Today in 1588, the Spanish Armada set sail for England. It had been a long time coming. The original plan was to invade even a year before, but Francis Drake’s attack on Cadiz delayed it for another year. But now, it was here. The Duke of Medina-Sidonia commanded 130 ships, officially called the Grande y Felicísima Armada, literally “Great and Most Fortunate Navy”. The plan was to meet up with the army in Flanders, and escort them over to invade England. All summer long, England would have watchers along the coast, ready to light the invasion beacons.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there is a series on the Spanish Armada.
Suggested links:
The Spanish Armada Part I: A 30 Year Road to Battle
Armada II: The Battle
From the shop:
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.