Early Elizabethan England: The Netherlands and the Road to the Spanish Armada

Edexcel GCSE History $9$-$1$: Early Elizabethan England $1558$ to $1588$

• This content focuses on the escalating tensions between England and Spain during the late $16^{th}$ century.

• It specifically examines the final causes for the deterioration of Anglo-Spanish relations, focusing on the rebellion in the Netherlands and the English naval raid on Cadiz.

The Treaty of Nonsuch (August $1585$)

• In August $1585$, Queen Elizabeth signed the Treaty of Nonsuch with the Dutch Rebels.

• The treaty was a formal commitment for England to provide financial and military support to the Dutch resistance against Spanish rule.

• Provisions of the treaty:

  • England promised to pay for an army of over $7000$ English soldiers.

  • The army was to be led by Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, who was one of Elizabeth’s favorite courtiers.

• The strategic plan involved Dudley working directly with the "Council of State," which was the rebel government in the Netherlands.

• Significance: This treaty brought England and Spain significantly closer to open warfare, as there was a high likelihood that the Council of State, bolstered by English military support, would declare war on Spain.

Failure of the Netherlands Campaign

• The intervention in the Netherlands was largely deemed unsuccessful due to several conflicting factors:

  • Elizabeth’s Hesitation: Elizabeth did not truly desire a full-scale war with Spain. She maintained hope for a diplomatic negotiation with Phillip II. Consequently, she did not provide Dudley with sufficient resources or funding to sustain the army properly, let alone achieve a decisive victory.

  • Internal Defection: Trust within the alliance was severely damaged when two of Dudley’s chief officers, William Stanley and Robert York, defected to the Spanish side. This event led the Dutch rebels to doubt Elizabeth’s true intentions and loyalty.

  • Conflicting Objectives: There was a fundamental strategic disagreement between the Queen and her commander:

    • Elizabeth desired for the Netherlands to remain under Spanish government but with improved religious and political freedoms for the people.

    • Robert Dudley aimed to end Spanish rule entirely to create an independent Dutch state.

Successes and Strategic Outcomes in the Netherlands

• Despite the overall failure to defeat the Spanish, the campaign achieved one critical strategic goal:

  • Dudley’s forces successfully prevented the Spanish from capturing the port of Ostend.

  • This was vital for future defense because holding Ostend prevented the Spanish Armada from having a clear opportunity to join forces with the Duke of Palma.

• The campaign was limited in that while Dudley could create significant logistical problems for the Duke of Palma (the leader of the Spanish troops), he lacked the means to defeat the Spanish military outright.

The Naval Escalation: Background to the Attack on Cadiz

• Following the English intervention in the Netherlands, Phillip II began intensive preparations for an invasion of England starting in January $1586$.

• Phillip II focused on building a massive fleet of ships, known as an armada, along with a large army.

• Elizabeth’s intelligence network (spies) kept her informed of the scale of the Spanish build-up.

• In March $1587$, Elizabeth issued orders to Francis Drake to lead an expedition to attack the Spanish navy and disrupt their preparations.

The Attack on Cadiz ($1587$): "Singeing of the King of Spain's Beard"

• Between the $19^{th}$ and $22^{nd}$ of April $1587$, Francis Drake led his fleet into the major Spanish port of Cadiz on the south coast of Spain.

• The raid was highly effective, resulting in the destruction of $30$ ships and a massive quantity of supplies that Phillip II had gathered for the planned invasion.

• This event is famously referred to as the "Singeing of the King of Spain’s Beard."

  • The metaphor reflects how Drake effectively "nipped in" to damage the core of Phillip’s invasion plans and "nipped out" before the Spanish could react effectively.

• Following the raid on Cadiz, Drake continued to harass Spanish interests by attacking and stealing from various Spanish ports and merchant vessels.

Consequences of the Attack on Cadiz

• The raid had two major consequences that altered the course of the conflict:

  • Delay of the Armada: Spain was forced to redirect its focus toward internal defenses and the massive effort of rebuilding lost supplies and ships. This delayed the launch of the Spanish Armada by approximately one year.

  • English Preparation: The delay provided England with crucial additional time to prepare its defenses for the eventual confrontation with the Spanish Armada in $1888$.