THE SPANISH MENACE 



certainly the ideal method of countering the movements of Spain at that 

 time, and of forcing her to dissipate her energies. Among the most 

 noteworthy of these, always excluding Sir Francis Drake, was George 

 Clifford, Earl of Cumberland. The first of his numerous privateering 

 expeditions, made necessary by the dissipation of his fortune in a raffish 

 youth, was in 1586, when he sailed with a small force in conjunction with 

 Raleigh, the squadron being commanded by Robert Widrington. Their 

 original idea was to cruise in the Pacific, but they did so well, both 

 legally and illegally, in the Channel and the South Atlantic that they 

 abandoned that project and returned to England well laden with booty. 

 In all he sent out ten privateering expeditions, and himself sailed in four 

 of them, but it is to be feared that they were not all successes and that 

 in the end his creditors were the greatest losers. 

 The Origin of the Armada. 



The Invincible or Most Happy Armada is generally put down as 

 being the idea of Philip II of Spain, but as a matter of fact the scheme 

 originated in the mind of Santa Cruz, the Spanish Admiral. Whether 

 it was to increase his already considerable reputation or from genuine 

 religious feeling must remain a subject of speculation — probably it was 

 a mixture of the two. It was first put forward in the year 1583 with 

 little success, but the admiral was not deterred and returned to the 

 attack in 1586, and at the request of the King prepared such a full and 

 convincing plan that preparations were soon put in hand. He reckoned 

 that the conquest of England would call for an eight months' campaign 

 and would require nearly a hundred thousand men. The fleet he 

 suggested was to consist of 150 large men-of-war and some 400 auxiliary 

 craft, an Armada to tax even the resources of Spain at that time. How- 

 ever, after a certain amount of hesitation and a good deal of time to 

 consider ways and means, the King decided to adopt the plan and to 

 throw himself into it whole-heartedly. The English contrived to hold 

 up his preparations considerably, and before the expedition was ready 

 Santa Cruz, who was an experienced seaman and had the whole plan at 

 his finger-tips, died. Had he lived, the history of the Armada and of 

 the world during the next two centuries might have been very different. 

 Singeing the King of Spain's Beard. 



Although the King of Spain was taking certain measures to prevent 

 the knowledge of his expedition reaching the ears of Queen Elizabeth, 

 there was really very little secrecy about it, and Mr. Secretary Walsing- 

 ham was quite capable of keeping his Royal Mistress well informed. In 

 1587, therefore. Sir Francis Drake, who had already earned a wonderful 

 reputation for reckless gallantry against the Spaniards, was selected to 

 command a force that should impede their preparations. Four size- 

 able men-of-war and two small pinnaces were lent by the Royal Navy, 

 and with armed merchantmen the force was brought uo to about thirty 

 sail of all sorts. The second in command was William Borough, a 

 distinguished hydrographer and a man far in advance of his time with 

 regard to the science of the sea, but with no pretence to martial ardour, 



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