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Documentary, 12 Days to Save England Part: 2
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00:00Summer, 1588.
00:11England was under attack from the most powerful naval force on earth.
00:17Our mission is a sacred one.
00:22Philip II, the Catholic king of Spain,
00:25had sent a mighty armada to conquer Protestant England.
00:30And take the crown of Queen Elizabeth.
00:35This was a war fought in the name of religion, Catholics versus Protestants.
00:40But it was also a war of power and politics.
00:43And for the two great monarchs who started the whole thing off,
00:45it was deeply personal.
00:47The result of 30 years of increasing bitterness.
00:54Now, to understand this defining moment in history,
00:57I'm sailing the waters I love.
01:01There you go, look at that.
01:03Following the course of the English Navy
01:05as they fought the Spanish armada in the Channel.
01:09There's now a howling gale,
01:11similar conditions to the ones that Drake and the fleet faced.
01:15While access to unique eyewitness accounts...
01:18This is one of the most remarkable letters I have ever seen.
01:22will take us, for the very first time,
01:25inside the minds of the commanders themselves.
01:28Clearly, they're setting a trap here.
01:31And offer unprecedented insight into the corridors of power.
01:35In England...
01:37and Spain.
01:39This is war of certain orders.
01:42Lift fire!
01:42Allowing us to bring to life
01:4512 days in the summer of 1588.
01:48Fire!
01:52When England's very survival
01:54hung in the balance.
01:57Army and Navy together.
02:00Their might would be unstoppable.
02:02Fire!
02:02Fire!
02:03Fire!
02:04Fire!
02:05Fire!
02:06Fire!
02:07Fire!
02:08Fire!
02:09Fire!
02:10Fire!
02:11Fire!
02:12Fire!
02:12Fire!
02:12Fire!
02:21On Monday, the 1st of August, 1588,
02:23the Spanish Armada was here.
02:26Heading east along the coast of Dorset.
02:29Of its original 125 ships,
02:31only two had fallen into English hands.
02:34But the rest remained intact,
02:36sailing towards England's great southern ports
02:40and London itself.
02:42The Armada had left Spain 10 days earlier.
02:47The Armada had left Spain 10 days earlier.
02:50125 ships carrying 23,000 men.
03:00More than just an invasion.
03:02This was a religious crusade sent to crush a heretic nation.
03:08When it arrived in the Channel, the English Navy was unprepared and tide-bound in Plymouth
03:16Harbour.
03:17But the Armada missed the opportunity for a decisive early strike.
03:21The two forces had finally clashed the next day.
03:26And despite losing two ships, the mighty Spanish force sailed on, its progress unchecked.
03:41The
03:59Get set without fear.
04:01Queen Elizabeth's life was in immediate danger.
04:21Fifty-four years old, unmarried, and without an heir,
04:25she was plagued by nightmares.
04:26I was in a dark cell,
04:29imprisoned in my own tower.
04:33Don't fret.
04:36Elizabeth seems to be in quite a tremulous state.
04:39She's having trouble sleeping.
04:42She's afflicted with night terrors.
04:44She has her most trusted lady, Blanche Parry,
04:49sleep in the same bed as her.
04:51I dread the darkness.
04:54Just a dream.
04:56It felt so real.
04:58As if I have a demoness in my soul.
05:02The longer the Armada was in the Channel,
05:05the greater the threat to Elizabeth.
05:08And her future was pretty bleak.
05:09If the Spanish could land, if they could overrun England,
05:12then she would either be captured or she would be killed on the spot.
05:16Elizabeth, what shall we do, Blanche?
05:25Elizabeth's fate rested with her naval commanders.
05:29The aristocratic Lord High Admiral Charles Howard...
05:32Are we ready?
05:33We're patching up.
05:35We're using our enforcers.
05:36...and his second-in-command,
05:37the flamboyant explorer and pirate, Sir Francis Drake.
05:42My ships will be ready.
05:44On they, men!
05:45On they!
05:46Yes!
05:47But on Monday, the 1st of August,
05:49Howard knew that his forces faced an almost impossible task.
05:53Come on, men!
05:55Hurry!
05:55The Navy was scattered and trailing far behind the Spanish fleet.
06:05And it was all because of Howard's maverick deputy, Drake himself.
06:10Are we happy?
06:12It was all so far as this Drake's fault.
06:18The night before, Howard had given him instructions to lead the English fleet,
06:22place a light on his stern on the back of his ship,
06:25and everyone else could follow.
06:26But Drake had snuffed out the light
06:28when he saw the opportunity to go and snap up
06:31a damaged, abandoned Spanish ship called the Rosario.
06:34This was classic Drake behaviour.
06:37Piratical, looking to enrich himself,
06:39and he was happy to let the English fleet just sail on blind through the night.
06:43But, of course, above all, Drake was lucky.
06:45And what Drake found on that ship was invaluable.
06:48He had found 50,000 golden ducats,
07:07about £2.5 million in today's money.
07:10Leave something for England,
07:12or a Majesty's blind eye will regain its sight very quickly.
07:16You, you carry enough to sink like an anchor, fool.
07:22Remember, greed will buy you a short life.
07:26Just play the long game to become rich.
07:30And Drake also knew that on board the Rosario,
07:33there was something even more valuable.
07:36Come on!
07:37Take the dark cargo, too.
07:39A Spanish horde of ammunition and gunpowder.
07:43The English fleet was already running low on powder and shot,
07:49and there was a simple reason for that.
07:50It was because Elizabeth's government
07:51was simply too broke to afford to properly fit out the Navy.
07:55So the big supply of gunpowder was an absolute godsend.
07:59But the Rosario had yet another gift.
08:01This time it was one of intelligence.
08:04Drake had a cursory scan around the gun deck of the Rosario,
08:07and he immediately twigged that there was something very different
08:10about the Spanish cannon.
08:17This is the kind of gun that Drake found on the Rosario.
08:22When cannon first went to sea, they were really land cannon,
08:26and so if you're moving guns on land, you have spoke wheels.
08:30But the carriage is not really convenient on a cramped gun deck.
08:36You're going to run into the wheels.
08:38It's got a great long trail coming back here.
08:42It's really a monster on the gun deck.
08:45The English had come up with something completely different.
08:49It couldn't look more different,
08:51and it couldn't behave in a more different way.
08:53You had a much lower carriage.
08:56It's on a massive bed that supports it.
08:58That's going right underneath.
09:00It was easy to change the aim.
09:03It's easy to reload.
09:06The English gun carriage, being more compact,
09:09helped the English crews achieve a greater rate of fire
09:12than the Spanish with their cumbersome carriages.
09:20Drake's discovery on the Rosario
09:22offered a glimmer of hope.
09:25Go, fire!
09:28In fact, the rate of fire of the English cannons
09:31was up to five times that of the Spaniards.
09:34Commander, speak!
09:37But no one knew if even that would be enough
09:40in the battles ahead
09:41against the mightiest fleet on Earth.
09:46Get fire!
09:52The Armada was the plan of King Philip II of Spain,
10:02the most powerful man on the planet,
10:07an obsessive workaholic and religious fanatic.
10:11He's fairly simply dressed,
10:15always the same, always in black.
10:17The only ornament he has on is the order of the golden fleece,
10:22the golden dead sheep hanging around his neck.
10:26Dignity through understatement.
10:27He lives a life which you and I would think was pretty boring.
10:32He spends many hours at prayer.
10:34He spends the rest of his time primarily working.
10:38A pretty odd life, but then Philip is a pretty odd man.
10:43Philip was a man of the shadows.
10:45He hardly spoke to anyone and everything he did, he noted down.
10:53When pieces of paper came in from the people
10:56who worked outside his room,
10:58he would scribble notations in the margins.
11:02Or he'd write them orders.
11:05He had an empire to run.
11:07And an empire runs, as far as he was concerned, on detail.
11:12It was a lonely existence.
11:13But he still felt that he had the world at his fingertips.
11:20For Philip, the conquest of England was the will of God
11:23to preserve a safe, ordered, and most importantly, Catholic world.
11:38The success of Philip's armada
11:40depended on its inexperienced commander,
11:44the seventh duke of Medina Sidonia.
11:49And on Spain's most gifted admiral,
11:52Juan MartÃnez de Recalde.
11:54But there was already simmering tension between the two.
12:07Just three days earlier,
12:09it had been Recalde's plan to attack the English in Plymouth.
12:13There is no time to be wasted.
12:15It is better to destroy the serpent in its egg.
12:17I propose...
12:19..we attack Plymouth.
12:20But Medina Sidonia had overruled him.
12:24We must not be distracted
12:25from our true and pious course,
12:28as laid down by the king.
12:30The king is not here.
12:31Ah, and...
12:32Situations change in battle all the time.
12:35Recalde, mind your tongue.
12:39Recalde was beginning to doubt
12:41whether Medina Sidonia
12:42was the right man for the job.
12:44And a new discovery suggests
12:49he may have been right.
12:55Professor Jeffrey Parker
12:57has been studying the world
12:59of Philip II of Spain
13:00for over 50 years.
13:03At the Hispanic Society of America in New York,
13:06he recently unearthed
13:08a huge archive of papers
13:10from the Spanish court.
13:11I spent eight weeks
13:16going through every single document,
13:18a hundred a day,
13:19figuring out who it was from,
13:21who it was to,
13:23what it was about,
13:24and some of them
13:25were absolutely sensational.
13:29Within them
13:30were extraordinary new revelations
13:32about the aristocratic leader
13:33of the Spanish fleet,
13:35the Duke of Medina Sidonia,
13:37who, it turns out,
13:38never wanted the job
13:40in the first place.
13:43This is one of the most remarkable letters
13:45I have ever seen.
13:47It's a letter
13:48in which Medina Sidonia says to the king,
13:50please don't do this to me.
13:52And here he is giving reasons
13:54why he does not want
13:55to go on the armada.
13:57He says,
13:58the sea is not good to me.
14:00I have no experience
14:02of naval warfare.
14:03I have never been to sea.
14:05Don't send me.
14:06Take it away.
14:07Take it away.
14:09The 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia
14:10is one of the richest men in Spain,
14:12if not in the Western world.
14:14And then he says,
14:15but if you send me,
14:16remember,
14:17I'm poor.
14:18Right at the end,
14:18I'm very poor.
14:21Richest man in Spain?
14:23And I've got four children
14:24who live in great hunger.
14:26Tienen hambre.
14:27So, if I go,
14:29I have some things
14:30I want from you,
14:31your majesty.
14:33Humilmente,
14:33humilmente suplico,
14:35I humbly ask
14:36that you give them some reward.
14:38Before I sail,
14:39please.
14:40So, what we take away here
14:44is he really doesn't want
14:45to go to sea
14:46and he's prepared
14:47to resort to blackmailing
14:48the king
14:49to try and get out of it.
14:53Truth is,
14:53the man who'd been given
14:54command of the most powerful
14:56naval force on earth
14:58had hardly ever been
14:59to sea before.
15:00He'd certainly never
15:01been in a sea battle
15:02and he did not want
15:03to be there.
15:04But Dean Estonia
15:05had been given
15:05explicit instructions
15:07by King Philip of Spain
15:09and he was sticking
15:10to them so far
15:11but he was beginning
15:12to realise
15:13that there was
15:14a fatal flaw in them.
15:22The Spanish Admiral
15:24might not have been
15:24a military man
15:25but even he
15:27was beginning to realise
15:28that Philip's orders,
15:29which seemed so brilliant
15:31on paper,
15:32did not look quite as clever
15:34on the hostile seas
15:36of the Channel.
15:37The Armada
15:40is just one half
15:42of Philip's master plan.
15:43It's an enormous fleet
15:44in a tight crescent formation
15:46that's still
15:46over two miles wide.
15:48Now all the way up here
15:49in the Spanish-controlled
15:50Netherlands
15:51we have the Duke of Palma
15:52with an army
15:5327,000 strong.
15:55The idea is to get
15:56these two to join hands
15:58and to land at Margate
15:59in Kent
16:00and then to march
16:01on London.
16:03Joining hands
16:03is easier said than done
16:05of course, isn't it?
16:05Because there are two factors
16:06that can get in the way.
16:08One, the English.
16:09They're not going to stay inactive.
16:10They're going to continue
16:11harrying the Spanish fleet,
16:12hopefully push them
16:12past the Duke of Palma.
16:14But the other problem
16:15that the Spanish have got
16:16is that no one,
16:17not the Duke of Palma
16:18in Flanders
16:19nor the Duke of Medina,
16:20Cedonia
16:20and the Armada itself
16:21know exactly how
16:22they're going to join hands.
16:24We know from the archives
16:31that Medina Cedonia
16:32was repeatedly writing
16:34to the Spanish general
16:35the Duke of Palma
16:36in an attempt
16:37to keep him updated
16:38about the Armada's progress.
16:41But he heard nothing in return.
16:44The letters
16:45just weren't getting through.
16:48In this era of radio
16:50and satellite communications
16:51it's very, very hard
16:52for us to understand
16:53just how difficult it was
16:54to communicate
16:55with even ships
16:56in the same fleet as you
16:57let alone
16:58with an allied army
17:00miles away on land.
17:02And yet Philip's plan
17:03demanded
17:04that the Spanish
17:05do exactly that.
17:07The only way
17:08that Medina Cedonia
17:09could get a message
17:10through to the Army of Palma
17:11was by sending
17:12a small fast ship
17:13right up the channel here.
17:14But this channel
17:15was controlled
17:16by Dutch
17:17and English ships
17:18it would be very hard
17:19for that message
17:19to get through.
17:20And if it did get through
17:21and Palma wanted
17:22to send a message back
17:23then where did he send it to?
17:25The 123 ships
17:27of the Spanish Armada
17:27was a moving address
17:29out here somewhere
17:30in the vastness
17:31of the channel.
17:34Together
17:35the two halves
17:36of Philip's mighty invasion plan
17:38would be unstoppable.
17:40But right now
17:41both Army and Navy
17:43were in the dark
17:44as to where
17:45when
17:46or even how
17:47they were to join forces.
17:51The English though
17:53were obsessed
17:54by a different threat.
17:57They thought
17:58the Armada
17:59wanted to make land
18:00and capture
18:01one of England's
18:02great southern ports.
18:04The Spanish Armada
18:05was now well ahead
18:06of the English fleet
18:06which was a big problem
18:08because in front
18:09of the Spanish Armada
18:10lay a couple
18:11of really good
18:11deep water harbours.
18:13There was Weymouth
18:13behind Portland Bill
18:15and then there was
18:15the Solon
18:16tucked in behind
18:17the Isle of Wight.
18:18The English knew
18:19that they had to stop
18:20the Spanish
18:21from capturing
18:22these harbours
18:22because that would
18:23give them the option
18:24of launching an invasion
18:25from there.
18:26So the English
18:26raced to catch up.
18:31Drake's raid
18:32on the Rosario
18:33might have cost
18:34the English time
18:35but during the morning
18:37of the 1st of August
18:38they were able
18:39to gain ground.
18:41because in the late
18:4316th century
18:44the cutting edge
18:45of naval design
18:46lay not with Spain
18:47but with England.
18:53The main differences
18:54between the Spanish galleon
18:55and the English galleon
18:56as you can see here
18:57on the models
18:57is that the Spanish galleon
18:58is much higher
18:59in the bow and the stern
19:01with the castles.
19:02It's wider in the beam
19:03whereas the English
19:06race built galleons
19:08are much lower in the water
19:09it's longer
19:10it's narrower
19:11and the castles
19:12at the bow and the stern
19:13are much lower as well.
19:15This made the English galleon
19:17much faster to sail
19:19and more manoeuvrable.
19:20Spanish warships were of a design
19:25that really dates back
19:26hundreds of years
19:27and they were loaded
19:28with soldiers
19:29and the whole aim
19:30was to close with the enemy
19:32throw grapples
19:32pull them alongside
19:33and then swarm aboard
19:35and wipe them out
19:36and win the battle that way.
19:38The English way
19:39was entirely different.
19:40Their whole aim
19:41was to stand off
19:42from the Spanish fleet
19:43and blast it to pieces
19:44with their cannons.
19:45In terms of how
19:48the Armada
19:49was going to be
19:50battling up the channel
19:52we're talking here
19:53about an elderly
19:54heavyweight boxer
19:56being confronted
19:58by a nimble
19:59agile opponent
20:01darting around him.
20:04With their faster ships
20:05the English Navy
20:06chased down the Spanish.
20:11As evening fell
20:12the Armada
20:13had sailed
20:13a full hundred miles
20:15from Plymouth
20:15and seemed to the English
20:17to be bearing down
20:18on Weymouth.
20:20If the Spanish
20:21made land there
20:22it could spell
20:23the end of Tudor England
20:25and the realisation
20:26of Philip's Catholic dream.
20:45every day
20:54Elizabeth's routine
20:56remained the same.
20:59Now that battle
21:00had been engaged
21:01she was a helpless observer
21:03of the events unfolding
21:04in the channel.
21:07The waging of war
21:08is essentially
21:09a male preserve
21:10and we can see this
21:12from a letter
21:13where Elizabeth
21:14is giving charge
21:16to her admiral Howard
21:18and she's saying
21:19that the best thing to do
21:21would essentially be
21:22to leave decisions
21:23to the discretion
21:24of Howard himself.
21:28But appearances
21:29had to be maintained.
21:32Every morning
21:33she was painstakingly transformed
21:35from an ailing
21:37and ageing woman
21:38to a vibrant
21:39and powerful queen.
21:45Now that the armada
21:46was in the channel
21:47it was more important
21:48than ever
21:49for Elizabeth
21:49to present
21:50a youthful,
21:52vital,
21:53regal face
21:54to the country.
21:55So that meant
21:56these endless,
21:57laborious
21:58make-up sessions
21:59and it meant
22:00the power dressing.
22:03Naval strategy
22:04might have been
22:04left to the men
22:05but Elizabeth
22:07was the living
22:08embodiment of England
22:09and God's representative
22:12on earth.
22:14Titer.
22:15Elizabeth of course
22:16was famous
22:16for her gowns,
22:18famous for the spectacle
22:19and splendor
22:20of the Elizabethan court.
22:21That was important
22:22to demonstrate
22:23England's strength
22:24and stability.
22:27And the whole point
22:28was that the monarch
22:29had to look
22:31the most magnificent.
22:33So Elizabeth
22:33had the finest silks
22:35and the widest ruffs
22:36and she had
22:38the most embroidery
22:38and she had
22:41the most bling.
22:42She had rubies
22:43and sapphires
22:44and diamonds
22:45and pearls,
22:46a lot of pearls
22:47because they symbolized
22:48virginity.
22:50She is the virgin queen,
22:52almost the virgin Mary
22:54here for her people
22:55to worship on earth.
22:57Elizabeth had spent
23:00a lifetime
23:00using her femininity
23:02for the strength
23:03of England,
23:04playing off
23:05foreign royal suitors
23:06while remaining
23:08firmly independent.
23:10But she knew
23:11those days were over
23:12as a woman
23:13and as a queen.
23:15who gave that to you?
23:22A friend,
23:24your majesty.
23:25A suitor?
23:29Don't ever keep me
23:30in the dark.
23:32You know I don't like secrets.
23:35Go and fetch the brooch
23:37with the half moon.
23:38Elizabeth is undoubtedly
23:43jealous of her ladies.
23:45They are younger,
23:46they're more beautiful
23:47and desirable.
23:48She knows
23:49that she is no longer
23:51the queen bee
23:52at court,
23:53the sole focus
23:54of her male courtier's attentions.
23:56They are being drawn
23:57elsewhere
23:58and Elizabeth hates it.
24:00Is it too much
24:02to ask
24:03that my ladies-in-waiting
24:04remain virgins?
24:06Green-eyed monster?
24:09This would have fed
24:10Elizabeth's anxiety
24:11because women like
24:12Bess Throckmorton
24:13who were younger,
24:15were attractive,
24:17were vivacious,
24:18were charismatic,
24:19this would have
24:19unsettled Elizabeth somewhat.
24:22In this time of crisis,
24:25Elizabeth had to remain strong.
24:27We shall prevail.
24:31I expect only good news.
24:35or at the very least,
24:37appear so.
24:43Well?
24:45You're a force
24:47to be reckoned
24:48with your majesty.
24:53Meanwhile,
24:54150 miles to the south,
24:56the Spanish fleet
24:57was approaching
24:58the strategic port
24:59of Weymouth.
25:01With their faster ships,
25:03the English caught up
25:04with them,
25:04believing that Weymouth
25:05was a target for invasion.
25:09Now they prepared
25:11for the second battle
25:12of the Armada.
25:14On Tuesday,
25:15August 2nd,
25:16both fleets
25:16found themselves here,
25:18off the tip
25:19of Portland Bill,
25:20a very prominent landmark
25:21on the south coast
25:22of England.
25:22It's a headland
25:23that stretches down
25:23from the coast of Dorset.
25:24and behind it
25:26is the excellent
25:27harbour of Weymouth.
25:29The English
25:29were particularly keen
25:30to stop the Spanish
25:31armada going into
25:33Weymouth
25:33and going ashore.
25:35One of the English
25:35commanders
25:36made a decision
25:36that has puzzled
25:37historians ever since.
25:39His name was
25:39Martin Frobisher
25:40and he led his
25:41six ships,
25:42small flotilla,
25:43in here,
25:44right up
25:45next to Portland Bill
25:46itself.
25:48It was almost as if
25:49he was inviting
25:50the Spanish
25:50to come and attack him.
25:51Clearly,
25:58they're setting
25:58a trap here.
25:59Well,
26:00you say it's a trap,
26:00but to us,
26:01it looks like
26:01you've just got stuck
26:02in the lee of Portland Bill.
26:04Whatever happens,
26:05the Spanish
26:06unleash their galley assets,
26:07which is a squadron
26:08of hybrid-aught
26:09fighting craft
26:10perfect for this type
26:11of inshore work,
26:12and they head
26:13towards Frobisher's squadron.
26:19But it seems
26:20that Frobisher,
26:20one of Howard's
26:22most experienced
26:22commanders,
26:23did indeed
26:24have a plan.
26:27Martin Frobisher
26:28knew these waters
26:29like nobody else,
26:30and he knew
26:31that this is one
26:32of the most
26:32treacherous sections
26:34of coastline
26:34anywhere in the
26:35British Isles.
26:36And today,
26:37you can see why.
26:38We're just off
26:40something called
26:40the Portland Race,
26:42which he'd have
26:42known all about.
26:43We're in fairly
26:44calm water here,
26:46but just 50 metres
26:47off our starboard side
26:48are these whitecaps,
26:50huge standing waves
26:51caused by the tidal flows.
26:53They race up and down
26:54the channel,
26:55an absolute graveyard
26:56for ships.
26:58What it looks like
26:58Frobisher was doing
26:59was he was in here
27:01enticing the Spanish
27:02to attack him.
27:03He knew they'd have
27:04to cross this race,
27:05which could be
27:06devastating for them.
27:07The ruse worked.
27:14Four Spanish ships
27:15became trapped
27:16in the race.
27:18What we see
27:19at this battle
27:20in the Portlandville
27:21is the English
27:21becoming increasingly
27:22confident
27:23because they knew
27:24these waters
27:24and the Spanish didn't.
27:26So while on the one hand
27:27you have Frobisher,
27:28who is, in my opinion,
27:30luring the Spanish
27:31into the Portland race,
27:32on the other wing
27:34you've got Drake's squadron
27:36attacking the Seabourn wing
27:38of the Spanish.
27:40They're attacking
27:40on both sides.
27:41Get sure that coin
27:47is fast.
27:48Let go, fire!
27:54In the centre,
27:55Howard is charging
27:56straight for the middle
27:57of the armada,
27:58going directly
27:59for the Spanish flagship.
28:01The English
28:02have re-armed themselves
28:03with all of the ammunition
28:05they've stolen
28:05from the Spanish Rosario.
28:07Talk about self-inflicted wound
28:08and the sheer amount
28:10of metal fired
28:11of the Spanish flagship
28:12something like 12 tonnes
28:13of cast iron.
28:21Clear the face!
28:23Make me proud of it!
28:25Come on!
28:28Over the course
28:30of the afternoon,
28:31the English fired
28:32salvo upon salvo
28:33of cannonballs
28:34into the armada.
28:37The Spanish,
28:38with their cumbersome
28:39land cannons,
28:40just couldn't compete
28:41with the intensity
28:42of the English onslaught.
28:47For the English,
28:48it had the desired effect
28:49because after five hours
28:50of ferocious
28:51and continuous combat,
28:53they finally achieved
28:54their aim
28:54to drive the Spanish
28:56past Weymouth
28:57and that allowed them
28:58to disengage.
29:03The Spanish watched the English
29:04speedily sailing back
29:05out to sea.
29:07One Spanish observer
29:08said it was as if
29:09the Spanish were anchored,
29:10while the English
29:11appeared to have wings
29:12to fly
29:12as and where they wished.
29:15Certainly,
29:15it looked like
29:16the English were combining
29:17their new technology
29:18and new tactics
29:19very effectively.
29:20By this stage,
29:21many of the Spanish
29:22commanders were
29:22ruining Medina Sidonia's
29:24decision not to
29:25bottle up and destroy
29:26the English fleet
29:27at Plymouth
29:27just a few days before.
29:31But as evening fell,
29:34the armada was still
29:35in its tight formation,
29:38virtually intact,
29:39and heading ever closer
29:42to fulfilling
29:43King Philip's master plan
29:45to join forces
29:48with the Duke of Palma's
29:49huge army
29:50before conquering
29:52England.
29:53It was now nearly a week
30:09since the armada
30:10had entered
30:11English waters.
30:13And 700 miles away
30:15in Spain,
30:16deep in the bowels
30:17of his palace,
30:19Philip spent
30:20another day
30:21occupied
30:21with the administration
30:22of his empire
30:24and awaiting news
30:27of his great enterprise.
30:30He follows his usual
30:31regimen,
30:32praying and working.
30:33He does have the sense
30:35to know that even he
30:36cannot micromanage
30:37the armada now.
30:40He sometimes hears
30:41rumors of success,
30:43he sometimes hears
30:43rumors of failure,
30:44and he's sensible enough
30:45to know we know nothing,
30:47so pray some more
30:48and hope for good,
30:49convincing,
30:50certified news
30:51of the outcome.
30:52Thank you, Mateo.
30:59Keep it coming.
31:02Take your leaf.
31:03Take your leaf.
31:03while Philip could only hope
31:10and pray,
31:12Elizabeth was receiving
31:14regular reports
31:15from Admiral Howard
31:16on the English fleet.
31:18The latest dispatchers
31:19took only 12 hours
31:21to reach Richmond,
31:23delivered first
31:24to Elizabeth's
31:24two most trusted ministers,
31:26spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham
31:28and her treasurer Lord Burley.
31:33Burley was one of Elizabeth's
31:35long-serving advisors.
31:37He was sensible,
31:38he was pragmatic,
31:39he had an eye on finances,
31:42he would try and be cautious.
31:45That is in sharp contrast
31:50to Francis Walsingham.
31:52From Howard.
31:54Who is a charismatic,
31:57reckless,
31:58rather gung-ho figure.
31:59I mean,
32:00he's very much a hawk.
32:01He wants confrontation
32:02with Spain,
32:03he has been champing
32:04at the bit
32:05for years, really.
32:06Just past Weymouth.
32:08Sir,
32:08I will not trouble you
32:09with any long letter
32:11we are at present
32:12otherwise occupied
32:13than writing.
32:15Well, that's good,
32:15he's kept his sense of humour.
32:16Do please get to the meat.
32:18At nine of the clock
32:19we gave them fight,
32:21which continued until one.
32:23In this fight
32:24we made some of them
32:25bear room
32:26to stop their leaks.
32:28Promising.
32:29Thank God
32:30they haven't landed.
32:31Notwithstanding,
32:32we dare not adventure
32:33to put in
32:34among them
32:35their fleet
32:37being so strong.
32:41The outlook
32:42does not improve,
32:43I fear.
32:44Sir,
32:44for the love of God
32:45and our country,
32:47let us have
32:48with some speed
32:49some great shot
32:51sent us
32:52of all bigness
32:54for this service
32:56will continue long.
33:00And some powder with it.
33:04despite the stocks
33:10taken from the Rosario,
33:11Howard's reports
33:12continued to plea
33:13for more gunpowder
33:14and cannonballs.
33:17But Elizabeth
33:19was famously mean
33:20and broke.
33:23She and Burley knew
33:24there simply wasn't
33:25the money available
33:26to properly defend
33:27the nation.
33:28and everyone
33:30was aware
33:30that the Armada
33:31was about to reach
33:32the most vulnerable
33:33spot of all.
33:35Gentlemen.
33:37The Isle of Wight.
33:45Today,
33:46the Isle of Wight
33:47is famous
33:48for its sailing.
33:48It shelters the Solent,
33:51a strait of water
33:52between the island
33:53and mainland England.
33:56Back in 1588,
33:58the English feared
33:59that the Spanish
34:00would capture
34:01the Isle of Wight
34:01and anchor the Armada
34:03in the Solent.
34:06They worried
34:07the island
34:07was a defensive
34:08weak spot.
34:15First of all,
34:16the Isle of Wight
34:16wouldn't be able
34:17to put up much resistance.
34:18Secondly,
34:19it was adjacent
34:20to one of the best
34:20harbours on the
34:21south coast of England,
34:22the Solent,
34:23just tucked in
34:23behind the Isle of Wight.
34:25And lastly,
34:25it was the perfect place
34:27from which to threaten
34:28the rest of the
34:29south of England.
34:30There was a very real
34:31sense that if the
34:32Isle of Wight fell,
34:34so too might
34:35the whole kingdom.
34:39Elizabeth had sent
34:403,000 men
34:41to defend the Isle of Wight
34:42and basic earthworks
34:44had been dug
34:44to prevent invasion.
34:48But beyond that,
34:49its defences were poor.
34:53There were just
34:54four cannon
34:55on the Isle of Wight
34:56and enough ammunition
34:57to last one day.
34:59The defenders
34:59were given bows
35:00and arrows
35:01to deflect the
35:02might of the
35:03Spanish Armada.
35:04And much of the money
35:05that was sent here
35:06to boost the defence
35:07was actually spent
35:09on improving
35:10and enlarging
35:10the governor's castle.
35:11And it wasn't just
35:15the Isle of Wight.
35:17The whole of England
35:18was pitifully defended.
35:22Elizabeth had no
35:23standing army.
35:24It cost too much money.
35:26She has to rely
35:27on the rather dubious
35:29talents of her militia.
35:32Most of them
35:33are untrained.
35:35Most of them
35:36don't have any weapons.
35:37They make Dad's army
35:40look like
35:41a finely honed
35:42fighting force.
35:44The commander
35:45of the Dorset militia
35:46believed that his men
35:48would sooner
35:48kill each other
35:49than kill the Spaniards.
35:53Facing them
35:53was the most
35:54formidable army
35:55in Europe.
35:57Ferocious,
35:57battle-hardened troops
35:58who had fought
36:00for years and years
36:01in Philip's campaign.
36:03There is no doubt
36:04whatsoever
36:04that had the Spanish army
36:05been able to land
36:07on the English coast.
36:08They would simply
36:08have overwhelmed Dad's army
36:09and reached London
36:10in record time.
36:15Drake and Howard
36:16knew that the naval battle
36:17for the Isle of Wight
36:18would be a pivotal moment
36:20for the future of England.
36:23What little money
36:24Elizabeth had to spare,
36:26she'd sunk
36:27into her navy.
36:30If they failed,
36:31there was no second line
36:32of defence,
36:33no land army
36:35that could stand
36:35in the way
36:36of seasoned Spanish troops.
36:41On the 3rd of August 1588,
36:43the Spanish armada
36:44was approaching
36:45from there,
36:45from the west,
36:46and the defence
36:47of the Isle of Wight here,
36:48the whole of England,
36:49was pretty much
36:50totally in the hands
36:51of the Royal Navy.
36:53Now, pressure was on
36:54Drake and Howard
36:55because so far,
36:56although there'd been
36:57a huge amount of firing,
36:59their guns hadn't done
37:00that much damage
37:01to the Spanish fleet.
37:02that would have to change.
37:04So, when Drake saw
37:06a Spanish ship
37:07in difficulty
37:08just here off
37:08the Isle of Wight,
37:09he decided to close with it
37:11and get some target practice in.
37:17Drake knew
37:18that to cause real damage
37:20in battle,
37:21the English had
37:22to get closer.
37:23Rabbit hole!
37:24But if they came
37:24too close,
37:25there was the danger
37:26of being grappled
37:27and bordered.
37:30Drake needed
37:31to discover
37:31a sweet spot
37:32to be effective
37:34but safe.
37:36Prepare to fire!
37:37Give me fire!
37:42Bit banging on the cliff,
37:43wasn't it?
37:44That took a piece
37:44out of the cliff.
37:45Yeah.
37:46Drake wanted to find out
37:47just how effective
37:49his cannon would be
37:50at different ranges.
37:51So, this is
37:54from the period
37:55though, is it?
37:55It's a replica
37:56of an Elizabethan
37:58English iron gun
38:00and it fires
38:02about a four pound
38:03ball.
38:04So, it's not
38:05too difficult
38:05a gun to handle
38:07but it delivers
38:08a reasonably
38:09powerful
38:10hit at the target
38:12if you hit the target.
38:14Because we are,
38:15we've got a stable
38:15platform
38:16and a stable target.
38:16Exactly.
38:17Ships are moving around.
38:19You've hit the nail
38:19on the head.
38:21Right.
38:22So, the gun is loaded.
38:23Right, here we go.
38:26Firing from 200 metres,
38:28we're aiming
38:28at wood
38:29the same thickness
38:30as the hull
38:31of a Spanish ship.
38:32Four,
38:33three,
38:35two,
38:36one.
38:48Nowhere near.
38:50Well, I'm disappointed
38:51about that.
38:51I thought that one
38:52was a surefire hit.
38:54And I suppose
38:54that's what the English
38:55felt like
38:56in those first few
38:57scuffles with the Armada.
38:58They just weren't
38:59doing the damage
39:00that they wanted to.
39:00No, no.
39:01And with the ships moving,
39:03it's a very difficult business.
39:05But the answer is,
39:06of course,
39:07get close.
39:08Yes,
39:09let's do it.
39:10Firing at the isolated
39:16Spanish ship,
39:17Drake moved in
39:18to within 100 metres,
39:21as close as he dared
39:22to go without risking
39:23being grappled
39:24and boarded.
39:25That's it.
39:26That's it.
39:26That's it.
39:27That's it.
39:27That's it.
39:27Okay, that's good.
39:28That's good.
39:28That's good.
39:28Now, we've halved
39:33the distance
39:33to that Spanish ship
39:34over there.
39:35Now, if that doesn't hit
39:36I'll be very surprised.
39:39Four, three, two, one.
39:55You think Tudor weapons
39:57are a bit primitive,
39:57but there's nothing
39:58primitive about that.
39:59It fired straight and true,
40:01didn't it?
40:01Yes.
40:02Wow.
40:03Perfect aim.
40:05It makes a mess
40:06in the hole,
40:06doesn't it?
40:07Yes.
40:07Below the waterline
40:08that would be
40:09very, very difficult
40:10to repair.
40:11And this
40:12is just with
40:13a four-pounder.
40:15Drake was firing balls
40:16that were up to
40:1715 times as big.
40:20It does show
40:20if you want to hit
40:22you've got to get close.
40:23You've got to be able
40:24to see the whites
40:24of their eyes.
40:25Yeah.
40:26Let's do it again.
40:27Yeah.
40:27Drake had learnt
40:35a vital lesson.
40:39Just how close
40:40he needed to get
40:41to be really effective.
40:48The English
40:49had faster ships
40:50with cannon
40:51that could fire
40:52more quickly.
40:52But if they wanted
40:54to have any chance
40:55of breaking
40:56the impregnable force
40:57of the armada,
40:58they'd have to start
40:59taking some risks.
41:00With a third battle
41:04looming,
41:05both Howard and Drake
41:06knew that unless
41:06they started firing
41:07from closer range,
41:09they risked defeat.
41:11evening.
41:20And the closer the Spanish
41:22were,
41:22the more afraid
41:24Elizabeth was becoming.
41:27Not only did she fear
41:28the armada landing,
41:30but its very presence,
41:32visible from the cliffs
41:33of southern England,
41:35could be enough
41:35to incite a Catholic
41:37uprising from within.
41:41The armada is not
41:42the only threat
41:43at this point.
41:44There's Catholics
41:45within England
41:46that were understood
41:47to be traitors,
41:48a potential fifth column.
41:50And there's been,
41:50over the course
41:51of the reign,
41:52and particularly
41:52during the 1580s,
41:54various plots,
41:56various assassination
41:57attempts that have
41:58sought to kill
41:59Elizabeth.
42:00Please eat.
42:02When it pleases me.
42:05Elizabeth would have
42:05felt incredibly precarious
42:07at this time.
42:08And she feels
42:09almost defenseless.
42:10She knows that at least
42:11half the country
42:12has remained faithful
42:13to the old
42:15Catholic religion.
42:17The threat
42:18was all too real.
42:20And it even spread
42:22to Elizabeth's inner circle
42:23with a fear
42:25that bordered
42:26on paranoia.
42:27There's the constant
42:30threat of assassination,
42:32of being poisoned.
42:33All her ladies-in-waiting
42:34are having to taste
42:35her food
42:36before it gets
42:37to the royal plate.
42:39Let Bess try.
42:42She looks in need
42:43of a meal.
42:45Your Majesty,
42:46please forgive me,
42:47but...
42:49Bess would have
42:50unsettled Elizabeth
42:51somewhat
42:51because her cousin
42:53had been involved
42:54in a plot
42:55five years before.
42:57to assassinate her.
42:59You would do
43:00England great
43:01service
43:02to protect me
43:03from assassins?
43:08Do
43:09England
43:10great
43:11service.
43:12service.
43:25Chew it.
43:29More.
43:34Now swallow it.
43:36The food is unsullied.
43:48If you serve me,
43:50you serve God.
43:53And he will protect us both.
43:55almost a whole week
44:07since entering the channel,
44:09the Spanish ship
44:09still hadn't established
44:11communication with
44:12Parma and his army.
44:13Medina Sidonia
44:15and Medina Sidonia
44:19was becoming
44:20increasingly frustrated.
44:24So far,
44:25much to
44:26Raquelde's irritation,
44:27he'd followed
44:28Philip's master plan
44:29to the letter.
44:33But now,
44:34as his fleet
44:35approached the Isle of Wight,
44:37Medina Sidonia
44:38was faced
44:38with a momentous decision
44:40to continue
44:42to follow
44:42his king's orders
44:43and trust
44:44that word
44:45would come
44:45from Parma
44:46or to follow
44:47the advice
44:48of Raquelde
44:48and attack.
44:53Sam,
44:54the English
44:54have been harrying
44:55the Spanish
44:56for a week now,
44:57all the while,
44:58assuming they're
44:58going to try
44:59and take
44:59one of these
44:59deep water ports
45:00along the south
45:01coast of England.
45:01and, well,
45:03the reality is
45:04the Spanish
45:04are continuing
45:04with their plan,
45:05which is to link up,
45:06of course,
45:07link up hands
45:08with the Duke of Parma
45:09and the Spanish Netherlands.
45:10At this stage,
45:12Medina Sidonia
45:12decides to try
45:14something different.
45:14He actually
45:15goes away
45:15from his orders
45:16and he decides
45:17to anchor his fleet
45:18in the Solent,
45:20this anchorage
45:20behind the Isle of Wight.
45:23It was a major
45:24about-face
45:25for the Spanish commander.
45:28But Medina Sidonia
45:29felt forced
45:30to take matters
45:31into his own hands
45:32to capture
45:33a safe anchorage
45:35from where
45:35he could wait
45:36for Parma.
45:37It was, though,
45:39a massive risk.
45:44I've been sailing
45:45in the waters
45:46around the Isle of Wight
45:47ever since I was a kid.
45:49I still find them
45:50really challenging.
45:51The idea of being here
45:53on Medina Sidonia's
45:55big, cumbersome ships
45:56without engines,
45:57without GPS,
45:58without really
45:58proper charts,
46:00it was terrifying.
46:01The English, though,
46:03they knew this place
46:04at the back
46:05of their hand
46:05and they were now
46:06going to use
46:07their local advantage
46:09to maximum effect.
46:13For the very first time,
46:15the English were right
46:16about the Spanish
46:17Armada's intentions.
46:21Both sides knew
46:22what the prize was
46:23and its importance
46:24for the future of England,
46:25when, on the morning
46:26of the 4th of August,
46:28the battle
46:29for the Isle of Wight
46:30began.
46:35Armed with Drake's advice
46:36to sail closer,
46:38Howard began the attack,
46:39driving hard
46:40into the heart
46:41of the Armada.
46:45It was the first salvo
46:46in a desperate attempt
46:47to scupper
46:48to scupper
46:48Medina Sidonia's plan
46:50to seize an anchorage.
46:53The way the English
46:54combat this new
46:56Spanish threat, Sam,
46:57is that Frobisher
46:58repeats his
46:59Portland build trick
47:00by putting himself
47:01between the Spaniards
47:03and where they want to go,
47:04which, of course,
47:04is the Solent
47:05in another difficult
47:07tidal seaway.
47:08Medina Sidonia knows
47:09this is the crucial moment
47:10of the campaign,
47:11so he sends in
47:12Ricaldo
47:13to try and fight
47:14Frobisher off.
47:15If he can drive
47:16Frobisher's squadron
47:17clear of the Solent,
47:18the Armada
47:19can still get in.
47:20Of course,
47:20the English
47:21don't just leave it
47:21at this one action.
47:23At the same time,
47:25they attack
47:25from another direction
47:26as well.
47:27You've got Drake
47:28closing in,
47:29actually closing in
47:30a lot tighter
47:31than they have been
47:31in some of the
47:32previous battles
47:32for the simple reason
47:33that things are now
47:34getting desperate.
47:35This could be
47:36the key moment
47:37of the actual Armada.
47:41The English attacked
47:42the Spanish Armada
47:43from all sides,
47:44putting enormous pressure
47:45on their defensive formation.
47:47They used what
47:48they'd learnt from Drake
47:49about the optimum distance
47:50at which to fire their guns,
47:52close enough to do
47:53great damage
47:54to the Spanish hulls,
47:55but far enough away
47:56to ensure that
47:58they didn't get grappled
47:58and be forced to fight
47:59hand to hand.
48:01For the Spanish,
48:01it was like being
48:02at the centre of a storm.
48:05Give them no corner,
48:06then!
48:06Come on!
48:09Come on!
48:10Come on!
48:10Come on!
48:11Let's give it to the boys!
48:21Fire!
48:31Then, in the heat of battle,
48:33the Spanish faced
48:34another threat.
48:35The wind and tide
48:37started to push them
48:38into notoriously
48:39shallow waters.
48:40off the eastern end
48:42of the Isle of Wight.
48:46The waters around
48:47these shallows
48:48are so treacherous
48:49that I've had to transfer
48:49from the yacht
48:50with its deeper keel
48:52into this rib
48:53which can go
48:53into much shallower water.
48:54As you can see,
49:15in some tidal conditions,
49:17it's easy for me to stand out here.
49:19and you can imagine
49:21Medina Sidonia's big,
49:23deep-hulled battleships
49:24getting up to sandbanks
49:25like this.
49:26They'd be wrecked.
49:27It would be a catastrophe.
49:29He had no choice
49:30but to pull out.
49:40Medina Sidonia
49:41fired his cannon three times,
49:43which was a distinctive signal
49:44to disengage.
49:46And so the Spanish ships
49:47turned away
49:48and they started heading off
49:50back into the channel.
49:52The English knew, of course,
49:53that this was the crucial moment.
49:55There were cheers
49:56on the island,
49:57church bells were rung,
49:58the Isle of Wight
49:59had been saved.
50:05England's maverick pirate
50:07was delivery.
50:09Are we happy?
50:12First, ammunition
50:13and intelligence
50:14from the Rosario.
50:15Take the dark cargo, too.
50:17And then a bold tactic
50:19to fire at closer range.
50:21How do you look at this, boy?
50:24For his Spanish counterpart,
50:26the experienced Ricalde,
50:28things were looking grim.
50:31The Spanish had lost
50:32their last chance
50:33to win a safe haven
50:34on the English coast.
50:35And Medina Sidonia's decision
50:37to pull out of the battle
50:38left him incensed.
50:41We were gaining the win.
50:43Closing for the king.
50:45It is for the best.
50:46We will sail forth
50:47and fulfil the king's plan.
50:49If only it were that simple.
50:53Of all Professor Jeffrey Parker's
50:56remarkable discoveries,
50:57one of the most precious
50:59is a cache of Ricalde's
51:01letters and journals
51:02found hidden away
51:04in an archive in Madrid.
51:08One journal entry
51:09about Medina Sidonia
51:10is brutally candid.
51:13He's very explicit.
51:15Let me read you
51:16what he has to say.
51:18We should not have desisted
51:19as our flagship did
51:21until we had either
51:22made them run aground
51:23or else followed them
51:25into a port.
51:25This is war, sir.
51:28Orders.
51:30It was unwise
51:32not the way anchor.
51:33Nor was it wise
51:34to sail with our fleet
51:36beyond the Solent
51:37until we'd heard
51:38from the Prince of Palma
51:39because that was the best
51:41anchorage in the whole channel.
51:43The king's orders
51:44are the king's orders.
51:45I have done my best
51:47for the king
51:48and for God.
51:49I can sleep well
51:52in my bed.
51:53You are here to lead.
51:55I'm here to hand you
51:56a victory.
52:01There's two criticisms here
52:02of the Duke of Medina Sidonia.
52:05The first is
52:06we should have fought on
52:08when we had a chance
52:09and we should never
52:11have left the Solent.
52:13So Medina Sidonia
52:15disregards this advice.
52:17What is going to happen next?
52:19The Armada's now got
52:20a bit of a problem
52:21it looks to me, Sam,
52:22because if it continues
52:23with its original plan
52:24to go to Margate
52:25in Kent over here
52:26they'd of course
52:27be sitting ducks
52:28for the English navy
52:30which is still intact.
52:31So the only other option
52:32is the Armada
52:33goes across to Dunkirk
52:34to join hands
52:35but Dunkirk's harbour
52:37is not big enough.
52:37The sea around Dunkirk
52:39is not capable
52:40of taking this huge fleet.
52:43So what do you do next?
52:44Well, we've certainly
52:45got problems
52:46but we still have options.
52:48One of the key things
52:49to bear in mind
52:49after the Battle of the Solent
52:51is that the Armada
52:52is also still intact.
52:53They're also
52:54in really good formation
52:55and effectively
52:56the English haven't really
52:57done anything to them at all.
52:59And what we can do now
53:00is we can head
53:01across the Narrow Sea
53:02and go to Calais.
53:04Now Calais
53:04is only 21 miles
53:06from Parma.
53:07It's still some distance
53:08but it's close enough.
53:10The battle
53:11for the Isle of Wight
53:12had been a huge
53:13turning point.
53:15Medina Sidonia's
53:16attempt to secure
53:17a safe anchorage
53:19had failed.
53:21So he issued
53:22a new order
53:23to change direction
53:25and sail
53:26for Calais.
53:27The Spanish
53:38were in difficulty
53:39but news
53:41that the Armada
53:41was heading
53:41towards Calais
53:42seemed
53:43to Elizabeth
53:44to be devastating.
53:47Elizabeth
53:47was very conscious
53:48of the fact
53:49that if the Armada
53:50reached the forces
53:51of the Duke of Parma
53:53in the Netherlands
53:53then her reign
53:55was over.
53:56A Spanish invasion
53:57was inevitable.
54:00She had to do
54:01whatever she could
54:02to stop the Armada
54:04reaching Parma.
54:06Elizabeth must have felt
54:07like a gambler
54:08who is seeing
54:10that the game
54:11of dice
54:11is running
54:11against them.
54:13She can do
54:14very little
54:15to influence events.
54:16So far
54:18Elizabeth
54:19had allowed
54:20her naval commanders
54:21to conduct
54:21the war
54:22as they saw fit.
54:25Show me
54:25what you're
54:26working on Beth.
54:28It is a dolphin
54:30your majesty.
54:32It will bring
54:33our great cause
54:34the blessing
54:36of the seas.
54:39But on Friday
54:40the 5th of August
54:41Elizabeth
54:42could stand
54:43by no longer.
54:44Instead of leaving
54:46military decisions
54:47entirely to Howard
54:48she decided
54:50to intervene
54:51for the first time.
54:54It was an instruction
54:55and here is a copy
54:56of it.
54:57An instruction
54:58to send
54:59musketeers
55:00into the English
55:01fleet
55:01to reinforce it.
55:03And this demonstrates
55:04her lack of understanding
55:05of military affairs
55:06because what Howard
55:08and Drake
55:09and the other
55:09commanders wanted
55:10was gunpowder
55:11and ammunition
55:12not musketeers
55:14with their pop guns
55:15that's not the way
55:17to land a killer
55:18blow on the armada.
55:22Elizabeth
55:23didn't understand
55:24naval warfare.
55:27Her order
55:28was a sign
55:28of simple desperation.
55:31The decree
55:32from Elizabeth
55:33must have hit Howard
55:34like a kick
55:34in the guts.
55:35He didn't need
55:36more musketeers
55:36he needed powder
55:37and shot
55:38for his big guns
55:39as he'd been writing
55:40to London nearly
55:40every day.
55:41Now particularly
55:42after the battle
55:43at the Isle of Wight
55:44he was running
55:44dangerously low
55:45but Elizabeth
55:47was still
55:47too mean
55:48and too broke
55:49to give the navy
55:50what it needed.
56:01After two days
56:03of sailing
56:03across the channel
56:04from the Isle of Wight
56:05the 123 ships
56:08of the armada
56:08anchored
56:09off Calais
56:10in France.
56:15The English fleet
56:17had tracked behind
56:18watching every move
56:19and was now gathering
56:21in the seas
56:22to the west.
56:26Despite the English fleet
56:27hovering out there
56:29Medina Estonia
56:30must have been relieved
56:31to be here
56:32in friendlier waters.
56:34Calais was a
56:35solidly Catholic town.
56:36The governor
56:36even sent her
56:37a message
56:38of welcome
56:39to the Spanish
56:39and offered
56:40to sell them
56:40much needed
56:41supplies of food
56:42and water.
56:43Above all
56:44the vast army
56:45of the Duke
56:46of Parma
56:46was just
56:4721 miles
56:49that way
56:49just up the coast
56:50almost within
56:51touching distance.
56:55Just like their queen
56:56Drake and Howard
56:57thought that the
56:58Spanish armada
56:59was at last
57:00about to join hands
57:01with Parma's
57:02vast army.
57:03And if that
57:04happened
57:05it would all
57:06be over
57:06for the defence
57:07of England.
57:11Beamer
57:11and Vitalik
57:12bloody French.
57:14Time for the
57:15fox
57:16into the hen
57:17house.
57:18No more
57:18plucking
57:19of feathers.
57:21Howard and their
57:22men had
57:22done everything
57:23they could
57:24to drive
57:24the Spanish
57:25fleet up
57:26the channel
57:26but now
57:27they knew
57:27they had
57:27to act fast.
57:29There could
57:29be no more
57:30sitting off
57:30from a safe
57:31distance
57:31and harrying
57:32the Spanish
57:33ships.
57:33Instead
57:33they knew
57:34they had
57:34to press
57:35home those
57:35attacks
57:35and destroy
57:37the Spanish
57:37armada.
57:38The fate
57:39of England
57:39and Elizabeth
57:40was about
57:41to be decided
57:42once and
57:42for all.
57:50Next time
57:52England
57:53sends in
57:54the fire
57:55ships.
57:56Under your
57:57steer!
57:58the final
58:00battle
58:01and Elizabeth
58:07is transformed
58:09into
58:10Gloriana.
58:11to be
58:29the final
58:29Transcription by CastingWords
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