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00:49THE GOLDEN HIND
01:00It is a living link to a bygone age of adventure, which has inspired countless tales of privateers and Spanish
01:06gold.
01:07But the truth is often more bizarre than the strangest fiction.
01:18It was in ships like these that the English pirate adventurers such as Drake and Hawkins
01:23preyed upon the vital bullion convoys en route to Spain from the New World,
01:29disrupting Spanish trade and weakening her grip on the Low Countries.
01:35These were the men who precipitated the conflict between England and Spain,
01:40which was to produce one of the most famous engagements in naval history,
01:45the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
01:54The Mary Rose was the best primary source for the navies of the Tudor and Elizabethan periods.
02:03There is much to learn from the surviving artefacts of the Mary Rose,
02:07but during her long wait on the floor of the sea, much precious evidence was lost forever.
02:16When the Mary Rose sank on the seabed, she settled into the mud and then very, very quickly filled up
02:21with sediment.
02:22And it was the starboard side of the ship that was completely covered under the mud with the sediment.
02:27And so that survived, preserved under the mud, whereas almost the whole of the port side was eaten away by
02:34marine organisms,
02:35by worms and mollusks.
02:37And so the port side didn't survive, and it was the starboard side that survived so well under the mud
02:43that we show to the public today.
02:45Well, the Mary Rose is the first warship that we have available to study.
02:49She was purpose-built as a warship.
02:51She was built with gun ports in a hull built of tight-fitting carvel planks.
02:55So it was a new shipbuilding tradition which arose as a result of the invention of the gun port lid,
03:01which can seal tightly a gun port.
03:03So if the Mary Rose gun crews had been quick enough and pulled the guns in and shut the lids,
03:07maybe the Mary Rose would not have sunk,
03:09and we wouldn't have this marvelous treasure of information that we have.
03:12But as far as shipbuilding techniques are concerned,
03:16excavation of the Mary Rose is the only way we can learn about it,
03:18because we have no drawings, we have no models, we have no plans until really the time of the armada.
03:23So for a ship which is the precursor to the Elizabethan galleon,
03:28really archaeology is the only way of doing it.
03:30So the excavation of the Mary Rose, and in fact the raising of the Mary Rose,
03:33and the study of the structure within the ship hall,
03:36is the only way we can learn about this shipbuilding technique that then went on to build the British Navy,
03:40which was the foremost in the world.
03:45The methods used to raise the Mary Rose really were exceedingly clever.
03:49She was very, very difficult to raise because she was so fragile,
03:52and there were a number of items that contributed to the successful salvage.
03:56The real problem with raising the Mary Rose was we just had half a ship,
04:00and because of that it didn't have the structural strength.
04:03It's been likened to raising a petal from through the water,
04:06and this was one of the most difficult things that we had to overcome.
04:10The next thing is that because she was waterlogged,
04:13when you actually bring something like that through the water-to-air interface,
04:18they suddenly become about seven or eight times heavier than before
04:22because they're no longer held up by the buoyancy of the water.
04:26One of the most important things was that she had to be transferred underwater
04:31from where she was lying in the seabed into a cradle,
04:35so that for the final lift into air, when the timbers become much heavier,
04:39she was actually supported both from below and from above.
04:43Another extremely important part was that the first piece of raising to overcome the suction
04:48was actually done over a number of hours.
04:50That meant that that part of the lift, when she's very, very susceptible to extra pressures,
04:56was done extremely carefully and slowly.
04:59Perhaps the most important thing that we found out about the last few moments of battle
05:03when we excavated the ship was that the guns were actually still sticking out of the gun ports.
05:08It was tremendously exciting diving in the ship once we'd emptied it of all the mud and all the contents,
05:13and actually seeing these guns sticking out through the gun ports,
05:16with the gun port lids still open.
05:18And that shows that the water will have come in very quickly when the ship healed over.
05:23And it confirms the account of one of the survivors
05:25that said that she healed over in the wind and the gun ports had been left open.
05:31The French had claimed that they sunk her through gunfire,
05:34but we didn't find any evidence of French shot on the starboard side of the ship when we raised her.
05:39So it sounds as though it may be that it was mishandling rather than gunfire.
05:45With the recent advances in digital technology,
05:48we are able to recreate for the first time in 450 years how the Mary Rose may have looked
05:55as she sailed into the English Channel on that fateful day in 1544.
06:02The Mary Rose had been in service for some years,
06:05having been built at the beginning of the 16th century as the pride of Henry VIII's fleet.
06:12She was used in Henry's war against France,
06:16firing devastating shots on French vessels aimed from 15 heavy guns located through ports.
06:26Sir Edward Howard, Henry's admiral of the sea during the Mary Rose's early years,
06:32described her to the king as,
06:34Your good ship, the flower I trow, of all ships that ever sailed.
06:42The Mary Rose was built in 1509, or she was started in 1509,
06:46and probably engaged first in 1512 in the first war with France.
06:50She was built in Portsmouth at the specific request of Henry VIII.
06:54Two ships had their keels laid down in 1509,
06:57the Mary Rose and what is termed her sister ship, the Peter Pomegranate.
07:00The Mary Rose for some time was the largest ship within the fleet at then 450 tons,
07:05but by the time she sank, she was actually the second largest,
07:08having been upgraded to 700 tons.
07:10She was actually built in Portsmouth,
07:12probably close to the earliest dry dock in the world,
07:15which was built in 1495, or certainly the oldest one in England,
07:19which is very close to where she can be seen now in her ship hall.
07:22We're pretty sure that the Mary Rose was built of green oak.
07:26This was much easier to fashion with the tools that the Tudor shipwrights had at hand,
07:30and what's particularly interesting is that in the time of the Mary Rose,
07:33they used a lot of compass timber.
07:34Things like this timber that I'm sitting on here,
07:37it's actually almost carved with an axe and an adze
07:41out of the curved timbers of the ship,
07:43and this gave a particularly strong join.
07:46Rather than joining two timbers together,
07:48they carved things out of one timber
07:49so that they got the maximum strength in the timber.
07:52The Mary Rose had a main battery of heavy guns
07:55mounted on the main deck and on the upper deck and the waist.
07:59They're a mixture of bronze guns, which are muzzle-loading,
08:02and an old design of wrought-iron guns.
08:06For shorter-range weapons, there are wrought-iron swivel guns
08:09and small hailshot pieces or murderers, which are used to repel boarders.
08:14The damage the Mary Rose could inflict with her artillery
08:18meant that the French had to retire.
08:20The whole nature of war at sea was changing.
08:25In the past, ships were designed to convey troops to land to do battle.
08:30Now, the ship itself was developing into a weapon that needed manning by the crew.
08:38By 1527, she had seen 16 years of service,
08:43and a refit was long overdue.
08:46But the Mary Rose would have to wait,
08:49and it was not until 1536 that the rebuilding would begin.
08:56Henry VIII had begun his reformation of the English Church,
09:00and in turn made enemies of France and Italy.
09:04England needed to brace herself for conflict,
09:07and the royal fleet was the first line of defence.
09:12By 1539, the Mary Rose was complete,
09:16weighing in at 700 tons,
09:18and measuring 37.3 metres at the waterline.
09:23In 1545, the Mary Rose joined the royal fleet,
09:27which was gathering at Portsmouth
09:29to repel the French fleet of over 200 ships,
09:32amassed to take the Isle of Wight.
09:36The first day of battle passed without amazing incidents,
09:41apart from small exchanges of fire.
09:45Little did the English suspect
09:47when July 19th, 1545 dawned
09:51that their loss would be so huge.
09:54During French fire,
09:57the Mary Rose just keeled over and sank.
10:00The French claimed a victory,
10:03but in fact,
10:04the Mary Rose was out of firing distance.
10:08The eyewitness accounts vary,
10:10but some claim her lowest gun ports,
10:13which were open for battle,
10:15were too close to the waterline.
10:18But archaeological evidence suggests
10:20there was a decent clearance.
10:23There were also reports of indiscipline on the ship,
10:26so a simple sailing error could have occurred.
10:29But, whatever the reason,
10:32once water entered the gun ports,
10:34it was all over.
10:37The actual cause is still slightly uncertain.
10:41The only survivor's account
10:43was from a Flemish crew member of the ship
10:45who said that she was turning
10:48after being fired one broadside.
10:51They hadn't closed the gun ports.
10:53She was caught by wind.
10:55As she heeled over,
10:56the water came in through the gun ports
10:57and she sank very rapidly.
10:59Out of a crew of between 400 and 500,
11:02only somewhere between 20 and 40 men survived.
11:07When the Mary Rose foundered in 1545,
11:11a covering of silt meant that the wreck
11:13was exceptionally well-preserved for 450 years,
11:17until she was brought to the surface in the 1980s
11:21to reveal a spectacular insight into life
11:24aboard a 16th-century sailing ship
11:27and her construction.
11:30But Henry's misfortune has turned to our advantage,
11:34as we are fortunate today
11:36in that one major example of the wreck
11:38of a 16th-century warship
11:40remains for study by historians.
11:42Actually, a 16th-century warship
11:43is bigger than one would expect.
11:45The height between decks is nearly two meters,
11:47and if you compare that with Victory,
11:48where everybody had to go round crouching,
11:51it actually probably would have been more comfortable,
11:53at least for walking around.
11:54And when you bear in mind
11:55that some of our human remains
11:56are between 5'8 and 5'10,
11:58they weren't small people,
12:00so this myth about all 16th-century people being small
12:02isn't true.
12:04Throughout most of her career,
12:06the mayor raised a crew of 415 men,
12:08roughly 50-50 soldiers and sailors,
12:11with about 30 gunners on board.
12:13The commander of the ship was normally the captain,
12:15although on the day she sank,
12:17she actually had the vice-admiral on board as well.
12:20Beneath the captain,
12:21there'd be a series of other officers,
12:23including a master who was really in charge
12:25of the sailing of the ship,
12:27and craftsmen like carpenters,
12:29pilots, barber-surgeon,
12:31and of course the ordinary sailors.
12:34The Mary Rose is only 32 to 35 meters long.
12:38We have no evidence of bunks on board,
12:40so people obviously just slept by the guns.
12:42We certainly haven't got any hammocks
12:44because they weren't within the English Navy at the time,
12:47and so the conditions must have been fairly cramped.
12:50It would have been dark
12:50because although we did have lanterns on board,
12:53during the engagement,
12:54the only place that had a lantern was the galley
12:57and then, oddly enough, the carpenter's cabin,
12:59although one would have expected the barber-surgeon
13:01to have a lantern lit.
13:03It wasn't,
13:03and all the others were in storage in the hold,
13:06probably for the safety reasons
13:08of keeping a lighted match on board.
13:10The diet of Elizabethan sailors
13:12was not equivalent to today's hygienically prepared meals.
13:17In the days before refrigeration,
13:19the problem of food storage
13:21was a never-ending headache for the sailors.
13:24But the Mary Rose find suggests
13:27that there were at least some fresh fruit
13:29to vary the diet of salted meat.
13:33The food wasn't bad.
13:35It was mostly composed of beef, beer,
13:38and ship's biscuit, or bread.
13:40Each sailor got a gallon of beer a day,
13:42and we're talking about
13:43between one and two pounds of beef per person per day.
13:46So it was a fairly high-protein diet,
13:49fairly monotonous,
13:50but it seemed to have kept them alive quite well.
13:53This is a mock-up
13:54of one of the gun decks on the Mary Rose,
13:56and it gives a very good idea
13:57of what it would have been like
13:59on a 16th-century warship.
14:00The experience of the Armada campaign
14:03was very different for the Spanish and the English.
14:05The English suffered perhaps 100 casualties
14:09during the whole campaign.
14:11There was very little damage done to their ships
14:13during all of the battles.
14:15They would have been hauling cannon like this
14:17inboard, reloading them,
14:20hauling them back out
14:20as fast as they possibly could.
14:22The Spanish, on the other hand,
14:24would have found the process very frustrating.
14:27They were expecting to fight hand-to-hand.
14:30Cannonballs striking a ship like this
14:32would send wood splinters
14:34hurling across the ship.
14:35A person being hit by that
14:37would be cut in two.
14:39The injuries suffered were hideous.
14:42Some Spanish ships were said
14:43to be running at their gun ports with blood.
14:46The medical facilities were very poor
14:48on any ship of the period,
14:50and in battle they were immediately overwhelmed
14:52by the number of casualties.
14:54The basic principle that doctors worked on at the time
14:57was that if the wound was in a limb,
15:01it was simply cut off.
15:02If the wound was in the main part of the body,
15:04then you were going to die anyway,
15:06so you were simply put to one side
15:08and forgotten about.
15:09Today, the hull is sprayed constantly
15:12with a special blend of chemicals
15:14to preserve from further decay
15:16the timbers which lay so long
15:18at the bottom of the ocean.
15:21Even in her heyday,
15:23the below-decks area of the Mary Rose
15:25would have always been damp.
15:28In rough seas,
15:29water pouring over the decks
15:31would have poured into the gun decks,
15:33and the crew had to live and sleep
15:35in wet clothes.
15:38Keeping warm and dry
15:39was very difficult for a Tudor sailor.
15:41They almost certainly didn't carry much
15:43in the way of spare clothes.
15:44The only heating on board
15:45would be from the galley fires,
15:47and even those would be lit in high seas.
15:49Fortunately, the fleet didn't tend
15:51to fight during winter.
15:53Alongside the timbers of the Mary Rose
15:55was also found a large treasure trove
15:58of artefacts from a 16th century navy,
16:02which has given us a unique insight
16:04into war at sea
16:05during the reign of Henry VIII.
16:08The Tudor navy existed
16:10at a time of transition in warfare.
16:14Cannon were now an accepted form
16:16of armament for a ship.
16:18But the soldiers,
16:19who were brought on board
16:20in anticipation of hand-to-hand fighting,
16:23were still equipped with longbows.
16:25The English had a tradition
16:27of using the longbow in war.
16:29And even though handguns
16:31were making major impact
16:33on the rest of the European scene,
16:34the English still carried on
16:36with their longbow far later
16:37than anybody else did.
16:40Despite their purposeful look,
16:42the ability of sailing ships
16:44to bring about a successful battle
16:46is dependent on a large number of factors.
16:50However majestic these vessels were,
16:53they were entirely dependent
16:55upon the direction of the wind
16:56and literally could only sail
16:59according to which direction
17:00the wind was blowing.
17:03The crucial thing in naval warfare
17:05of this period was the wind gauge.
17:07If you had the wind behind you,
17:09you could choose where to go
17:11because the wind would blow you there.
17:13If you didn't have the wind gauge,
17:14you had a problem.
17:16Sailing ships cannot sail
17:18directly into the wind.
17:19What they can do
17:20is they can sail across the wind,
17:22which is called tacking.
17:23And so you can make headway
17:24into the wind
17:25by sailing in diagonals
17:27roughly towards it.
17:29The English ships
17:30were very good at sailing
17:31close to the wind.
17:32That's where the expression
17:33close to the wind comes from.
17:35And the Spanish were mystified
17:38as how the English were able
17:40to gain the wind gauge of them.
17:42Simply it seemed by sailing
17:44to almost any quarter of the wind
17:46that they wanted to.
17:47And that was to play
17:48a major part in the battle
17:50because essentially
17:51the English didn't want
17:53to close with the Spanish.
17:54They didn't want to fight
17:55hand to hand.
17:56And being able to take
17:57the wind gauge when they chose,
17:59being able to sail
17:59close to the wind
18:00enabled the English
18:02to choose when the actions occurred.
18:05The ships which carried
18:07the Spanish Armada in 1588
18:09were very similar in design
18:11and construction
18:12to those of the English fleet.
18:15They differed only
18:16in one crucial area
18:17of construction.
18:20Since medieval times,
18:22warships had been built
18:23with a high tower
18:24in the front of the ship
18:25known as the forecastle.
18:28In the medieval era,
18:30warfare at sea
18:31was very much about
18:32coming to grips
18:33with the enemy
18:34at close quarters
18:35and fighting it out
18:37hand to hand.
18:38So the height advantage
18:40which came from
18:41a high forecastle
18:42was a distinct advantage.
18:45By 1588,
18:47the English ships
18:48had come to rely
18:49much more heavily
18:50than other nations
18:51on the new technology
18:53of gunpowder
18:54which meant
18:55the ships could fight
18:56at a distance.
18:57By dispensing
18:59with the ungainly forecastle,
19:01the English ships
19:02of the Armada period
19:03exchanged hand to hand
19:05fighting ability
19:06for maneuverability.
19:09They intended to use
19:10the superior gunning skills
19:12to fight at a distance,
19:14only closing to
19:15hand-to-hand distance
19:16for the final kill.
19:19These were the tactics
19:20which Drake would
19:22successfully adopt
19:23during the battle
19:24with the Armada.
19:27There were about
19:2724 front-line warships
19:29in the English fleet
19:31and about the same number
19:32in the Spanish fleet.
19:34And these were the ships
19:35that would actually do
19:36the bulk of the fighting.
19:38The big legend
19:39about the Armada
19:40is that the Spanish ships
19:41were very large
19:43and that the English ships
19:44were very small.
19:45Now that's true
19:47in as much as
19:48Spanish ships
19:48were built high.
19:50They had very high castles
19:51at the front and back
19:53of the ship.
19:53This is because
19:54the Spanish again
19:55were aiming
19:56to fight hand-to-hand.
19:58And being up high
19:59in a hand-to-hand fight
20:00was a big advantage.
20:02Because the English
20:03weren't going to fight
20:03hand-to-hand,
20:04they didn't need
20:05that advantage.
20:05So they built
20:06their ships low.
20:07They were interested
20:08in speed,
20:09they were interested
20:09in manoeuvrability
20:10and they were interested
20:12in a long ship
20:12which could have
20:13a lot of guns
20:14along its flank.
20:15Tudor warships
20:16weren't particularly fast.
20:18Certainly under 10 knots.
20:20Speed could be
20:21a decisive factor
20:22in the battle
20:23as could manoeuvrability.
20:25This applied
20:25because particularly
20:26when sailing ships
20:27came up against the galleys
20:28which in the camp
20:29obviously outmanoeuvred them
20:30and were much faster.
20:33The story of the armada
20:34is inextricably linked
20:36to the story
20:37of the ships
20:38which sailed against it
20:39and the men
20:40who sailed in them.
20:43For all of the great events
20:45which it witnessed,
20:46a ship like the Golden Hind
20:48is remarkable
20:49for just how small it is.
20:52To modern eyes,
20:53used to the sight
20:54of super tankers,
20:56the Golden Hind
20:57is a tiny vessel.
20:59Only 88 feet
21:00in total length
21:01the Golden Hind
21:02was a cramped home
21:04to a crew
21:04of 85 men.
21:08It was a ship
21:09exactly like this
21:11which took Drake
21:11and his men
21:12round the world.
21:14It took them
21:15to North and South America
21:16and carried them
21:18into a host
21:18of hair-raising adventures
21:20under the very nose
21:21of the King of Spain.
21:25Compared to the great
21:26wooden ships
21:26of Nelson's Navy,
21:28the Golden Hind
21:29carried a relatively
21:30small complement of guns
21:32arranged on a single
21:33gun deck
21:34but by the standards
21:36of the day
21:36was considered
21:37to be a powerful warship
21:39particularly in the right
21:40hands
21:41and with the right crew.
21:44in keeping with the small size
21:46of the ship
21:47the crew was fairly compact
21:49for most ordinary voyages.
21:51However,
21:52in times of war
21:54the number of men
21:55packed into the
21:56claustrophobic decks
21:57of a ship
21:58like the Golden Hind
21:59would rise dramatically.
22:03In the summer of 1588
22:05the war between England
22:07and Spain
22:07had reached a crucial point.
22:09a Spanish invasion fleet
22:11of 128 ships
22:14was approaching
22:15the English coast.
22:17Of these
22:1824 were first-rate warships
22:21the mighty Spanish galleons
22:23of legend.
22:24The others
22:25ranged in size
22:27and design
22:27but were all expected
22:29to give a good account
22:30of themselves
22:31in battle.
22:33Against this mighty armada
22:35were ranged
22:36the stout-hearted English seamen
22:38under Drake
22:39Frobisher
22:40and Hawkins.
22:42Drake
22:43was
22:43the most famous
22:45Englishman
22:46of his time.
22:47He was quite possibly
22:48the most famous
22:49commoner
22:49in the world
22:50by 1588.
22:51He had circumnavigated
22:53the globe
22:53the first Englishman
22:54to do so.
22:55He had launched
22:56the highly successful
22:58raid
22:58on Cadiz
22:59in 1587
23:01at which preparations
23:02for the armada
23:03were completely scotched
23:04for a whole year.
23:05his fame
23:06was really worldwide.
23:08He was certainly
23:08well known
23:09to everyone
23:10who sailed
23:11in the Spanish navies.
23:12He was believed
23:13to have
23:13a magic mirror
23:15which told him
23:16the location
23:17of every ship
23:18in the world
23:19and that is why
23:20Drake
23:21always mysteriously
23:22turned up
23:23when a Spanish
23:24treasure ship
23:25was on the seas.
23:26The Spanish king
23:28Philip II
23:29had wisely decided
23:31not to embark
23:32his entire army
23:33for the invasion
23:33of England
23:34from Spain.
23:36Instead
23:37he chose
23:38to send
23:38a very strong
23:39naval force
23:40with comparatively
23:41few soldiers
23:42on board
23:42to rendezvous
23:44with the Spanish army
23:45waiting in Flanders.
23:47The fleet
23:48from Spain
23:49would then escort
23:50the army
23:51safely over
23:52the short crossing
23:53to England
23:53keeping them
23:55company at sea
23:56for only the
23:57minimum amount
23:57of time necessary.
24:00Under this plan
24:01the Spanish general
24:03in Flanders
24:03would have
24:04the relatively
24:05simple task
24:06of bringing together
24:07a large fleet
24:08of small
24:08flat-bottomed craft
24:10to make the short
24:11crossing of the channel
24:12under the protection
24:13of the armada
24:14sent from Spain.
24:17On the 9th of May
24:181588
24:19orders were finally
24:21given for the armada
24:22to set sail
24:23from Lisbon
24:24and begin
24:25its slow progress
24:26up the coast
24:26towards England.
24:29The Spaniards
24:30were under the command
24:31of the Duke
24:32of Medina Sidonia
24:33who was a brave
24:34and proven soldier
24:36but a less than capable
24:38admiral
24:38as events were to prove.
24:41Despite previous
24:43experience at sea
24:44he suffered
24:45constantly from
24:46seasickness
24:47which often
24:48incapacitated him
24:49at crucial moments
24:50a far from
24:52ideal situation.
24:55the Duke
24:56of Medina Sidonia
24:57was chosen
24:58for three reasons.
24:59First of all
25:00because he was
25:00a first-ranked
25:01Spanish grandee.
25:02That meant
25:03that the other
25:03nobility
25:04who were going
25:04to take part
25:05in the armada
25:06expedition
25:06would naturally
25:07take his orders
25:08no matter
25:09what they were.
25:10Secondly
25:10he was
25:11an extremely
25:12wealthy man
25:13although much
25:13in debt
25:13at the time
25:14and he could
25:15be expected
25:16to spend
25:17some of his
25:17own money
25:18helping to pay
25:19for the armada
25:19preparations.
25:20thirdly
25:21Medina Sidonia
25:22did have
25:23considerable
25:24knowledge
25:24of organising
25:25naval expeditions.
25:27He had been
25:27in charge
25:28of preparing
25:29the Indies fleet
25:29which brought
25:30treasure back
25:31from South America
25:32so he was
25:33a man who knew
25:34about provisioning
25:36fleets
25:36and had considerable
25:37experience
25:38of getting them
25:39to sea.
25:42One factor
25:43which lay
25:44totally outside
25:45Medina Sidonia's
25:46control
25:47was the weather
25:47which was very
25:49unkind
25:49to the armada.
25:51Poor winds
25:52meant that the
25:53ships made
25:54very slow
25:54progress indeed.
25:56In fact
25:57during the first
25:5913 days
25:59at sea
26:00the armada
26:01had covered
26:02only 161
26:03sea miles
26:04leaving the
26:05fleet still
26:06short of the
26:07coast of England
26:0850 miles
26:09south of the
26:10Isle of Wight.
26:12From there
26:13Sidonia
26:15sent a fast
26:15ship to the
26:16king
26:16keeping him
26:17updated
26:18of his
26:18progress
26:19and of his
26:20plans to
26:20rendezvous
26:21with the
26:21army waiting
26:22in Flanders
26:23under the
26:24command
26:24of the
26:25Prince of
26:25Parma.
26:29At this
26:30crucial juncture
26:31Sidonia
26:32began to have
26:33doubts about
26:33Parma's
26:34readiness to
26:34join him
26:35in the
26:35invasion of
26:36England.
26:38Less than
26:39confident of
26:39his fleet's
26:40seaworthiness
26:41Sidonia did
26:42not want to
26:43venture too
26:43near the
26:44coast of
26:44Flanders
26:45and made
26:46this profoundly
26:47clear in
26:48his letter
26:48to the
26:49king.
26:50I am obliged
26:51to proceed
26:52slowly with
26:53all the
26:54armada
26:54together in
26:55squadrons as
26:57far as the
26:57Isle of Wight
26:58and no further
27:00until I receive
27:01advices of the
27:02Duke of Parma
27:03informing me of
27:05the condition of
27:06his force.
27:07As all along the
27:08coast of Flanders
27:09there is no
27:09harbor or shelter
27:10for our ships
27:11if I were to
27:12go from the
27:13Isle of Wight
27:13thither with
27:14the armada
27:15our vessels
27:16might be driven
27:17onto the
27:17shores where
27:18they would
27:19certainly be
27:19lost.
27:20In order to
27:21avoid so
27:22obvious a
27:23peril I have
27:24decided to
27:25stay off the
27:25Isle of Wight
27:26until I learn
27:27what the Duke
27:28is doing
27:28as the plan
27:29is that at
27:30the moment of
27:31my arrival
27:32he should
27:32sally with
27:33his fleet
27:34without causing
27:35me to wait
27:36a minute.
27:37The whole
27:37success of the
27:38undertaking
27:39depends upon
27:40this.
27:42In 1585
27:43Drake had led
27:45an infamous
27:46raid on the
27:46Spanish coast
27:47which led to
27:49the capture of
27:49the port of
27:50Cadiz in an
27:51incident which
27:52became notorious
27:53as singeing the
27:54king of Spain's
27:55beard.
27:57During this
27:58raid Drake
27:59had taken care
28:00to destroy a
28:01great quantity
28:01of seasoned
28:02barrel staves
28:03which had been
28:04earmarked for
28:05making barrels
28:06for storage of
28:07gunpowder and
28:08provisions for
28:09the Armada.
28:11To confound
28:12the problems
28:13for the
28:13Admiral
28:14it was
28:14discovered
28:15that much
28:15of the
28:16provisions
28:16taken aboard
28:17had already
28:18spoiled and
28:19were unfit
28:20to eat.
28:21In addition
28:22many ships
28:23were already
28:24short of
28:24water
28:25due to the
28:26destruction
28:26by Drake
28:27of the
28:27Spanish
28:28water
28:28barrels.
28:30In their
28:31rush to
28:31replace the
28:32barrel staves
28:33destroyed by
28:33Drake
28:34the
28:35Spaniards
28:35had been
28:36forced to
28:36make new
28:37barrels
28:37from
28:38unseasoned
28:38wood.
28:40It was
28:40these barrels
28:41which shrank
28:42and split
28:43allowing the
28:44supplies to
28:45rot.
28:47Despite the
28:48problems of
28:49supply the
28:50Spaniards began
28:51to make some
28:52headway and
28:53on 29th July
28:541588
28:55Captain Thomas
28:57Fleming aboard
28:58the Golden
28:58Hind brought
29:00the long
29:00awaited news
29:01of the
29:01Armada's
29:02approach to
29:03the English
29:03fleet at
29:04Plymouth.
29:06Immediately
29:07the English
29:08ships under
29:09Lord Howard
29:09of Effingham
29:10began to
29:11prepare for
29:12battle.
29:15At this
29:16point one
29:17of the
29:17legendary
29:18moments in
29:19history supposedly
29:20occurred.
29:22When Drake
29:23was informed
29:24of the
29:24approach of
29:25the Armada
29:25legend has
29:27it that he
29:27insisted on
29:28first finishing
29:29his game of
29:30bowls so
29:31confident was
29:32he of
29:33defeating his
29:33opponent at
29:34his leisure.
29:36He felt
29:37there was
29:37ample time to
29:38finish the
29:39game before
29:40he finished
29:40the Spaniards.
29:42Apocryphal or
29:43not it makes
29:45for a wonderful
29:45picture of
29:46calm before
29:47the storm.
29:49Drake is
29:50supposed to
29:50have stopped
29:51his fellow
29:51captains from
29:52rushing down
29:53to the port
29:53by saying that
29:55they had time
29:55to finish their
29:56game and still
29:57beat the
29:57Spanish.
29:58Now there
29:59is no
29:59contemporary
29:59record of
30:01that actually
30:01happening although
30:02the first
30:03written record
30:03does occur
30:04within the
30:05possible
30:05life span
30:06of someone
30:07who might
30:07have been
30:08there.
30:09So it is
30:10possible that
30:10something like
30:11that did
30:11happen.
30:12Whatever
30:13Drake may
30:14have done
30:14in reality
30:15there is no
30:16dispute that
30:17the first
30:17contact between
30:18the two
30:19fleets came
30:20on 31st
30:21of July.
30:23The English
30:24sailors were
30:24overawed by
30:25the sheer
30:26scale of the
30:27Spanish fleet.
30:27sailing in a
30:29huge crescent
30:30formation up
30:31the English
30:31Channel were
30:33some 128 warships
30:35and galleys.
30:37Around this
30:38huge formation
30:39the English
30:40ships exhibited
30:41extreme caution.
30:45The Spanish
30:46had developed
30:47on the basis
30:48of galley warfare
30:49in the
30:50Mediterranean
30:50where they
30:50had been
30:51very successful.
30:51so they
30:53form a
30:54formation
30:54which is
30:54really
30:55more of
30:56an arrowhead
30:57although the
30:57English see
30:58it from
30:58behind as
30:59a crescent.
31:00And what
31:00they are
31:01looking to
31:01do is
31:01they are
31:01expecting
31:02the English
31:02to be in
31:03front of
31:03them blocking
31:04the channel.
31:05So they
31:05have their
31:06ships side
31:06by side
31:07and they
31:08are intending
31:08to sail up
31:09to the
31:09English,
31:10fire one
31:11broadside,
31:12close in,
31:12grapple and
31:13board.
31:14Setting aside
31:15his concerns,
31:17Sidonia arranged
31:18his fleet into
31:19battle formation.
31:20the famous
31:22crest shape
31:22made excellent
31:23sense for a
31:24battle of
31:25shipboarding
31:25engagements
31:26as it allowed
31:28vessels to
31:28join a battle
31:29at the most
31:30advantageous
31:31points according
31:32to how each
31:32captain viewed
31:33the preceding
31:34events.
31:36But in this
31:36instance,
31:37the English
31:38fleet had no
31:39intention of
31:40coming to
31:41groups.
31:42The first
31:43thing that
31:44happens in
31:44the Armada
31:45is that the
31:47Spanish approach
31:47and the English
31:48fleet sails
31:49around them.
31:50This is very
31:51confusing for
31:51the Spanish
31:51because they
31:52obviously are
31:53aiming to
31:54sail up the
31:54channel and
31:55they expect
31:55the English
31:55to try and
31:56stop them.
31:57But the
31:57English have
31:58suddenly gone
31:59to a lot
31:59of trouble
31:59to get
32:00behind them.
32:01What the
32:02English are
32:02looking to
32:02do is close
32:03in and use
32:04their ship
32:05smashing guns.
32:06Now,
32:07they have
32:07some problem
32:08with the
32:08Spanish
32:09formation
32:10because if
32:11they try
32:11and attack
32:12the weakest
32:12ships of
32:13the Armada
32:14which are
32:15inside the
32:16Arrowhead
32:16then they
32:17are in
32:18grave danger
32:18of being
32:19overwhelmed
32:20by the
32:20closing wings
32:22of the
32:22Crescent
32:22in which
32:23case they
32:24would be
32:24involved in
32:25boarding
32:25and they
32:26have no
32:26chance
32:26if the
32:27ships come
32:28close together
32:29because the
32:29English ships
32:30don't have
32:30troops on
32:31them.
32:31They cannot
32:32fight hand
32:32to hand.
32:33As they
32:34had far
32:34superior numbers
32:35of soldiers
32:36on board
32:37the Spanish
32:38were very
32:38keen to
32:39come to
32:39grips with
32:40the English
32:40at close
32:41quarters.
32:42But the
32:43English fleet
32:44managed to
32:44stay out
32:45of grappling
32:46range where
32:47Drake and
32:47Howard were
32:48able to
32:48engage the
32:49Spaniards in
32:50a long-range
32:51gunnery duel
32:52in which the
32:53English would
32:54always have
32:55the advantage.
32:57As the
32:58two fleets
32:59could not
32:59come to
33:00grips the
33:01fighting was
33:01very much
33:02reduced to
33:03that of a
33:03series of
33:04skirmishes.
33:07English
33:07shipboard guns
33:08were technologically
33:09superior to the
33:10Spanish ones
33:11and consequently
33:12a lot faster
33:14to reload.
33:16In addition
33:17English gunpowder
33:18was better
33:19manufactured as
33:20well and so
33:21when it actually
33:23came to a
33:23cannon fire
33:24fight although
33:25the English
33:26ships were
33:26similar in
33:27size they
33:28could throw
33:29far greater
33:30weight of
33:30metal against
33:31the Spanish.
33:33Despite this
33:34success and
33:36the fact that
33:36they inflicted
33:37severe damage to
33:38the Spanish on
33:39the way up the
33:39channel they
33:41were never
33:41able to
33:42cripple the
33:42Spanish fleet.
33:44There aren't
33:45very many accounts
33:46of ships being
33:47sunk by gunfire.
33:48The guns weren't
33:49that accurate for
33:50starters.
33:51Most ships
33:51surrender well enough
33:53the crew have been
33:53killed rather than
33:54they're actually
33:54destroyed by gunfire.
33:57The battleship Rosario
33:59was sufficiently damaged
34:01that it had to be
34:02left behind by the
34:03progress of the
34:04fleet.
34:05Next morning she
34:07was captured by
34:08Drake whose
34:09fearsome reputation
34:11caused the
34:12Spanish to surrender
34:13without a fight.
34:14Again we are
34:16fortunate that the
34:17contemporary
34:18description of the
34:19action has survived.
34:21Drake summons the
34:22captain Pedro
34:23de Valdez who
34:25refuses to surrender.
34:26He is then
34:27asked aboard the
34:29English ship, the
34:29Revenge, and he is
34:31introduced to Drake.
34:32He asks for a few
34:34moments to consider
34:35and then comes back
34:36and promptly surrenders
34:37to Drake without
34:38fighting.
34:39This is exactly the
34:41power of Drake's
34:42legend of his
34:43hold over the
34:44Spanish.
34:45It's inconceivable
34:46that Valdez would have
34:46surrendered to anybody
34:48else but as soon as
34:50Drake's name is
34:50mentioned he gives up
34:52without a struggle.
34:53The San Salvador was
34:55the next Spanish
34:56galleon to be
34:57abandoned and fell
34:58prize to Tom
34:59Fleming and the
35:00Golden Hind.
35:04Despite these
35:05losses the Armada
35:06proceeded up the
35:07channel.
35:09Medina Sidonia was
35:10now painfully aware
35:11that his provisions
35:13and ammunition were
35:14very low.
35:16He feared he might
35:17now be attacked by
35:19what was now
35:19obviously a far
35:20superior English
35:21force and one
35:23which was much
35:24better supplied from
35:25its home ports.
35:27His urgent letter
35:28to the King of Spain
35:29has survived and
35:31paints a vivid
35:32portrait of his
35:33concerns.
35:36We are much
35:37inferior in strength
35:38to our enemy
35:39according to the
35:40opinion of all those
35:41competent to judge.
35:43Many of our
35:44largest ships are
35:45still missing as
35:46well as two of the
35:47gallears, whilst on
35:49the ships that are
35:49here there are many
35:51sick, whose number
35:52will increase in
35:53consequence of the
35:54bad provisions.
35:55These are not only
35:57very bad, as I have
35:58constantly reported,
35:59but they are also
36:00scanty, that they
36:02cannot be more than
36:02sufficient to last
36:03two months.
36:05By this your majesty
36:06may judge whether we
36:08can proceed on the
36:09voyage, upon the
36:10success of which so
36:12much depends.
36:13your majesty has
36:15embarked in this
36:15expedition all your
36:16resources, both in
36:18ships and warlike
36:19stores, and I can
36:21see no means
36:21whatever of redressing
36:23any disaster that
36:25may befall us.
36:27In addition to the
36:29king, Sidonia was
36:30also sending urgent
36:32letters to the Duke
36:33of Parma in command
36:34of the Spanish in
36:35Flanders.
36:37He could get no
36:38reply to the various
36:39messages he sent to
36:40Parma in Flanders,
36:42which only added to
36:43his unease.
36:46As the wind swung
36:48round, for once in
36:50his favour, he took
36:51a decision to seek
36:52safety in the port of
36:54Calais.
36:55It was to prove a
36:57disastrous choice.
37:00A surviving letter
37:02from Sidonia to
37:03Parma makes his
37:04nervousness very clear
37:06to us.
37:07I have constantly
37:08written to your
37:09excellency, giving you
37:11information as to my
37:12whereabouts with the
37:13Armada, and that not
37:14only have I received no
37:16reply to my letters, but
37:17no acknowledgement of
37:19their receipt has
37:19reached me.
37:20I am now extremely
37:22anxious at this, as
37:23your excellency may
37:24imagine.
37:25And to free myself of
37:26the doubt as to whether
37:27any of the messages has
37:29reached you safely, I am
37:31now dispatching this
37:32flyboat with the
37:33intelligence that I am at
37:35anchor here, two leagues
37:36from Calais, with all the
37:38Armada, the enemy's fleet
37:40being on my flank and able
37:42to bombard me, whilst I am
37:44not in a position to do
37:45him much harm.
37:47I feel obliged to inform
37:49your excellency of this,
37:50and to beseech you, if you
37:52cannot at once bring out
37:53all your fleet, to send me
37:55the forty or fifty flyboats
37:57that I asked for yesterday.
37:58As with this aid, I shall be
38:00able to resist the enemy's
38:02fleet until your excellency can
38:04come out with the rest, and
38:06we can go together and take
38:07some part where this
38:08armada may enter in safety.
38:12History does not record
38:14whether Cydonia received the
38:16reply he expected from
38:17Parma, but he certainly did
38:20not receive the extra warships
38:22he asked for.
38:24No sooner had the Spanish
38:26fleet entered the harbour at
38:27Calais than they were
38:29effectively besieged by the
38:31English ships, which dropped
38:32anchor and waited for
38:34events.
38:36The French, at this stage,
38:38were supposedly neutral, but
38:40there was genuine concern
38:42among the English fleet that
38:43they would resupply the
38:45armada.
38:48In order to prevent this, the
38:50English decided that they
38:52would launch an attack with
38:53fire ships against the Spanish
38:55vessels in the harbour.
38:57On the eve of 7th August,
39:00eight burning English ships were
39:03carried towards the Spanish fleet
39:04on the rising tide.
39:06Their cannons were loaded with
39:08double shot, which would fire
39:10indiscriminately once the flames
39:13reached the guns.
39:15Although no Spanish ships were
39:17actually set alight by the burning
39:19vessels, many of the Spanish ships
39:22collided with each other in their
39:24efforts to flee the harbour, and the fleet
39:26was scattered into the night.
39:30The attack of the fire fleets was to prove
39:32a huge setback for the armada, and in
39:35reality, was the turning point of the
39:38whole campaign.
39:41However, even if Cydonia had succeeded in
39:44reaching his rendezvous with the army of
39:46Flanders, there is a great deal of evidence to
39:49suggest that Parma was still unprepared, and could
39:53not have made the crossing up anymore.
39:57The Spanish went to land Cape Margate in the
40:00Thames estuary.
40:01Parma would have found his way to London blocked by
40:04the river Medway.
40:05So the question really resolves on whether the
40:08army at Tilbury would have been able to cross the
40:10bridge of boats that they were building and get
40:13behind the line of the Medway to block Parma's advance.
40:16If this had happened, Parma would have found it very
40:19difficult to cross such a wide river while being
40:23opposed by even militia forces.
40:25He would therefore probably have to have turned south to
40:29manoeuvre around the Medway when he would have exposed
40:32his flank to the Tilbury army and met the force that was
40:36marching up the coast head-on.
40:39Inspectors, sent by the king, told a very different tale from
40:43the confident Prince of Parma.
40:45They confirmed to the king that the army of Flanders was in no
40:50state to invade, that the army had not embarked, and that
40:55insufficient boats were available to transport them in any
40:59case.
41:00An indignant letter from Parma, protesting against their view,
41:05has survived.
41:07The men who have recently come hither from the Duke, not seen the
41:12boats armed or with any artillery on board, and the men not shipped, have
41:17been trying to make out that we are not ready.
41:20They are in error.
41:23The boats are, and have been for months, in proper condition for the
41:26task they have to effect, namely to take men across.
41:29Although we have not as many seamen as we ought to have.
41:33Still, with all, we have sufficient for the work we have to do.
41:37The boats are so small, it is impossible to keep the troops on board of them for
41:40long.
41:41There is no room to turn around, and they would certainly fall ill, rot, and die.
41:46The putting of these men on board these low, small boats is done in a very short time.
41:52This wind would prevent our boats coming out, even if the sea were clear of the enemy's
41:58ships.
42:00Whatever the condition of Parma's men, the armada had recovered its cohesion after the
42:06attack of the fire ships, and now began its laborious progress once more.
42:12With the English now fully aware of the direction of the armada, the additional English fleet,
42:18which had been covering the approach to Dover, was able to join the ships commanded by Drake.
42:25Once the fleet was again underway, the Spanish galleons were again dogged by incessant English
42:32attacks, which buzzed around the lumbering galleons like so many fast-stinging fawnets.
42:38In addition to ready supplies from their home ports, the English also had the advantage
42:45of extra numbers.
42:47The English now know that they have got to make their shots count.
42:51They've been joined by Seymour's squadron, which has been protecting the Straits of Dover,
42:55so they have 35 additional ships.
42:58Drake has honed his tactics in the run-up the channel.
43:02They're going in very close.
43:04We know that they're fighting within musket shot.
43:08The Spanish are running low on ammunition for some of their guns.
43:14They are tired.
43:15They've been at sea a long time.
43:18The weather is changing.
43:20Schools disrupt their formations.
43:23They managed to get about 24 ships together to form a line of battle,
43:27but the English are determined not to let them get away again.
43:30So the English go in very close.
43:32They blast away.
43:34They turn.
43:35They come back again.
43:36They blast again.
43:38Spanish tactics simply can't cope with this.
43:40They're being blown apart, and there's really nothing they can do about it.
43:44To confound the Spanish distress, no extra supplies had been forthcoming from the French in Calais,
43:51and many of the Spanish ships were so low on ammunition they could barely resist the English attacks.
44:01In many cases, their stocks of gunpowder were completely exhausted,
44:06so the great guns could not be fired, leaving the ships defenseless.
44:12The English were quick to capitalize on the situation.
44:18It was now that Medina realized that the invasion of England could not possibly be attempted.
44:26His decision was supported by Palmer on shore,
44:29who was concerned by the thorough plans laid for the land resistance in England.
44:35The enemy have thereby been forewarned,
44:38and are acquainted with our plans,
44:40and have made all the preparations for their defense,
44:42so that it is manifest that the enterprise,
44:45which at one time was so easy and safe,
44:49can now only be carried out with infinitely greater difficulty,
44:52and at much larger expenditure of blood and trouble.
44:56It was now time for the Spanish fleet to turn for home.
45:01But even after Sidonia had taken the decision not to rendezvous with the army of Flanders,
45:07bad luck continued to dog his steps.
45:13Faced with prevailing winds,
45:15which continued to blow against his favored direction of travel,
45:19he was left with the only alternative
45:22of sailing the fleet completely round the British Isles and home to Spain.
45:28The armada is running north towards Scotland.
45:31They hold a council of war,
45:33and they decide that when possible they will return to the channel to enute the fight.
45:37But the weather won't let them.
45:40They end up north of Scotland,
45:43and they decide that the only option is to head home,
45:47going entirely round the British Isles.
45:51Unfortunately, the problem they had was the lack of proper charts.
45:55The science of cartography was still in its infancy.
46:00The Spanish maps didn't show just how far Ireland projected into the Atlantic.
46:06Every ship was to make its own speed and follow its own course.
46:11The ships that were still relatively well supplied and undamaged
46:15could afford to head well out into the Atlantic
46:18and managed to get home quite safely.
46:22Many of the ships which had been battered in the fighting
46:25were also running dangerously low on supplies.
46:30In addition, many were carrying horses,
46:34which had been consuming a lot of the available water.
46:37It was ships like these who decided to stay close to the coast of Ireland
46:42and not to make a much longer detour.
46:47The appalling weather and rough seas along an uncharted coast
46:51led to many wrecks along the west coast of Ireland.
46:56The English had a very small garrison in Ireland.
46:59They were aware that the Armada had at least 16,000 soldiers with it.
47:04They were extremely worried that if anything like
47:07a large proportion of this landed island,
47:10that there would be a revolt by the native Irish.
47:12They react with extreme brutality
47:15and many of the Spanish survivors of the wrecks
47:19are murdered out of hand by the English garrison.
47:22It was the fateful decision to sail round Britain
47:26which had proved to be the lasting public impression of the Armada.
47:31Although very few ships were actually lost in battle
47:34against the English fleet,
47:36dozens of Spanish craft were wrecked in the terrible storms
47:39which blighted the unseasonable August of 1588.
47:46Ultimately, only 65 ships of the 128
47:51which had set sail from Spain
47:53would ever see their homelands again.
47:57A terrible fate for so many brave men
48:01and beautiful craft.
48:06The Armada was an extremely important part of English history
48:12both because the invasion was prevented
48:15and also because it established the English
48:18as the number one naval nation in Europe.
48:22They had proved themselves supreme in technology,
48:27in sailing ability.
48:28They had proved themselves the masters of Atlantic warfare.
48:33And Atlantic warfare was where the future lay.
48:37Galley warfare in the Mediterranean had gone on for centuries
48:40but its day was over.
48:42Drake had proved that he could destroy galleys in Cadiz Harbour.
48:48The galley stood no chance against the sailing ship.
48:50Now Drake had proved that the English designed warship
48:56was superior to anything that the Spanish
48:59or anyone else could put to sea.
49:01And that is the foundation of English naval supremacy
49:05for the next 300 years.
49:33The German army was on the coast of Asia's
49:33He was also on the coast of Asia.
49:33He died from the coast of Asia.
49:42He even rolled up in a águace with a new dand.
49:50The civil war in the world
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