English victory over armada was a tall tale, says historian
The Spanish Armada was never defeated and a later victory over an English fleet led by Sir Francis Drake was covered up by Elizabeth I, a Spanish historian claims in his new book.
In Contra Armada, or ‘‘Counter Armada’’, Luis Gorrochategui writes that of the 137 ships that Philip II sent to take England in 1588, only 35 failed to return to Spain, and these were mainly transport vessels that were unable to weather Atlantic storms.
‘‘The saga of the ‘ Invincible Armada’, which was a total Spanish failure, in reality involved a well protected convoy of transport ships to carry soldiers and was not a naval battle as such,’’ Gorrochategui told The Times. ‘‘It was a far more minor affair. The Spanish ships that took part were few, as were their losses.
‘‘The success of the operation on the part of the English was to force the Spaniards to abort their landing,’’ he added. ‘‘But later the English created a nationalist myth about a gigantic naval sea battle.’’
Traditional British history relates that in late July 1588 the Spanish Armada arrived in the Channel with a huge force far larger than the English fleet. A battle ensued but storms blew the Spanish, who held their tight formation, until they anchored off Calais.
The English launched fireships that set ablaze enemy vessels, then chased them down as the Spanish fled in panic while battling erratic winds. It was then that Gorrochategui said they faced ‘‘the most terrible incident’’ off Ireland where three ships ran ashore during a storm and only 300 out of 1000 men survived.
‘‘The real story of the Spanish Armada has been obscured by myth-making, whereas what happened a year later when the English deployed a fleet to Spain was suppressed by Elizabeth I,’’ the author said.
In 1589 Elizabeth commissioned both Drake and Sir John Norris to command the expedition to attack Spain, the first in charge of the fleet, and the second commanding its soldiers. It had three objectives: to burn the Spanish Atlantic fleet being repaired in ports in northern Spain, to make a landing at Lisbon and raise a revolt there, and then to continue west and establish a permanent base in the Azores.
‘‘Little did she know that her orders to go to Santander to destroy the Spanish fleet, then under repair, would be ignored, as Drake, a knight of the realm but also a privateer, altered the original plan thinking that attacking the city of Corunna could be more lucrative – an action that obviously infuriated the Queen afterwards,’’ he said.
The fleet instead sailed to Corunna, where the force of 20,000 unsuccessfully besieged a town of 4000 people, losing 1300 men.
‘‘It was defended by a mixture of Spanish troops and militia, including women who played an important role in the last stages of the combat,’’ he added. ‘‘One of them, Maria Pita, showed her bravery by killing a standardbearer who was trying to reach the top of the wall.’’
The fleet’s attacks on Portugal also failed. ‘‘The queen prohibited any publication about the English Armada trying, successfully, to hide the disastrous result,’’ he said.