ARMADA. 



the king had sustained from the English 

 arms, as with a view of transmitting his 

 name to posterity, as the defender of the 

 true faith. In the preceding year, a whole 

 fleet of transports was destroyed at Ca- 

 diz by Drake, who ravaged the Spanish 

 coast. Cavendish, another sea-command- 

 er, committed, about the same time, 

 great depredations on the Spaniards in 

 the South Sea, taking 19 vessels, richly 

 laden, with which he entered, in triumph, 

 the river Thames. On these, and other 

 accounts not less mortifying to the pride 

 of Spain, Philip looked for speedy and 

 ample revenge, by the overthrow of the 

 power and credit of Elizabeth, who was 

 every where regarded as the protector 

 and bulwark of the Protestant religion. 

 These preparations were Conducted with 

 secrecy, but with all the vigour of which 

 he was capable. His ministers, admirals, 

 and generals, were employed in the busi- 

 ness ; and measures were taken, not only 

 in Spain, but in the ports of Sicily, Na- 

 ples, and Portugal, for fitting out a most 

 tremendous fleet. In Flanders also there 

 were considerable military preparations ; 

 and an army of 14,000 men was assembled 

 in the Netherlands, which was kept in 

 readiness to embark, in flat-bottomed 

 vessels constructed for the occasion. To 

 the most renowned nobility, and princes 

 of Italy and Spain, who were ambitious 

 of being enrolled among the conquerors 

 of England, were added many hundreds 

 of English desperadoes, under the con- 

 duct of a man who had been banished for 

 selling a Dutch fortress to Spain. 



It was hoped that England would not 

 understand, till it was too late, that these 

 efforts were directed against her peace 

 and existence as a nation; but the queen 

 was never without secret intelligence of 

 whatever was carrying on in the different 

 parts of the continent. The spies em- 

 ployed on this, and on every other occa- 

 sion during her reign, were priests, it 

 being a favourite maxim with her minis- 

 ter, Walsingham, that an active but 

 vicious priest was the best spy in the 

 yvorld. 



Elevated with the prospect of certain 

 success, the Spaniards denominated their 

 navy, collected for this purpose, " The 

 Invincible Armada." The forces of Eng- 

 land seemed to be unequal to the contest; 

 nevertheless Elizabeth scorned to fear ; 

 her mind was in every respect adequate 

 to the greatness of the cause. At that 

 period the number of sailors in this coun- 

 try amounted to 14,000, and the navy to 

 only 28 sail, many of which were small in 

 size, and of no great force. The seamen 



indeed were very superior to those of the 

 enemy with whom they had to contend, 

 which compensated in some measure for 

 the inferiority of the size and force of 

 their vessels. The attachment to their 

 religion and liberties roused the exer- 

 tions of the English: London supplied 30 

 ships and 10,000 men, and other places 

 imitated the example. The nobility and 

 gentry, among whom were several Ro- 

 man Catholics of distinction, united to 

 oppose this conspiracy ; they hired, arm- 

 ed, and manned upwards of 40 ships, at 

 their own private charge, and the money 

 which the queen demanded by way of 

 loans was cheerfully and readily granted. 

 The command of the navy was entrusted 

 to Lord Howard of Eifingham ; the prin- 

 cipal fleet was stationed at Plymouth, and 

 a smaller squadron of 40 vessels, com- 

 manded by Lord Seymour, lay off Dun- 

 kirk. An army of 20,000 men was dis- 

 posed in different bodies along the coast, 

 and alike number, with 1000 horse, under 

 the command of the Earl of Leicester, 

 was stationed at Tilbury, in order to de- 

 fend the capital. The main arm}-, of 

 nearly 40,000 men, were placed under 

 the command of Lord Hunsdon, ready to 

 defend the queen's person, or to march 

 wherever the enemy should appear. The 

 King of Scotland avowed his adherence 

 to Elizabeth, and his readiness to march 

 his whole force, if necessary, to her aid. 

 From Denmark and the Hanse-towns she 

 likewise received some help. The Pro- 

 testants in general throughout Europe 

 were anxious for the success of England. 

 On the 29th of May, the Spanish fleet set 

 sail from Lisbon, but on the 30th it was 

 dispersed by a violent storm. As soon, 

 however, as it could be refitted, it made 

 towards the English coast, consisting of 

 130 vessels. These preparations had 

 been delayed a whole year, by a circum- 

 stance mentioned by Bishop Burnet, and 

 which is referred to in the " Acta Regia" 

 as one of the most curious passages iii the 

 English history. "When it seemed," 

 says the historian, " impossible to divert 

 the present execution of so great a de- 

 sign, and there was no strength ready to 

 resist it, a merchant of London effected 

 it by this means. Being very well ac- 

 quainted with the revenue and expense 

 of Spain, and all that they could do, and 

 knowing that their funds were so swal- 

 lowed up, that it was impossible for them 

 to victual and fit out their fleet, but by 

 their credit on the bank of Genoa, he un- 

 dertook to write to all the places of trade, 

 and to get such remittances made on that, 

 bank, that he might have .so much of'tlie 



