English ships and the Spanish Armada, August 1588. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I notice in the British news that tensions with Spain over Gibraltar are high again, and that soon a task group of the Royal Navy will make a port call. It’s been planned for quite a while but even so will satisfy the British call to send a gunboat. The American equivalent, of course is to send a carrier, or occasionally to “send in the Marines”. This global reach, global power thinking is a legacy of our maritime heritages, and our American one has English roots as well. You’ve heard me say many times that American history until 1776 is British history and this is one of the areas where it shows.
By the time of Napoleon’s defeat, our countries were the two great maritime powers, and it’s significant that even our founder’s, with their fear and disdain of a standing army, once they figured out that we needed it, had no particular problem with the navy, other than paying for it. But how did our countries get to this point?
It’s a fascinating story, and includes the two most famous ships extant, HMS Victory and USS Constitution, but it goes back quite a lot further than that. On 27 September 2011, I wrote this about another one of those ships, the Golden Hind. Here is that story.
A Cloud Smaller Than a Fist
Sometimes out here on the prairie way off in the southwest you will see a small dark cloud that is not very noticeable but if know what you’re looking at; you may realize that stormy weather is coming in. History is like that sometimes too. Sometimes a small local event echoes down the halls of history with its reverberations growing until they shake the world.
Constantine’s deathbed conversion to Christianity was like that. it had no real importance at the time but echoes down the corridors of time to this day. So was the death of Genghis Khan and the Battle of Salamis. So was the signing of the Declaration of Independence, for that matter, until made good in American blood.
Today is the anniversary of another one of those events. Today a ship landed in Plymouth, England. This was not uncommon, Plymouth then as now was one of England’s great ports.
The ship was unusual though, it had been damaged by grounding on a reef, it carried amongst other things, several tons of cloves, nearly unheard of in England. Probably, they didn’t know what they were missing; there weren’t any Virginia Hams, either. But Virginia’s namesake was interested in this ship.
The ship had sailed from Plymouth nearly 3 years earlier in company with four of her sisters. The other four had all been lost or turned back in their many adventures.
For the ship and her company had accomplished a great feat, they had circumnavigated the Earth. They had visited South America, had sailed north in the Pacific to Vancouver, refitted and claimed land around San Francisco Bay, had made port in the Philippines and the Spice Islands and made it home again.
This ship was no ordinary ship, though, for this was the fabulous Golden Hind, captained by none other than Francis Drake, soon to be knighted on board by Queen Elizabeth I.
The replica of the Golden Hind; courtesy of Annette Fisher
An important event no doubt, for this was the first circumnavigation by anyone but a Spaniard, but not really earthshaking, you say.
You could have been right, like the Declaration it depends on subsequent events. But on this September 26, in the Year of our Lord 1580, we are less than 9 years away from the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the beginning of the long, slow and painful defeat of Imperial Spain , which would see the famous red and orange ensign fly for the last time in 1898 as the Spanish fleets surrendered to those stepchildren of medieval England, the Americans, at Santiago and Manila Bay.
That long slow decline, and the ascendancy of the English Speaking Peoples at sea and around the world begins here.
As so often in history, the contrafactuals are fascinating. If the Golden Hind hadn’t survived, without Drake would the English have (with the help of the storm) have beaten the Armada, if not, would there have been English colonies, and all that they represent to our world today, in North America.
But Sir Francis did make it. The North American Colonies were started and in time became the United States of America, Canada was conquered and became a British Commonwealth. Australia and New Zealand were founded and prospered. India was conquered and liberated by Gandhi. The sun that never set on the British Empire finally did; but not until America was ready to take her place as Viceroy of King Neptune.
And so 431 years ago today, occurred one of the seminal events of modern world history.
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But a few years later, as we mentioned in that article, in 1588, 425 years ago, the Royal Navy, and it is proper to call it that because it was a standing navy, met the Armada in the channel, and with the help of the weather, defeated it. In truth, by today, it was pretty much all over but the British didn’t know it yet. In a few days the queen would give her famous Tilbury speech to encourage her forces, which is probably her most famous speech:
My loving people, we have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes for fear of treachery; but, I do assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself, that under God I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects; and, therefore, I am come amongst you as you see at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of battle, to live or die amongst you all – to lay down for my God, and for my kingdoms, and for my people, my honour and my blood even in the dust. I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king – and of a King of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which, rather than any dishonour should grow by me, I myself will take up arms – I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness, you have deserved rewards and crowns, and, we do assure you, on the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.
But you know, this “Royal Navy” was something new, as Dr Suzannah Lipscomb tells us, it was a Tudor invention. And it’s flagship was the Mary Rose. Enjoy
- Royal Navy sends a fleet of warships to Gibraltar as part of ‘routine’ exercise (independent.co.uk)
- HMS Victory (julianstockwin.com)
- A nation that’s lived its life on the ocean wave (standard.co.uk)
