King Philip received knowledge from a sailor man that God’s plan for Phillip was for war between the two men. “Like the King of Spain, Francis Drake had learned the rudiments of his mission in the world form his father,.. Drake cherished his words as Philip did those of the Holy Roman Emperor.” (pg. 82). I thought it was very interesting how both men had similar reasonings for them fighting in battle, especially because both men had so many temperamental differences. By putting both of their examples in the begging of the chapter, it opened up the chapter and set the stage for what Mattingly was going to talk about throughout the chapter. In the end of the chapter, Mattingly talks about the late order sent to Francis Drake, from Queen Elizabeth, to not enter into the Spanish King’s ports or offer any violence towards the Spanish at all. Mattingly says, “Whatever might be true of Sir Francis Drake or others of her bellicose subjects, Elizabeth wanted to make it clear that she was not at war with the king of Spain” (pg.91). The way Matitngly explains this to the readers, it makes me believe that this was another situation where the queen is trying to cover up what she actually wants, so it makes her look innocent in the end. Now if she wanted to, she could put all this blame on Sir Francis …show more content…
One choice made by Sir Francis Drake during the the English’s time at sea could have ended the Armada before it barely even began. Mattingly said, “If Drake had relied on the alarm caused by his appearance in person on the coast of Spain to keep the Spanish fleet at home, he might have missed the Armada altogether” (pg.261). Drake had no idea that the Duke of Medina Sidonia had strict orders not to be diverted by any offensive attacks by Drake and the English and to keep sailing for the Channel. Mattingly goes on to example about a bunch of other situations, where if the English chose what they really wanted to do or had to battle at sea at a different time, it would have resulted in an English defeat. The English were saved another defeat when Captain Thomas Fleming warned them of the large group of Spanish ships near the Scilly Isles. Matt tingly tell us, “Fleming’s warning has come in good time as, given the position of the screen, the skill of its skippers, and the speed and weatherliness of its ships, there was every reason to suppose it would” (pg.266). Without the warning, the English fleet would not have been as prepared for the attack and could have been defeated by the Spanish right then and