THE SPANISH MENACE 



Hawkyns, on the other hand, was far less dashing and infinitely longer 

 sighted, his principal fault being an excessive love of money. Yet when 

 he was Treasurer of the Navy the good of the Service was his first 

 thought. 



Further Threatened Invasions. 



At the same time as the death of Drake stirred the nation trouble 

 was foretold in the Spaniards being given an easy opportunity of taking 

 possession of Calais, where they had a very excellent chance of invad- 

 ing England, and had every intention of carrying it into effect. To dis- 

 tract their attention, therefore, an expedition was prepared against Cadiz 

 under the joint command of the Lord High Admiral and the Earl of 

 Essex, consisting of seventeen Royal ships, twenty-four Dutchmen, a 

 number belonging to Lord Howard of Effingham, and something like a 

 hundred armed merchantmen and store-ships. The instructions given 

 were that the chiefs were to direct their principal attention against the 

 Armada that was known to be collecting against us and in aid of the 

 Irish rebels, although as a matter of fact the rumours in this direction 

 had been grossly exaggerated. The policy of the Queen in this exploit, 

 however, was vacillating in the extreme, and the orders were altered 

 and almost cancelled before they sailed, just as they had been when 

 Drake departed to singe the King of Spain's beard. The Spaniards had 

 not the least suspicion of the attack, and from merchant ships captured 

 more or less piratically on the way out it was learned that a number 

 of ships were in the port without any adequate protection. However, 

 they put up a very gallant defence, and with the aid of the batteries 

 inflicted very considerable losses on the English as they fought their way 

 through the bay and into the inner roads. The casualties were heavy on 

 both sides, but the material losses of the Spaniards were enormous, 

 though only two big ships were actually captured to be added to the 

 Royal Navy under anglicised names. The defenders contested every 

 inch of the path, and the fighting in the narrow streets of Cadiz was of 

 the fiercest description. Finally, the whole town was in the hands of 

 the English, and it was estimated that the Spanish loss amounted in all 

 to twenty million ducats. Comparatively little spoil fell to the hands of 

 the English, however, and in Faro they were even less successful. But 

 the Bishop's Library was taken away by Essex, and is the nucleus of the 

 present wonderful Bodleian Library. 



The Armada of 1597. 



Although this expedition perhaps prevented him making a 

 dangerous attack on us, it spurred King Philip on to another Armada, 

 and in 1597 he collected a fleet at Lisbon for a descent on Ireland. On 

 this occasion he appears to have been quite successful in concealing his 

 designs from the English, but bad weather intervened and the remnants 

 of the fleet were glad enough to crawl back into Ferrol. Here they 

 were fitted out again, but by this time Elizabeth's counsellors were on 

 their guard, and accordingly Essex, with Lord Thomas Howard and Sir 

 Walter Raleigh, sailed on what is known as the " Voyage to the Indies." 



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