![]() ![]() However misguided his mission was it is clear that he felt that he was doing God’s work and was encouraged in this thinking by other Catholic leaders most notably of course the Pope who was to reveal himself a fair weather friend indeed and one who seemed to admire the Protestant Elizabeth more than the Catholic Philip who was supposedly doing God’s work on his behalf. One quickly finds a little sympathy for the scale and ambition of King Philip II. The author skilfully weaves the accounts from the various participants even as they are on opposing ships as the battles and campaign unfold. Perhaps because of this, it is useful to have a well rounded account that tells the story from both sides. The Spanish Armada is one of the nation defining events in the history of England. ![]() The Spanish had to contend with fundamental organisational and supply problems combined with lacklustre leadership and of course the mercy of the cruel elements which time and again seemed to play on the side of the Protestants no matter how hard the Catholics prayed. However, as this book illustrates, it was not just English ships that kept England’s liberty in 1588. ![]() ![]() Never had the wooden walls of England been more important. As the author of this book makes it clear, had the Spanish ever got ashore, the likelihood of the parsimonious English forces keeping the invaders from sweeping all before them would have been remote. Spain continued to exhaust its gains from its own colonial successes in the Americas on fruitless wars whereas England began to realise its growing potential as it elevated itself from a small, insignificant European nation to an increasingly important maritime power. With hindsight, the failure of the Spanish Armada to bring Protestant England to heel was a decisive turning point in the fortunes of both nations. ![]()
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