The attempted invasion of England in 1588 was doomed even before the first ship left harbor. The Spanish plan was fatally flawed and pretty much every commander knew it. The plan was audacious, but it was also weirdly vague. The Spanish also made a fateful choice when they entered the English channel that essential ensured that the English would have a tactical advantage during the entire encounter. King Phillip II may have constructed the largest fleet in Atlantic history, but was England ever really in danger? Tune-in and find out how the maritime high-ground, singeing the King’s beard, and a doomed English Armada all play a role in the story.

Works Cited

Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. The Spanish Armada : The Experience of War in 1588. Oxford University Press, 1989.

Gallagher, Patrick., and Don William. Cruickshank. God’s Obvious Design : Papers for the Spanish Armada Symposium, Sligo, 1988 : With an Edition and Translation of the Account of Francisco de Cuéllar. Tamesis Books, 1990.

McDermott, James. England and the Spanish Armada : The Necessary Quarrel. Yale University Press, 2005.

Hutchinson, Robert. The Spanish Armada. Phoenix, 2013.

Konstam, Angus. The Spanish Armada : The Great Enterprise against England, 1588. Osprey Pub., 2009.

Lewis, Michael Arthur. The Spanish Armada. T. Y. Crowell Co., 1968.

Rodríguez-Salgado, M. J. (Mía J. )., and Simon Adams. England, Spain, and the Gran Armada 1585-1604 : Essays from the Anglo-Spanish Conferences, London and Madrid, 1988. John Donald Pub., 1991.