated elite.
gavinochiltree….chip on my shoulder? Dont be daft!
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Spanish-Welsh comedian Ignacio Lopez was a contestant on Series 8, Week 10 of Richard Osman’s House of Games. He gained widespread attention and fan comments for his hilarious reaction to a question about the Spanish Armada.
That’s where I heard about the 1589 one.
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Excellent Article, a complete and utter disaster which has been buried for centuries, I came across this recently and checked wiki which to be honest is fairly accurate if less than complete.
Stuart McNicoll.
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Never heard of it. But not surprised. Perfidious Albion has long practised the arts of deception. They still do.
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