On July 26 1588 England was preparing for the invasion of the Spanish Armada by mustering 4000 men at Tilbury Fort built in Essex on the Thames Estuary. Tilbury Fort had been built in 1539 by Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, on the site of a dissolved hermitage, and it was here that the first men began to muster to fight off the invading Catholic navy.
On July 19 the Armada came into view for the first time, and according to legend, Sir Francis Drake finished his game of bowls before he went off to see off the Spanish. Later he and Lord Howard of Eggingham set sail from Plymouth with 55 ships to chase the Armada. On the 21st there was a skirmish, and another engagement two days later that saw two Spanish ships abandoned after they were damaged.
England had a system of beacons set up that alerted Elizabeth at Richmond on July 22. She reacted with customary calmness, knowing that her navy had smaller, lighter ships, and they she had the stronger navy.
The men mustering today knew they had a fight ahead of them, but they were prepared to see off Spain.
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.
Suggested links:
The Spanish Armada Part I: A 30 Year Road to Battle
Armada II: The Battle
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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.