Flag and Fleet

58

re fast moving toward the war that had been bound to come

t was pretty well divided between Venice and the Hansa Towns. This was only natural, because Venice was in the middle of southern Europe and the Hansa Towns were in the middle of northern Europe. The two were therefore well placed to receive, store, and distribute the bulk of the oversea trade. In a word, Venice (on

gland, France, Portugal, and Spain. When these four countries became rivals for this junction England won, partly because she had the advantage of being an island, and thus safe from invasion by land, but mostly because

is father, Charles V, would certainly come true, and he would be the master of the world. France also stood in his way, but only by land; and if he had England and England's sea-power he could make short work of France. His having Portugal gave him much that

war if she could help it. She had enemies in Scotland, enemies in France, a few at home, and millions in Spain. Besides, she was cleverer at playing off one again

here were twenty-one ships and twenty-three hundred men; with Carleill, a first-class general, to command the soldiers ashore. Drake's crew of the Golden Hind came forward to a man, among them gigantic Tom Moone, the lion of the boarding pa

the taking of which would knock the sea trade there to pieces, because they were the same by sea as railway junctions are by land. More than this, he p

ck the Spanish answer. But the Spanish messenger ran his lance into the Maroon and cantered away. The Maroon dragged himself back and fell dead at Drake's feet. Drake sent word to say he would hang two Spaniards a day till the one who had killed his Maroon was han

his movements, put Carleill ashore in the dark just where the English soldiers could wade past the Spanish batteries under cover at the weakest spot. When Carleill reached the barricade his musketeers fired into the Spaniards' faces and wheeled off to let the pikemen charge through. After a fi

ng Havana. And the ransoms were less than he had hoped for. But he had done enough to cripple New Spain for the next few years at any rat

aden, to our Happy Joy." This was the best East Indies treasure ship, loaded with silks and spices, jewels and gold, to the value of many millions. But, better than even this, Drake found among her papers the secrets of the wonderful trade with the East, a trade now taken over by the Spaniards from the conquered Portuguese. With these papers in English hands the English oversea traders set to work and formed the great East India Company on the last

heart. At last, in the summer of 1588, his Great Invincible Spanish Armada seemed to be as Great, Invincible, and Spanish as he could ever hope to make it. All the landlubbers, even in England, thought it very great indeed; and most of them think so still. The best Spanish soldiers, like all the few really good Spanish sailors, h

not by sailors under admirals. They were fought mostly on the platforms of huge rowboats called galleys; and the despised galley-slaves were almost the only seamen. Even the officers and men who handled the clumsy old sailing craft, or the still clumsier sail aboard a galley, were thought to be next door to nobodies; for their only work was to fit their craft together like so many bits of land in o

e way the Greeks and Persians fought at Salamis twenty centuries before. Then, after less than twenty years, the Armada, though better than the Spaniards at Lepanto, was sent across the open sea to fight a regular sea-going fleet, wh

good soldier, saw at once what nonsense it was to put the army first and navy second in the fighting, because, even if he could get into England, his lines of communication with the bases in Flanders and Spain could never be safe until Drake's fleet had been beaten. He knew, as all soldiers and all sailors know, that unless you have a safe road over which to bring your supplies from your base to your fron

fend the different places they thought the Armada might attack. This would also please the people; for most people do like to see ships and soldiers close in front of them, even when that is quite the wrong place for the ships and soldiers

d certainly prevent Parma from taking his army from Flanders into England. On the 30th of March, 1588, a day to be forever remembered in the history of sea-power, Drake wrote all this from Plymouth to the Queen and her Councillors. One civilian, Sir Francis Walsingham, saw at once that Drake was right. But the others shook their heads; while even those who thought Drake knew better than they did were afraid to let the fleet go so far a

fleet was taking in stores as hard as it could. Lord Howard of Effingham, the Lord High Admiral of England, was in command as the Great Officer of State who

: One of Drak

the Great Ar

ing perfectly well what time there was to spare, and how best to calm the people looking on, said, "There's time to finish the game first and the Spaniards after." But the fleet got its sailing orders on the spot; and all that fateful night the ships were working out of Plymouth Sound. The Queen and her politicians, though patriotic as any Sea-Dog, had, by k

the water were more than a match for fifteen thousand English. But the Spaniards were six thousand short, through sickness and desertion, and of the remaining twenty-four thousand little more than a quarter were seamen. The rest were soldiers, with many camp-followers. The fifteen thousand English, on the other hand, were nearly all on board; and most of them had been trained to sea fighting from their youth up. The Spaniards were one-quarter seamen and three-quarters landsmen. The English were three-quarters seamen and

d on, and something Philip's silly plan had not provided for. Still, the Armada had one advantage left, the weather-gage; for the southwest wind was piping up again, blowing from the Armada to the English. Yet even this advantage was soon lost, not by any change of wind, but by English seamanship. For while eight English vessels held the attention of the Armada, by worki

and better guns, far more and far better seaman-gunners, and vessels managed by the sea's own "handy men." They ran in with the wind, just near enough to make their well-aimed cannon-balls most deadly on the Spanish water-line, but never so near that the Spaniards could catch them with grappling hooks and hold them fast while the Spanish soldiers boarded. Another way the skilful English had

them could hardly have been more nearly useless if they had been just so many elephants fighting killer whales at sea. Do what they could, they could not catch the nimble Sea-Dogs who were biting them to death. But they still fought on. Their crowded soldiers were simply targets

e shallows of the Flemish coast. This lost them their last chance of helping Parma into England. But it also saved Parma from losing the whole of his army at sea. Once more the brave, though cruel, Spaniards tried to fight the English fleet. But all in vain. This was the end. It came at Gravelines, on the 29th of July 1588, just ten d

ARMADA OFF FO

n in the Eng

ater skill. Nor has there ever been a victory showing more clearly

ica are what they are and not as Spain might otherwise have made them. The Sea-Dogs won the English right of entry into Spain's New World. They, strange as it may seem, won French rights, too; for Spain and France were often deadly e

now that the Queen, her Councillors, and the great mass of English people would have fought the Spanish

e breach, dear fr

all up with ou

e outwork of London, when the Armada was sailing up the Channel: "I am only a

place too; and that the heart of England beat high throughout this great campaign. But good heads, rightly used,

ds, then turn to the glorious end of Drake's old flagship, the Revenge, when her new captain

R FRANCIS DRAKE O

rrender of Don P

is now North Carolina. Grenville himself went out to Roanoke. He was a born soldier of fortune and "first-class fighting man"; an explorer, scout, and pioneer; but not a colonist at all. On his return from founding Raleigh's colony his boats w

Howard had no chance against this overwhelming force. So it put to sea just in time to escape destruction. But when Howard saw that the Revenge was being surrounded he gallantly came back and attacked the Spaniards in rear; while the little Geo

as if for a yacht race he ran down close-hauled on the starboard tack, right between the two divisions of the Spanish fleet, till the flagship, three times the size of the Revenge, ranged up on his weather side, thus blanketing his canvas and stealing the wind. As the Revenge lost way the ships she had passed on the other side began ranging up to cut her off completely. But meanwhile h

s away!" yelled the Spanish colonels. "Repel Boarders!" shouted Grenville in reply. And the boarders were repelled, leaving a hundred killed behind them. Only fifty English now remained. But they were as defiant as before, giving the Spaniards deadl

re was a pause while both sides waited for the dawn. Four hundred Spaniards had been killed or drowned and quite six hundred wounded. A hundred Sea-Dogs had thus accounted for a thousand enemies. But they themselves w

ed, and worthily accorded, all the honours of war. So Grenville was carefully taken on board the flagship, laid in Don Bazan's cabin, and attended by the best Spanish surgeon. Then, with the Spanish officers standing before h

true soldier ought to do, that hath fought for his Queen and Country, honour and religion.' And wh

RE

d of th

Azores Sir Rich

flutter'd bird, came

ar at sea! we have

**

ed seamen to work t

om Flores till the Sp

castles heaving up

fight or s

ichard, te

ght is bu

of us left by the t

id again: "We be a

gs of Seville, the c

'd my back upon

**

he laugh'd, and we r

ran on sheer into t

hters on deck, and h

t to the right and hal

ge ran on thro' the

iers look'd down from t

seamen made mock at

and on, t

e San Philip that, of

h above us with her

from our sails

eat San Philip hung

thunderbo

and

lleons

panish fle

rboard and two upon

-thunder broke

an Philip, she betho

her womb that had l

aboard us, and they f

ey came with their p

shook 'em off as a do

from the wat

down, and the s

he sum

ent ceased the

e fift

p, the whole n

lt galle

, the whole nig

hunder a

the whole night

dead and

nk and many were

ight us

, was ever a b

world

"Fight on!

sel was all

hen half of the short

nd to be drest he

him that was dress

wounded again in th

'Fight on!

t down, and the s

he sum

leet with broken

in a

touch us again, f

l could

h'd what the

not fought

ilous plig

f our poor hun

e rest of us m

e cannonades and t

down in the hold

and

e all broken or b

l of i

the rigging were l

d cried in his

such a fight for

ver be fo

n great gl

ay less

a or

es it mat

ster Gunner-sink her

of God, not into t

, "Ay, ay," but the

ildren, we

d hath spar

niard promise, if we

ght again, and to s

lay dying, and they

ish men to their fla

y the mast, old Sir R

o his face with their

on their decks

een and Faith like a

my duty as a ma

irit I Sir Richa

on their decks

he dead that had bee

e power and glory

ith one little ship

n? He was devil fo

body with honour d

e Revenge with a s

with her loss and

lands they had ruin

an to heave and t

evening ended a

wave that is raised

heir hulls and the

nd thei

plunged and fell o

of

ge herself went down

evermore

, Lord

RT

DUTC