In the 1580s, relations between England and Spain had been getting worse and worse. By May 1588, King Philip II of Spain had finished preparing a fleet, the Spanish Armada, to invade England. His plan was for the fleet of 130 ships, carrying 30,000 sailors and soldiers, to sail up the English Channel. They would link up with the Spanish army based in the Low Countries, and together they would invade England. The Protestant Queen Elizabeth I would be removed from the throne and replaced with a Catholic ruler. The Catholic religion would be restored in England.
The arrival of the Armada on 29th July 1588 was no surprise. The English had known about its preparation for several years and had been making their own preparations to face the attack. The government had been building new ships, forts and warning beacons. They made efforts to disrupt the Spanish preparations. Francis Drake attacked the Spanish fleet in Cadiz harbour in 1587. They had also been trying to win the war of words - the propaganda battle between the two countries.
Read Source 1
1. This is an extract taken from a draft proclamation by the government of Elizabeth I. This was sent with a letter on 24th June 1588 by Lord Burghley, Elizabeth I's chief minister, to Sir Francis Walsingham. They were clearly discussing how to make their case most persuasive and to blame the war on others.
Look at Source 2
2. Elizabeth's ministers accused Catholic English rebels of trying to make her 'honorable actions' look bad.
Can you find them?
Look at Source 3
3. Elizabeth I's ministers tried to shift the blame for the war on to others. Again they used writer's tricks.
4. Imagine that you are a minister of King Philip II of Spain. What would you advise him to write as a reply to Elizabeth I's proclamation? Don't forget that the Spanish Government would have used writer's tricks just as the English Government did.
The proclamation was part of the propaganda war between Elizabeth I and her Catholic enemies led by Philip II of Spain.
King Philip II of Spain was hostile to Queen Elizabeth's England for several reasons:
Queen Elizabeth I was unhappy with Philip II's Spain because:
1570 Pope Pius V ordered English Catholics not to obey Elizabeth I.
1571 The Ridolfi Plot intended to use a Spanish army to overthrow Elizabeth I.
1583 The Throckmorton Plot planned to put Mary, Queen of Scots on the English throne with Spanish support.
1585 Philip II put an embargo on all English goods in Spain.
An English army was sent to the Low Countries to help the Dutch rebels against the Spanish.
Drake occupied Spanish ports in Galicia for 10 days in October and then went on to sack islands in the Canaries and in the Caribbean.
Philip II began planning an invasion of England.
1586 The Babington Plot planned to assassinate Elizabeth I and put Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne.
Nine new warships were built for Elizabeth I's navy.
1587 Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Drake's raid on Cadiz.
1588 Anglo-Spanish peace talks began in the Low Countries on 8th March.
Peace talks moved to Bourbourg 23rd May.
Armada sailed from Lisbon 28th May.
The level of this activity is Key Stage 3.
This lesson is intended for use either as part of a study of the use of propaganda over time or within the context of some explicit work on Elizabethan England and the Spanish Armada.
Sources
Illustration : KB 27/1309/2
Source 1 - 3 : SP 12/211