History - Spain - Philip Ii And Relations With England

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Friendship/co-operation 1554-67 (1)

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. Philip married Mary Tudor in 1554 in order to contain the growing French threat and add to Netherlands protection

. Traditionally, England and Spain had enjoyed a policy of friendship since the end of the 15th century and so it took a considerable time before Philip would seriously consider attacking England

. English troops had assisted the Spanish in securing French defeat at the battle of St Quentin in 1557 - (the later Anglo-Spanish conflicts were not pre-ordained because of religious differences)

. Mary Tudor died in 1558 and Philip wanted to maintain the alliance with Elizabeth I and the Spanish ambassador in London even suggested a marriage - Philip didn't think she was attractive

. Elizabeth turned Philip down and instead he married Elizabeth of Valois

. Philip was willing to overlook Elizabeth's Protestantism in favour of keeping Mary Queen of Scots off the throne at this stage

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Friendship/co-operation 1554-67 (2)

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. From 1559-67, relations with England were sound but never particularly good

. Philip was worried about the Protestant 1559 religious settlement in England but he acted cautiously at this stage so not to antagonise Elizabeth

. Philip persuaded the Papacy not to excommunicate Elizabeth in 1561 and 1563, as he feared that might lead to Catholic revolt that France could exploit - His chief enemy in Europe was France in this period and France was allied to Scotland

. In 1560, Francis II of France married Mary, Queen of Scots - So in the 1560s Philip was worried about a Franco-English-Scottish alliance

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1567 Turning point (Dutch Revolt) 1

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. Elizabeth was worried that she might be next on Alva's hit list if he succeeded in the Low Countries - England enjoyed close economic ties with the Netherlands and had religious sympathies with the rebels

. Elizabeth decided to disrupt Spanish silver shipments, bound ultimately for the Army of Flanders - Philip also went against established diplomatic rules when he expelled Dr Man (English ambassador in Madrid) for religious reasons

. John Hawkins made 3 voyages in the 1560s to West Africa - he sold cloth and slaves in Spanish America, which violated Spain's rules for selling slaves without a license and the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas where the Pope had divided the New World between Spain/Portugal

. The English wanted a way into the lucrative New World market

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1567 Turning point (Dutch Revolt) 2

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. The Spanish seized 10 of Hawkins' ships at the battle of San Juan de Ulua in September 1568, which sparked a wave of anti-Spanish pamphlets in England

. In November 1568, Elizabeth responded by comandeering 5 Genoese silver ships bound for Flanders as they sought refuge from Channel pirates in Plymouth

. Alva then imposed an embargo on Anglo-Dutch trade and seized the goods of Englishmen in the Netherlands - Philip also retaliated by holding English fleets in Spanish ports in Biscay and Andalucia

. Trade was suspended between England and Spain

. Spain accused England of deliberately expelling Sea Beggars from Dover in 1572 that led to their capture of Flushing and Brill

. In March 1573, Alva's negotiations came good with the Convention of Nijimegen which restored trade relations between England and the Low Countries and compensated the Genoese for their losses

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1567 Turning point (Dutch Revolt) 3

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. Nevertheless, there were 11 major expeditions to Spanish America from 1572-77 - Elizabeth claimed these were unofficial and did not have royal approval

. Drake began his piracy in the Caribbean - in 1572, he targeted the land route between Peru and Panama ang got back to Plymouth with a vast load of precious metals

. Drake famously attacked Nombre de Dios in 1573 and his lucrative circumnavigation of the glove from 1577-80 was partly financed by captured Spanish booty and proved that the Pacific coast of South America was vulnerable

. In March 1579, Drake raided the Peruvian coast and captured valuable cargo of silver - when he got back Elizabeth knighted him!

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1567 Turning point (Dutch Revolt) 4

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. Philip grew further concered when Raleigh had tried to establish a settlement in Roanoke, Virginia in 1584 that threatened Spanish shipping routes. In May 1585, Philip ordered the confiscation of all English goods and shipping in Iberian waters, but this led to Elizabeth allowing merchants to recoup any losses by plundering Spanish ships

. Philip had to spend huge amounts of money fortifying the towns of the West Indies and English attacks did considerable harm to Spain's trade and treasure

. Elizabeth also financed the Portuguese pretender Dom Antonio in 1583 and allowed him to stay at the English court in temporary exile when driven from the Azores

. Treaty of Nonsuch in August 1585 - lead to open war with England for the rest of Philip's reign

. Following the deaths of Anjou and William of Orange in 1584, the Dutch were left without an international figurehead and with the fall of Antwerp in 1585, Parma had control of every major Dutch city; Holland and Zeeland were left exposed

. England could soon have been the only major Protestant country in Europe

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1567 Turning point (Dutch Revolt) 5

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. Elizabeth agreed to send 126,000 and 6,000 men under the leadership of the Earl of Leicester and a fleet of 25 warships were given to Drake to command

. Drake began by attacking Vigo in October 1585 and then sacked Santo Domingo and Cartagena in the West Indies but he missed the main treasure fleets - All of this was seen as acts of war by Spain

. Philip decided to launch the Armada - "English troops had invaded his territory, occupied his fortresses and challenged his sovereignty. They must be removed and his reputation avenged" - (Woodward)

. "The treaty (Nonsuch) was the culmination of a gradual deterioration of Anglo-Spanish relations during the previous 15 years over the Indies, Elizabeth's imprisonment of Mary Stuart and English support for the Dutch Revolt. Moreover, Philip had been under pressure for years, from the Papacy, from his ambassadors in London and from his more adventurous commanders, to invade England and overthrow England's Protestant regime" - (McKinnon-Bell)

. Pendrill argues that the Treaty of Nonsuch proves that the war was started by England

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1567 Turning point (Dutch Revolt) 6

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. Philip had also acted proactively towards England - but he was not fully committed to overthrow Elizabeth

. In 1568, Mary Queen of Scots fled to England and was placed under house arrest - the Pope urged Philip to rescue her but Philip was initially cautious and only gave mild encouragement to the 1569 Northern Earls rebellion

. In 1570, Philip even disagreed with the excommunication of Elizabeth and refused to allow it to be published in Spain

. However, in 1571 Philip did get involved in the Ridolfi Plot to overthrow Elizabeth - he initially ordered a small fleet of warships and 10,000 of Alva's troops to help before it became obvious it was doomed to fail

. Philip gradually came round to the ida of Mary Queen of Scots as a Spanish Catholic puppet on the Enlgish throne

. In 1580, Philip landed 800 Spanish and Italian troops in Ireland in the hope of an uprising in Munster against English rule (all but 15 were massacred by the English) - Also, in 1583, the Throckmorton Plot involved Mary, the Spanish ambassador and Jesuit missionaries with a plan to assassinate Elizabeth and cause a Catholic uprising

. In January 1584, the Spanish ambassador was expelled from London, leading to a formal end of diplomatic relations

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1588 Spanish Armada - Philip's aims 1

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. Philip had several aims for the Armada but his prime objective (Woodward) was to stop English involvement in the Netherlands and Caribbean

. The English navy impeded his control of the seas that was vital for recovery of the Dutch provinces - Political and economic motives thus outweighed religion

. 'The occupation of England would, at a stroke, settle the revolt in the Netherlands; it would ensure that the Catholics remained dominant in France; it would safeguard Spain's worldwide trade for ever' - (Hunt)

. "The objective of this Armada is no less the security of the Indies than the recovery of the Netherlands" - Secretary Idiaquez

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1588 Spanish Armada - Philip's aims 2

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. Religion was a genuine motive but secondary (Woodward) - Philip would have welcomed the reconversion of England; 180 clerics accompanied the fleet and 24 Jesuits waited in Flanders

. Philip instructed Parma in 1588 that even if the invasion was only part successful, he must demand toleration for English Catholics

. Philip doubted the true strength of English Catholicism and Woodward argues there was no evidence that he intended a conquest of England but just wanted to make Elizabeth sue for peace

. Woodward argues that Philip at best hoped to secure the south-east, between Margate and London, as a bargaining chip for his more pragmatic objectives of peace and toleration for Catholics

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1588 Spanish Armada - Philip's aims 3

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. Pendrill goes further and suggests that Philip wanted to replace Elizabeth with Mary Queen of Scots and then after her death to press the claim of his own daughter Isabella

. Kamen argues that a key feature of the plan was to intially have Mary crowned as queen - her involvement in the 1586 Babington Plot put an end to this

. Mary Queen of Scots was executed in 1587 and Lynch argues this finally ended any lingering doubts Philip had about her being a French pawn and looked to press his own claim via his daughter

. Although this was tenuous, Philip received backing from the Pope Sixtus V - as the successor to Elizabeth was presumed to be the Protestant James VI of Scotland

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The plan 1

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. The Armada first mooted in August 1583 by Santa Cruz, Captain-General of the Ocean Sea

. In January 1586 he again outlined what he needed - 150 ships and 60,000 troops for a decoy force in Ireland and main attack on southern England

. Parma doubted whether such a force could win a sea and land battle - In June he suggested a military land-based alternative; he would transport 30,000 troops from Dunkirk, Gravelines and Nieuport to Margate in 8-12 hours and march on London

. This plan was dependent on timing as Parma explained that he needed to capture Flushing first or the barges he planned on using would be vulnerable to attack

. Secrecy was the key to this plan and Parma asked that an Armada be prepared only if this secrecy lost to shepherd the barges over

. The end plan was an unfortunate mix between both plans that left neither commander happy and failed to appreciate the logistic difficulties - This compromise was at Philip's personal insistence

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The plan 2

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. In 1587 (afer Mary Queen of Scot's execution) the Pope agreed to give 1 million ducats to Philip - Drake's raid on Cadiz in April disrupted the plans as 24 vessels were lost and he crucially destroyed the barrels in which stores were to be carried

. Philip decided to drop the Irish diversion plan and to increase the size of the Armada - Parma disliked the timing of the plan as he knew that he could not get past the Dutch ships at Flushing and feared it would leave the Dutch defenceless

. Santa Cruz died in February 1588 and the Duke of Medina Sidionia was made the new commander - This has been criticised by many historians but did not surprise contemporaries as he was rich and could help pay for it and would command respect as the first Grandee of Castile

. He had never fought at sea but he had military experience and was an expert in naval administration - Medina Sidonia initially turned down the offer of command as he had 'neither aptitude, ability, health nor fortune for the expedition' but Philip rejected his protests

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The plan 3

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. 130 ships with 30,000 men did leave Lisbon on 28th May and immediately ran into a storm - Medina Sidonia urged the King to cancel it but Philip replied that God wished it to continue

. Philip planned everything from the crew's rations to rules for their moral conduct, from grand strategy to the precise terms of naval engagement

. The fleet of 122 ships reached Calais on 6th August 1588 but Parma was 48km away and only aware of the fleet's arrrival a day later

. Parma needed 48 hours to organise his departure and by the time he was ready, English fireships had scattered the Armada and on the way home via Scotland and Ireland, half the ships were destroyed and 15,000 men lost

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Feasibility of the plan/ Reasons for failure 1

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. Mattingly claimed 'it was a good plan'; Geyl saw it as 'a mad enterprise'; Fernandez-Armesto believed the chance of success was 'evenly balanced'

. Contemporaries were less hopeful - Alva always said it would fail, Parma and Medina Sidonia had major doubts and Parisian bookmakers offered 6/1 against it surviving the Channel

. Woodward strongly blames Philip for the failure and uses Parker's view of Philip's 'armchair strategy' as the prime weakness

. Poor tactics as no definite plan had been made for Parma and Medina Sidonia's rendezvous and Spain did not even have a deep water port in the Low Countries to make this a possibility - This left the Armada exposed in the Channel in 1588

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Feasibility of the plan/ Reasons for failure 2

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. Moreover, the plan required modern rapid communications and trusting liaison between the dual commanders of the operation

. Philip negotiated with each commander separately and as late as December 1587 he was ordering Santa Cruz to prepare 2 Armadas and urging Farnese to cross the Channel before the Armada arrived

. Philip tried to keep in touch with both his commanders but this was impossible to do with efficiency and neither commander understood each other's objectives

. Also, Santa Cruz had initially called for 40-50 galleys to accompany the galleons in the Channel - only 4 left with the fleet and 1 sailed up the Channel

. The choice of Medina Sidonia can also be questioned with his limited naval experience

. The Armada was weakened by their disunity - 6 different languages spoken and major tension between the Castilians and Portuguese

. The Spanish fleet was also outgunned by the English ships

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Impact of the defeat for Spain 1

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. The Spanish fleet was rebuilt and this included 12 new 1,000 ton galleons ('the 12 Apostles') - Two more Armadas set sail in 1596 and 1597 only to be destroyed by severe gales

. Some historians regard the defeat as a turning point in Spain's history

. It weakened Parma in the Netherlands as it gave the rebels breathign space and took funds away from the Dutch campaign and led to 20 more mutinies from 1589

. The 10 million ducat financial cost was crippling and could only be met by the new millones tax in 1590

. Defeat also encouraged the English to counter-attack

. From 1589-98 Elizabeth endorsed over 100 private expeditions including a 1596 attack on Cadiz by Howard and Essex was a national embarrassment as they held the city for 2 weeks before leaving and setting fire to it

. From 1589-91, at least 235 English vessels were at large between the Eastern Atlantic and America

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Impact of the defeat for Spain 2

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. But, more bullion reached Spain from 1588-1603 than in any other 15 year period

. Philip improved his defences in the New World with fortifications of major ports such as Havana and Puerto Rico and improved coast guard fleets

. England had not won the war or mastery of the seas - Spain still controlled crossing to the Indies

. England's actions did not deny Philip a single New World colony

. The defeat of the Armada may have been a blessing for Philip as naval victory would have been very difficult to convert into a political one, especially with the execution of Mary Queen of Scots

. The main cost to Spain was the crippling cost of defending their colonies - the cost of shipbuilding in Spain had tripled over the century and timber and other raw materials for shipbuilding were scare

. Lynch concludes that England's main impact was to force Spain to spend large sums of money on the Indies at a time when the cost of prolonged warfare was already inducing a final bankruptcy (1596)

. Finally, the damage to a healthy trading relationship suggests neither side really won

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Aggressive/defensive nature of Philip's foreign relations

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. Parker offers a convincing view of what he calls 'prospect theory' that explained Philip's motivations in foreign affairs

. That 'not wanting to lose' is a much stronger motivation than 'wanting to win' and that Philip was driven by a need to defend the perceived status quo - Fits in nicely with an assessment of a defensively motivated foreign policy

. Kamen argues that it is plausible to maintain that Philip's entire foreign policy was defensive

. The requirements of defence meant that first in 1560 and then in 1580, in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, he was obliged to elevate Spain into a superpower, as the only way to maintain worldwide security

. Once the Spanish system had been created, force and therefore aggression became an integral part of it, though there is no acceptable evidence or plausible reason to suggest that the king had expansionist dreams