Why Did The Spanish Armada Fail? (Essay Sample)

Why did the Spanish Armada Fail?

During the 16th century, both Spain and England were among the major colonial powers in the world; they conquered many parts of the world to increase their wealth.  However, religious differences became the major cause of conflicts between the two countries. In 1588, a war was declared by the Spanish King Philip II; he sent his Armada to fight Elizabeth the I from the throne. The Spanish ruler was still hoping to defeat Elizabeth and restore England back to its Catholic origin.

One of the many reasons why King Philip started the war was because of religion. He was a strong Catholic and wanted to restore England back to his original state. When Mary the previous England queen who was a Catholic was killed, Elizabeth, who was a protestant ascended to the throne. Philip believed that he had the responsibility to return England to being a Catholic nation. The Spanish Armada was defeated for several reasons. First, the English used appropriate tactics.  Even though the Spanish has more warships compared to English troops, the English ships moved faster and could be easily be navigated. The Spanish ships were not built for war, they were meant for transporting goods, this affected their plans.

On the other hand, the English had effective weapons that could fire at a long distance. The British troops could fire faster and accurately compared to the Spanish troops who could not use their guns in the channels as water entered in their ships. It meant that the English troops could fire against the opponent faster   and could easily maneuver through the sea. English troops used adaptable tactics like the Hell Burner, a tactic consisting of setting ablaze some of their ships and pushing the ship towards the Spanish borders. The Spanish troops retreated for fear of their ships catching fire. The tactics used by British confused the Spanish Armada during the war, because the Spanish used outdated tactics.

During the war, the Spanish boarded the English ships to capture their opponents. The Spanish also run alongside the English ships pulling their ships before boarding the ships to fight. In addition, the English troops relied on long-range guns they avoided getting close to their opponents. Despite having superior weapons, the Spanish could not use them effectively because the English ships were far away. The other reason for Spanish Armada failing to win the battle against the British was the weather condition.

The weather had a negative impact on both sides, but it had a disastrous effect on the Spanish more than the English did.  For instance, when the Spanish returned to the port for resupply, when they set to sail poor weather drifted their ships permitting the English troops to spot them easily and alerting their leaders of their arrival. The geography of the English Channel affected on Spanish when the Spanish stopped to pick up some of the troops, they discovered that there was no port to stop his fleet.

The only option was to harbor at the nearby port and wait for the troops. The wind affected their movement the Spanish ship could not come to the shallow water to take soldiers abroad. As they waited for the troops to board the ship, the English troops attacked the Spanish ships. Heavy storms affected their ships, causing major damages affecting their operations. Based on the above factors there are many reasons why the Spanish Armada failed even though they had sophisticated fleet ships, which are considered to be superior, compared to English fleets.

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