Mary's death.
Feb. 18, 1587.

The Queen's anger.

The state of Europe neutralizes the

the end, appeared on the scaffold, which was erected in the hall of Fotheringay, in a full costume of scarlet, and with calm dignity received the fatal stroke of the axe. She left her claim upon the English throne to Philip, who had already determined that upon that ground only would he risk the dangers of an assault upon England. The excitement throughout Europe at her death was great. Abroad, its full meaning as a declaration in favour of Protestantism was fully understood. The Queen, alarmed at what she had done, pursued her usual equivocal course, and expressed the strongest anger both against Davison and Burghley. To such extremes did she carry her anger, that she insisted upon the trial of Davison, and it was found expedient to dismiss him from the public service and condemn him to the payment of a large fine. Such conduct on the part of the Queen, and the excuses which she made to foreign courts, would scarcely have been sufficient to save her from the danger she dreaded, had not the political situation of Europe acted in her favour. Henry III., as we have seen, in his struggle with the Guises could not afford to quarrel with her, and the very step which Queen Mary had taken to secure the intervention of Spain still further weakened the chances of general Catholic action. Philip resolved to prosecute his own claim to the English throne. In so doing, he at once alienated the Scotch King, who regarded the succession as his own, and excited the jealousy of all in France who were not closely bound to the Guise party, and therefore to the Spanish interests. As it was, the excitement caused by Mary's death brought matters abroad to a crisis. The Huguenots again organized themselves in rebellion. The Protestant Princes of Germany joined their League; and while Henry of Navarre raised the South of France, a considerable German army crossed the frontier to co-operate with him. Henry III. was obliged to use some means for the suppression of this insurrection. But his action was so lukewarm that the Catholics declared he had wilfully suffered his sisterin-law to be put to death. Guise, making use of this feeling, was enabled to rouse the organization of the League to fresh vigour.

effect of the execution.

Day of the Barricades in France.

May 12, 1588.

Though Henry of Navarre won a great victory over the royal troops at Courtras, he suffered the opportunity to slip, while Guise contrived to hamper, and ultimately destroy, the army of the German invaders, and, in spite of the King's prohibition, made his appearance in Paris, where he was received in triumph by the people. An attempt on the part of Henry III to

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THE SPANISH ARMADA

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overawe the populace by the introduction of troops, caused a general outbreak of the mob. Barricades sprang up at every street corner. Henry III. was obliged to fly from the city, and Guise and the Catholics were masters of France. But this success, which, had it occurred earlier, might have rendered the Spanish invasion irresistible, did not take place till Philip's great effort had been made and failed.

Philip's pre

invasion.

Ever since Elizabeth had been acting in open hostility to him Philip had been preparing for his enterprise. A great fleet had been gradually formed in Cadiz. Drake had parations for undertaken an expedition against it in April, and his success had necessitated the postponement of the invasion, but even then it was expected to take place at the end of the year 1587. Strangely, throughout these years, Elizabeth was still negotiating with Spain, was still attempting to bring about a peace at the expense of the States of the Netherlands. The Prince of Parma, indeed, who knew better than most men the condition of England, and the amount of preparation which for several years had been carried on there, urged his master even yet to attempt a peaceful solution of the question. But now that the course was clear for his own succession to the country, Philip was obstinately determined to continue his plans. Parma's army was to be joined by a considerable force from Spain, and the seas guarded by the Spanish fleet under Santa Cruz. With this determination fixed in his mind, Philip only negotiated with Elizabeth to gain time. The treaty which was set on foot came to an end. But, as so frequently happened in the affairs of Spain, when the appointed time arrived, the army of invasion was not ready. The death of Santa Cruz was also a cause of delay. A far inferior commander, Medina Sidonia, was appointed in his place, but it was found too late to hazard the invasion till the next year. The delay was invaluable to England. then, as now, a permanent establishment. ships, merchant vessels being taken up service when required. Even such royal ships as there were were seldom put in commission, such was the parsimony of Elizabeth. Moreover, all through the year 1587, the Queen was still determined to believe in the possibility of peace. After Drake's return from Cadiz many of his ships were paid off, and, had the Armada sailed, as intended, that year, England would have been found quite unprepared. Even as it was, the Queen's extreme avarice went near to ruin the country. When all hope of peace had disappeared, provisions

The English navy was not There were very few royal and employed for special

English preparations of defence.

and ammunition were still dealt out with so sparing a hand, that the crews of the fleet at Plymouth must have been discharged had it not been for the personal exertions of Howard and the Admirals serving under him. The postponement of the expedition gave time to reestablish in some degree the fleet; and the royal ships, supported by numerous merchantmen, and by the vessels of the privateers, who willingly crowded round Drake, their old commander, were stationed in considerable numbers under Lord Howard and Drake himself, at Plymouth, and under Lord Henry Seymour in the Straits. The ships which they had to command were all of them very small; the largest were four or five new royal ships which had lately been added to the navy. For, since the year 1583, careful superintendence had been kept up over the fleet, and one new ship at least each year had been built. The largest ship in the whole fleet, however, the 'Triumph,' was but of one thousand tons. Though thus small, the ships were remarkably efficient; not only were they good sea boats, but Sir John Hawkins, having had the superintendence of the navy, had introduced a new sort of construction. He had lowered the castle-like buildings which had hitherto overloaded both bow and stern, and the vessels built on his plan far more nearly resembled modern vessels than those previously used, and were proportionately more rapid in their sailing.

The delay in the starting of the Armada, which had allowed the English fleet to be collected, had it continued long would have caused its ruin. Want of supplies was rapidly threatening the crews with destruction; and it was with extreme delight that news was received on the 29th of July (according to the present reckoning) that the Armada was entering the Channel. It had set sail in May, had been dispersed by the weather, and again collecting in the Bay of Ferrol, had finally left Spain on the 22nd of July. The vast fleet consisted of six great squadrons-129 ships in all. Of these, 65 were large galleons, 7 of which were larger than the 'Triumph,' and the smallest larger than any English ship, with the exception of the five late additions to the navy. The other vessels were four great galleasses, rowed by 300 slaves each, four large galleys, 56 armed merchantmen, and 20 attendant small vessels. They were manned by 8000 men, and had on board upwards of 19,000 soldiers. It was only by skill that the English fleet, inferior both in size and numbers, could hope to defeat this vast army. This skill they were enabled to use to the full, for the great Spanish ships, carrying but little sail in comparison with their size, were all slow sailers, and very

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DESTRUCTION OF THE ARMADA

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difficult to work to windward. Moreover, their cannon, though superior in number and in size, were badly supplied with ammunition (but fifty rounds of shot for each gun being on board), and were very slowly worked compared to the English cannon; while the crowded state of the lower decks, filled with soldiers, rendered every shot of the English doubly fatal. The contest which ensued was such as was rendered necessary by the peculiarities of the two fleets. Destruction of It resolved itself into a running fight of many days' the Armada. duration. The English, afraid of coming to close quarters, made use of their superior skill in manœuvring, and hung upon the rear of the Spanish fleet, approaching boldly to within close cannon shot, sailing to and fro the length of the line, firing upon each vessel as they passed it, while all attempts on the part of the Spaniards to close were at once eluded. Thus harassed with constant loss of men, and of such vessels as accident obliged to fall behind the general mass of the fleet, the Armada passed slowly onwards, daily becoming more and more afraid of their agile enemies, and less hopeful of being able to perform the part assigned them in covering the descent of Parma. At length the Spaniards rested a while in Calais harbour. The English loss had been little or nothing; and by using the ammunition found in vessels which had been captured, and by husbanding the wretched scanty supply furnished by Government, they were still in a position to continue the fight a little longer. But they dreaded lest delay, by obliging them to exhaust their food, should after all be fatal to them. It was necessary to drive the Spaniards again to sea. For this purpose fire-ships were sent into Calais harbour. dread of this new instrument of offence, the Spaniards slipped their cables and passed onwards towards the Straits, and on the morning of the 8th of August found themselves in scattered confusion off the coast of Holland, opposite Gravelines. They were there attacked by Seymour, Drake, and Winter, all hope of return to Calais was cut off from them, and they were driven slowly towards the coast of Flanders. The fire from the English ships was terrible and well sustained when at short distances. The great Spanish ships, heeling over to the wind, offered an easy aim to the English gunners, while their own shot flew harmlessly over the heads of the Englishmen. Ship after ship sank or fled to the shore. It was only the entire want of ammunition which obliged the English to desist before they completely annihilated the enemy. 4000 men had been lost to the Spaniards. The number of wounded is not known, but as the wooden beams which had been erected to secure the soldiery were torn to splinters by the English shot, it must have been immense. Though

In

The victory a national one.

still very formidable, the spirits of the Spaniards were broken by their disasters, and Medina Sidonia, giving up all thoughts of either returning to the Channel or of assisting Parma, determined to fly round the north of Scotland, and thus to return to Spain. Though rendered almost useless for offence by want of ammunition, the English ships pursued them till they saw them fairly past the Forth. Then leaving them to the mercy of the weather, which had become tempestuous, they returned to England. It was in wretched plight that they came back. The miserable supplies which Elizabeth had alone allowed to be sent them had produced all sorts of diseases; and thousands of the crew came from their great victory only to die. If ever a nation was saved by its people in spite of the faults of its Government it was England at this time. While the Queen was treating with Spain, the temper of the nation had risen. In the midst of privation, and wanting in all the necessaries of life, the sailors had fought with unflagging energy, with their wages unpaid, with ammunition supplied them with so stingy a hand that each shot sent on board was registered and accounted for, with provisions withheld so that the food of four men had habitually to be divided among six, and that food so bad as in some instances to be really poisonous, without even the hope of prize money, for in their zeal they had refused to take prizes. The enthusiasm had been felt not by the Protestants nor by the lower classes alone. Philip's political blunder in thinking to acquire England for himself had roused the national feeling even of the Catholics, and members of all the older Catholic houses thronged as volunteers to the fleet. While the danger was thus happily averted by the gallantry of the sailors, preparations had been carried on with vigour on shore. For several years, in expectation of what had now happened, the musters of the counties had been regularly drilled. An army of 30,000 was easily raised in the midland counties, and 16,000 had been assembled at Tilbury to defend London. Even at this crisis Elizabeth had shown her usual perverse favouritism, and selected as General-in-chief Leicester, discredited as he was by the incapacity he had shown in the Netherlands. On this occasion, however, he was not found wanting, and vigorously discharged the duties imposed upon him. A few days after the defeat of the Armada, when the Queen held a triumphant review of the troops at Tilbury, a fresh honour was in preparation for him, and he would have been raised to the rank of Lord-Lieutenant of England and Ireland had he not almost immediately died.