Elizabethan Navy
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Elizabethan Navy
The Elizabethan Navy and the 'Invincible Spanish Armada
One hundred and thirty-two ships, many of them the largest ever known at the time, were ready to sail. They carried three thousand guns and thirty thousand men. To cope with this formidable force, the whole British navy could muster only thirty-four vessels, all much smaller than the largest of the Spanish ships. But, in consideration of the great danger, merchants and private gentlemen fitted out vessels at their own expense, and by midsummer a fleet of one hundred and ninety-seven ships was placed at the disposal of the British admiral. In tonnage, number of guns, and number of men, the strength of the whole fleet was about one half that of the Armada.
The Commanders of the Elizabethan Navy
The Commanders of the Elizabethan Navy who faced the Spanish Armada were real heroes. The English were intensely patriotic and this English spirit proved to be indomitable. Many of the English commanders were fiercely Protestant and believed that they were fighting to save England from the Catholic Spanish and their dreaded inquisition with its tortures and burnings. Men such as Sir Walter Raleigh had witnessed the Catholic savagery of the St Bartholomew's Eve Massacre. This was not forgotten. The Comanders of the Elizabethan navy were as follows:
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Lord Charles Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral of England
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Francis Drake
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Sir Walter Raleigh
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Lord Sheffield
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Sir Richard Grenville
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Sir Robert Southwell
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Francis Drake
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Martin Frobisher
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John Davis
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Edward Fenton
The Elizabethan Age - The History of the Elizabethan Navy
The Royal Navy was developed by Henry VIII was allowed to decay under his two immediate successors, Edward and Queen Mary. According to the most authentic lists, in 1548 there were 53 ships in the Fleet, with a total tonnage of about 11,000. By 1558 there were only 26, with a tonnage of little more than 7,000.
During the first half of Elizabeth's reign, the numbers were not increased
In 1575 there were just 24 vessels; but the tonnage had risen 50 per cent., and was within 10 per cent, of what Henry had bequeathed to Edward VI.
When the Armada came, in the twenty-ninth year of Elizabeth's reign, 34 ships of the Royal Navy were engaged, which had a slight superiority of armament over any equal number of the enemy's fleet. The aggregate tonnage is given as 15 per cent. more than that of Henry's 53 an average per ship of very nearly double. It is clear, therefore, that the policy of strengthening the navy was not neglected - but it took the form of acquiring not more ships, but larger and better fighting craft.
Medium sized ships were regarded as better weapons in general than those of the largest size. The multiplication of smaller craft would have been a far less effective means for achieving the desired end. The Royal Navy was a creation of the century. The equivalent of the Elizabethan Navy defeated the might of the Spanish Armada
Elizabethan Navy
Additional details, facts and information about the Defeat of the Spanish Armada can be accessed via the Elizabethan Era Sitemap.
Elizabethan Navy
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Interesting Facts and information about Elizabethan Navy in the Elizabethan Age
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People, events and Elizabethan Navy in the Elizabethan Age
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Elizabethan War
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The Spanish Armada
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The Navy
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Howard, Drake, Raleigh, Frobisher and Grenville