Sea has always been the means for trade for generations. The mightiest rulers always ensured that the seas are in their control. However, this could only be possible if the countries had strong ships that could not be defeated by any army. A lot of resources were spent in those days to build ships that would be invincible. Armada is a fleet of ships. It was built by Spanishdesigners. Spain had an old history of enmity. The reasons for hostility were many ranging from business to religion. They were designed in such a way that they could move through the English Channel and defeat the English soldiers. They were built and rebuilt many times.
This is the brief history of Spanish Armada ships. We will now discuss the same in more details and also help you understand the legacy of the same.
These ships were designed by the experts. They had a traditional design and a shape that helped them to move easily through the waters. It had about nineteen fighting vessels. It had about sixteen ships that were meant for warfare. The remaining one hundred and fifty ships in the fleet were meant to carry convoy. The fighting ships were just given to protect the Armada and not to get into a war. They mastered the art of fire power. With well directed firing the Spanish could disable any troop. This is what they proved during the battle of Terceira. Where the English were defeated badly by the Spanish troop and only one Spanish ship had sunk.
The picture of a Spanish Armada ship is enclosed in the article for your reference. You must have seen these ships in movies and in museums but you must not have known how the name for these mighty ships that ruled the sea for centuries. These modern versions that we see today were mostly reconstructed by experts after they studied the wreckage of the original Spanish Armada ships that went into the sea years ago. These ships were huge they could carry a large number of soldiers and arms as compared to other ships. When we look into history it is fascinating that such master ships were built centuries ago. The first mention of Spanish Armada ships dates way back to 1588. King Philip II of Spain first launched Armada ship against the English army. The literal translation of Armada in Spanish language is fleet. This was termed by the English as the invincible Armada.
The commander of this fleet was Duke of Medina Sidonia. He did not have much experience. He was appointed as the highly experienced Marquis of Santa Cruz who was originally supposed to run the fleet died just before the fleet could take off. The first Armada that sailed met with a horrible storm and only sixty five of the one hundred and fifty ships could return back to Lisbon. He next year Philip sent another Armada of one hundred ships but that too met with a fatal storm. The experts belive that the English made a very good study of the Spanish ships and they had a systematic approach as a result they could very easily defeat the Spanish Armada.
The English also knew that they have to be within one hundred yards of the Spanish Armada to penetrate its hull. The Armada had a technical fault. The gap between firing and reloading the cannon took a little extra time as a result the English ships got a safe passage to reach closer to the Armada that finally lead to its destruction. The smaller ships that the English used worked as an added advantage.
The Spanish Armada ships had eight thousand sailors for the one hundred and fifty ships. The ships took with them eighteen thousand soldiers. They carried one thousand and five hundred brass guns. The Armada was also loaded with one thousand iron guns. The fleet was so huge that it is said it took almost two days to completely leave the port of Lisbon. Interesting! The experts belive that Armada was very complex, it was so vast that it was quite difficult to manage the whole fleet. The coordination of the ship is very important for success which was not much in the case of the Spanish Armada ships.
Whereas the English used simple strategy to manage their ships that were technically much inferior compared to the Armada. The winds were strong the English used eight of their old ships and loaded them with inflammable substances and when the y caught fire the wind automatically drifted them to the Spanish ships. The Spanish soldiers got scared and they scattered. This made it easy for the English to attack and destroy these ships. The weather conditions too did not help the Spanish much. All these reasons accumulated and was responsible for the failure of the Spanish Armada ships.
An interesting fact that must be mentioned here is that in spite of winning the battle the English soldiers were not paid for months as the English empire was running short on funds. This was why many soldiers die due to lack of food and poverty. Whereas in Spain the soldiers who returned back alive were treated very well. Even the families of the dead soldiers were treated well.
It is true that Spanish Armada ships could not defeat the mighty English empire. Nevertheless, their design and legacy lives on. Numerous paintings and movies have been made based on these huge ships. This is perhaps the biggest achievement for its designers that the ship they made centuries ago is still so popular.
This is more or less all that is known about the famous Spanish Armada ships. These played a very vital role in the world trade and also ensured that Spain has an upper hold in the trade. The design was unique and strong. The built made it an exception. It is interesting to turn the pages of history and go back to the era when Spanish Armada ships would rule the high seas and connect the nations of the world with trade. They indeed brought a lot of prosperity to the world and ensured that the world becomes a more peaceful place. Perhaps these motivated the modern ship builders to make the ships that we know today.
