0:00:06 > 0:00:08Summer, 1588.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13Philip II, the Catholic King of Spain,
0:00:13 > 0:00:15was on the verge of changing the shape of Europe.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21The most powerful naval force on Earth,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24the mighty Spanish Armada, had sailed through the Channel.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29Its aim? To crush heretic England...
0:00:30 > 0:00:32..and take the crown of Queen Elizabeth.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35SHOUTING AND GUNFIRE
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Our mission is a sacred one.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41This was a war fought in the name of religion,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44but it was also a war of power and politics.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47And for the two great monarchs who started the whole thing off,
0:00:47 > 0:00:49it was deeply personal,
0:00:49 > 0:00:53the result of 30 years of increasing bitterness.
0:00:56 > 0:00:57There you go. Look at that!
0:00:59 > 0:01:03Now, to understand this defining moment in history,
0:01:03 > 0:01:05I'm sailing the waters I love...
0:01:06 > 0:01:08..following the course of the English navy
0:01:08 > 0:01:10as it battled the Spanish Armada.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13There's now a howling gale,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17similar conditions to the ones that Drake and the fleet faced.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21While access to unique, eye-witness accounts...
0:01:21 > 0:01:24This is one of the most remarkable letters I have ever seen.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28..will take us, for the very first time,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31inside the minds of the commanders themselves...
0:01:31 > 0:01:33For their heavy guns to have the greatest effect,
0:01:33 > 0:01:36they've got to go in for the kill.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40..and offer unprecedented insight into the corridors of power.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42In England...
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Bring me good tidings.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46..and Spain...
0:01:46 > 0:01:48GUNFIRE AND SHOUTING
0:01:48 > 0:01:53..allowing us to bring to life 12 days in the summer of 1588...
0:01:53 > 0:01:56GUNFIRE
0:01:56 > 0:01:58..when England's very survival...
0:01:59 > 0:02:02..hung in the balance.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Army and navy together, their might would be...
0:02:06 > 0:02:07Unstoppable.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29For nine days, the English navy had pursued the Spanish Armada
0:02:29 > 0:02:31from Plymouth to the Isle of Wight.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36But despite three ferocious battles,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40the huge invasion force remained almost entirely intact.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46On 7th August, 1588, the Spanish Armada was anchored
0:02:46 > 0:02:49just here off Calais, on the coast of France.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53It now appeared that they were within
0:02:53 > 0:02:54a whisker of achieving their goal,
0:02:54 > 0:02:58which was to link up with a Spanish army,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00about 21 miles in that direction,
0:03:00 > 0:03:04and then together invade England across the Straits of Dover.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08This was the endgame.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Somehow, the English had to deal a killer blow.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15And fast,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18or the nation and its queen would fall.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Just 100 miles away, Elizabeth was about to receive
0:03:33 > 0:03:37the latest reports from her most trusted advisors.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41The two most powerful men in England.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Lord Burghley, her Lord High Treasurer
0:03:45 > 0:03:47and Sir Francis Walsingham,
0:03:47 > 0:03:49her Secretary of State and spy master.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54They were coordinating the troops, they were organising supplies.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58They were dealing with the Catholic threat and, of course,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00they also had to provide counsel to the Queen.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Her mood will be most vile.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Where's the trumpeting porter when you need him?
0:04:07 > 0:04:10How a commoner's fart can leave the Queen in more stitches
0:04:10 > 0:04:12than an army of jesters...
0:04:12 > 0:04:13Are you volunteering?
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Both men knew that despite the navy's valiant efforts,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21the Spanish were closing in
0:04:21 > 0:04:24and England stood on the brink of defeat.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29Gentlemen, bring me good tidings.
0:04:29 > 0:04:30Your Majesty.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33The Spanish are at Calais.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35The peril is closing.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37I do know where Calais is.
0:04:37 > 0:04:38Yes, Your Majesty.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42JESSIE CHILDS: 'The longer the Armada was in the Channel,
0:04:42 > 0:04:47'the greater the threat to Elizabeth, and her future was pretty bleak.
0:04:47 > 0:04:48'If the Spanish could land,'
0:04:48 > 0:04:50if they could overrun England,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53then she would either be captured or she would be killed on the spot.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55It was a pretty grim prospect.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Elizabeth's arch-enemy, King Philip II,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11was the most powerful man on Earth...
0:05:13 > 0:05:15..ruler of the world's greatest empire.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19But over 700 miles from the action,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23he was out of touch with unfolding events.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27There are rumours reverberating around Europe.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31But, of course, unlike Elizabeth, who is only,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34say half a day away from communication,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Philip is waiting more than two weeks at times
0:05:37 > 0:05:40to hear conflicting reports about what is going on.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44With no reliable news,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Philip was wise enough to ignore stories of the Armada's success.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53The Spanish ambassador told Philip that half the English fleet
0:05:53 > 0:05:55has been sunk.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57First of all, Drake had had his legs blown off
0:05:57 > 0:06:00by a cannon ball and then he'd been captured.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05But in Madrid, Philip was wary of this optimistic talk.
0:06:10 > 0:06:11Philip's master plan for
0:06:11 > 0:06:13the invasion was for the Armada
0:06:13 > 0:06:15to sail east up the Channel
0:06:15 > 0:06:17to the Straits of Dover.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Then the 27,000-strong Spanish army,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25based in Flanders,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27commanded by the Duke of Parma,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30would embark on 300 barges...
0:06:31 > 0:06:33..sail out to meet the Armada,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35and conquer England.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40With his two huge forces joined
0:06:40 > 0:06:41and God on his side,
0:06:41 > 0:06:45the King of Spain remained piously confident of victory.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49Soon the news would surely come
0:06:49 > 0:06:53that the Spanish had landed and London had fallen.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07The English navy knew what lay in store.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Lord High Admiral Charles Howard realised that the two halves
0:07:12 > 0:07:16of Spain's invasion force must now be in direct contact.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22Howard of Effingham had very little naval experience.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26He'd been appointed Lord High Admiral but he was an administrator.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Just two miles away from the anchored Spanish fleet,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Howard needed to decide what his next move should be.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Don't dither, boy. Don't dither.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44He was advised by his maverick second-in-command,
0:07:44 > 0:07:45an experienced seaman...
0:07:45 > 0:07:46Don't leave anything.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48..who knew how to fight.
0:07:48 > 0:07:49Sir Francis Drake,
0:07:49 > 0:07:54a farmer's son from Devon who'd spent his entire life at sea.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59He had made a very profitable career out of plundering Spanish ships.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03Elizabeth had knighted him for his plunder.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Play the long game to become rich.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Nobody had shown more courage,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10sometimes reckless courage,
0:08:10 > 0:08:11in taking on the enemy.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Nobody was better equipped to deal with the Spanish Armada
0:08:14 > 0:08:15when it arrived.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Over a week of fighting, Drake had taken some extreme risks
0:08:25 > 0:08:28and learned some valuable lessons.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33He'd known the English ships were faster.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35SHOUTING
0:08:35 > 0:08:37GUNFIRE
0:08:37 > 0:08:40But when he'd plundered a stricken Spanish galleon,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42he'd discovered that English cannon were superior too.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Keep going!
0:08:46 > 0:08:49And during another attack, he'd worked out just how close
0:08:49 > 0:08:52he needed to be to cause the enemy real damage.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55MULTIPLE BLASTS
0:08:56 > 0:09:00Now, though, it seemed the English position was dire.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04They were desperately low on ammunition
0:09:04 > 0:09:08because Elizabeth was too broke and too mean to properly equip her navy.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15And the Armada was now more threatening than ever.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Howard and Drake were worried.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22The Spanish Armada was anchored here in friendly Catholic waters.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25They were being re-supplied with vital food and water.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29But worst of all, they were only 21 miles away from a vast
0:09:29 > 0:09:35Spanish army, 27,000 men commanded by the Duke of Parma.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Drake and Howard were very worried that if these two forces were on the
0:09:38 > 0:09:43verge of joining hands, then that would create an invincible enemy.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52For Elizabeth, sheltered in her country palace at Richmond,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54this news was crushing.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56Parma's army is waiting in Flanders.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Ready to embark?
0:09:58 > 0:09:59We should assume so.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Days?
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Hours?
0:10:04 > 0:10:06If the Queen falls, England falls effectively.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10She has no successor, she has no children, no direct heirs.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14The throne would naturally pass to the invader.
0:10:15 > 0:10:16Very well.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Historians have never been sure of Elizabeth's precise
0:10:22 > 0:10:25movements during the 12 days of the Armada threat.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31But brand-new research now suggests that on the 7th August,
0:10:31 > 0:10:35she made the dramatic decision to relocate her entire court
0:10:35 > 0:10:37to the very centre of her capital.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Defence of the realm is fundamentally
0:10:42 > 0:10:45hinged on protection of the person of the Queen.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50Elizabeth moves from Richmond to St James's Palace,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52closer to the heart of London.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Moving Elizabeth and her court is no mean feat.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03She routinely travels with about 200 attendants.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07But St James's Palace, it's much more defendable and she can be
0:11:07 > 0:11:12instantly surrounded by her own troops and safeguarded in that way.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18The vast royal household would be rowed downriver by barge...
0:11:19 > 0:11:21..the very next morning.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27WIND WHISTLES
0:11:29 > 0:11:32As they prepared for the worst, neither Elizabeth nor her navy
0:11:32 > 0:11:35had any idea the Spanish fleet was facing
0:11:35 > 0:11:37some serious problems of its own.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41The king's orders are the king's orders.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43(If only it were that simple.)
0:11:45 > 0:11:49For a start, its commander, the Duke of Medina Sidonia,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53was at loggerheads with his deputy, Admiral Juan Martinez de Recalde.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58We're gaining the wind, closing for the kill.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01We will sail forth and fulfil the king's plan.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Medina Sidonia was another administrator.
0:12:05 > 0:12:11He had spent barely any time at all at sea
0:12:11 > 0:12:14and would be seasick in a rowing boat.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16This is war, sir.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Recalde is a sort of Spanish counterpart to Drake.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24A man of action who believes, "This is my objective.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28"Nothing is going to get in my way from achieving it."
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Recalde had wanted to take an English harbour to secure
0:12:33 > 0:12:37a safe base and wait for news from Parma and his army.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42But he was overruled by the inexperienced Medina Sidonia,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46who'd ordered the fleet to sail for the exposed coast of Calais
0:12:46 > 0:12:49to be as close to the army as possible.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55The problem was that despite repeated efforts,
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Medina Sidonia hadn't received any word from the Duke of Parma
0:12:59 > 0:13:01as to where or when their forces would meet.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08Now, within touching distance, news finally came from Parma.
0:13:10 > 0:13:11But it was devastating.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Parma wrote that he "had not yet embarked
0:13:15 > 0:13:19"so much as a barrel of beer, let alone a single soldier"
0:13:19 > 0:13:22and he couldn't possibly be ready to join forces
0:13:22 > 0:13:24"until at least the following Friday,"
0:13:24 > 0:13:25which was a whole week away.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Medina Sidonia was horrified.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30He'd raced all the way up the Channel trying to make this
0:13:30 > 0:13:33rendezvous that turned out not to be a rendezvous at all.
0:13:39 > 0:13:40To be fair, Saul,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43the Duke of Parma has got every reason not to be ready.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45He's got 300 barges ready
0:13:45 > 0:13:47for his troops to embark.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49But he can't get his troops on
0:13:49 > 0:13:51until he knows where the Armada is.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Remember, they haven't been able to
0:13:53 > 0:13:55talk to each other at all until now.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57That's true but, of course,
0:13:57 > 0:13:59he's been a little bit too clever for his own good, I think,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01the Duke of Parma, because
0:14:01 > 0:14:03to put English spies off the scent,
0:14:03 > 0:14:05to try and confuse them about his intentions,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07he's actually dispersed his forces
0:14:07 > 0:14:10and it's going to take him time to regroup them.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14So, pretty much you're stuck on the wrong side of the Channel.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18This is no place to tarry.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21The king's plan... We are trapped.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22Trapped.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24There is no sign of our valiant army.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Enough!
0:14:26 > 0:14:27We wait for Parma.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Medina Sidonia was taking a huge risk.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38Now he had to spend an entire week with his fleet on this
0:14:38 > 0:14:42exposed stretch of coast with his English enemy
0:14:42 > 0:14:44looming out there to the west.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50The vast Armada was, for the first time,
0:14:50 > 0:14:52unexpectedly vulnerable to attack.
0:15:02 > 0:15:03Isolated in his palace,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07the usually meticulous Spanish king had never realised
0:15:07 > 0:15:11that his invasion plan depended on some very complex logistics.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17There was a fatal flaw in Philip's master plan.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Bizarrely, he was astonishingly vague about exactly how and where
0:15:21 > 0:15:26the Spanish Armada would meet up with the army of the Duke of Parma.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28It's almost as though he thought the English Channel
0:15:28 > 0:15:32was a small scrap of water on which it would be easy to meet.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35In fact, of course, it's a long stretch of sea,
0:15:35 > 0:15:39350 miles long, 20 miles wide at its narrowest point.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46Philip assumed that his army and his Armada could simply send
0:15:46 > 0:15:49notes to one another saying where and when they should meet.
0:15:51 > 0:15:56But at sea, surrounded by the enemy, that had so far proved impossible.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02Now, on 7th August, Philip at last became aware of the problem.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08From a messenger.
0:16:09 > 0:16:10From Parma?
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Parma has written to Philip before
0:16:16 > 0:16:18pointing out the failure,
0:16:18 > 0:16:20the absence of any mechanism
0:16:20 > 0:16:23for the fleet and the army to join together,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25but perhaps he was too subtle.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Professor Geoffrey Parker is the world's foremost expert
0:16:29 > 0:16:31on King Philip
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and has spent a lifetime unearthing documents that take us
0:16:34 > 0:16:36to the very heart of the Armada.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41This letter had been sent from the Duke of Parma
0:16:41 > 0:16:43a full two months earlier
0:16:43 > 0:16:45and it made very uncomfortable reading.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51This letter arrives at The Escorial on the 7th August,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54the very day on which the Armada is stationed off Calais.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00And in it, the Duke of Parma expresses just one more time
0:17:00 > 0:17:04his worry that there's still no mechanism for joining
0:17:04 > 0:17:07the Armada from Spain with the army.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11This time the penny drops
0:17:11 > 0:17:13because we see in the margin the king has written,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16"Please, God, may there not be a screw-up."
0:17:16 > 0:17:18"Embarazo" is the word he uses.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21So for the first time, the king becomes aware that
0:17:21 > 0:17:24there's a fatal flaw in the master plan.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35The funny thing was that both sides,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38English and Spanish, thought the other had the upper hand.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41But the strategic balance had shifted.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46Without Parma's army, the Spanish plan was falling apart.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49The Spanish Armada, by itself, probably didn't have enough troops
0:17:49 > 0:17:51to mount a successful invasion of England.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54And Parma's army, without the Spanish Armada,
0:17:54 > 0:17:56would struggle to get across the Channel.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59And if it did, it wouldn't have the heavy artillery it needed
0:17:59 > 0:18:02to capture English towns like London.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05So, although they didn't know it at this stage,
0:18:05 > 0:18:06the English had the upper hand.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11But as far as Drake and Howard were concerned,
0:18:11 > 0:18:13an invasion could be just hours away.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18We have no choice but to strike now.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20That is the only choice I want.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25The English had to act fast.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29But they knew it was dangerous to attack the Armada
0:18:29 > 0:18:31anchored in its defensive formation.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36So they came up with a desperate, last-ditch plan.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40The idea was to cause maximum panic on the Spanish ships,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44paving the way for the English to strike them hard the following day.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46The plan called for eight old ships,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49plenty of cannonballs and explosives.
0:18:49 > 0:18:50It was time for the fireships.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Fireships had been used since the ancient Greeks.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59They were a classic method for disrupting a fleet, destroying
0:18:59 > 0:19:03it by fire or at least breaking it up and forcing it to flee.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05An Italian engineer called Giambelli had already given
0:19:05 > 0:19:07the Spanish every reason to fear fireships.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10He created these things called the Hellburners of Antwerp
0:19:10 > 0:19:12that had killed 800 Spanish troops.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Drake and Howard remembered just how devastating his fireships
0:19:17 > 0:19:20had been at Antwerp and they decided to copy his idea.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22They didn't have enough explosives to make them
0:19:22 > 0:19:24quite as apocalyptic as Giambelli's ships
0:19:24 > 0:19:26but they did gamble on the fact that the Spanish would panic
0:19:26 > 0:19:30at the mere sight of burning ships heading towards their fleet.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Tides and westerly breeze are in our favour.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38Pray God they remain so.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Pray God, Elizabeth and St George and even bloody Neptune!
0:19:42 > 0:19:45I don't care, we must seize this moment.
0:19:45 > 0:19:46We must.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56Howard asked his commanders to volunteer eight ships between them.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58With little hesitation, Drake handed one over...
0:19:59 > 0:20:02..and the other commanders quickly followed.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Their alacrity at offering up boats to be sacrificed wasn't
0:20:07 > 0:20:11quite as generous or as patriotic as it might at first appear.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13They realised they'd be able to claim compensation
0:20:13 > 0:20:16and of course that amount would be a lot more
0:20:16 > 0:20:18than the old boat was worth.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Once a pirate, always a pirate.
0:20:27 > 0:20:28Ball's here, wadding...
0:20:32 > 0:20:36The principle is quite simple. You strip off anything of value.
0:20:36 > 0:20:41You paint the masts and rigging with tar, you fill it with combustible
0:20:41 > 0:20:46material and you double shot the guns so the heat sends them off.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Load Cherubim and Seraphim with two shots apiece.
0:20:49 > 0:20:50Aye, sir, 'tis done.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53A little present from El Draco.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Given the flood tide, you send them off,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00sailed by skeleton volunteer crews who leap into their little boats
0:21:00 > 0:21:05just before the fireships reach their target.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10The obvious danger of a fireship is that if it rams your ship,
0:21:10 > 0:21:12your ship will catch fire as well.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18The greatest fear of any sailor in a wooden ship is fire at sea.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22There's no escape, you either drown or you burn to death.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28- Are we ready?- We can hurt them.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40At midnight, the skeleton crews
0:21:40 > 0:21:42on board the fireships
0:21:42 > 0:21:44ignited their hulls and let them
0:21:44 > 0:21:47drift toward the anchored Spanish.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52BELLS RING
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Medina Sidonia had suspected that the English might try
0:21:57 > 0:22:00something like this so he'd put a screen of small boats
0:22:00 > 0:22:01around the Armada to protect it.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04They did manage to tow away two of the fireships.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07But the rest of the burning vessels sailed on
0:22:07 > 0:22:10right into the heart of the Spanish Armada.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15As the six remaining fireships drifted ever nearer,
0:22:15 > 0:22:18the Spaniards looked on in horror.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Raise the anchor. Move! And fast!
0:22:29 > 0:22:32The problem with fireships is that, by very definition,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34they are on fire, they've got no crew on, so actually
0:22:34 > 0:22:37they are relatively easy to avoid. Medina Sidonia had given
0:22:37 > 0:22:39orders to avoid the fireships.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42And all of his captains managed to do that.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44They do it but how do they do it?
0:22:44 > 0:22:47They panic, of course, because he's effectively said to them
0:22:47 > 0:22:50you can manoeuvre, bring up your anchors and get out of the way.
0:22:50 > 0:22:51They don't do that, they cut their anchors.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54And the problem with cutting an anchor
0:22:54 > 0:22:55is you cannot then re-anchor.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57It's a tactical disaster in terms
0:22:57 > 0:22:58of the overall plan here.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01And the Armada is heading, in flight,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03away from Calais.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07I'll accept that there was extreme panic in Calais Roads.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09But they all still managed to get out,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12leaving just a handful of ships
0:23:12 > 0:23:14fighting for their lives, I admit,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16on the Flanders' banks.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Drake's audacious plan worked.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29The enemy's ships were scattered and vulnerable.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33Now, for the first time, the English could launch an all-out attack.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39And just possibly save England and Elizabeth.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54As her household made the last arrangements to leave Richmond,
0:23:54 > 0:23:59Elizabeth awoke knowing nothing of the night's events.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03As far as she knew, the Spanish army might already be crossing
0:24:03 > 0:24:06the Channel, escorted by a victorious Armada.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10The Queen didn't know
0:24:10 > 0:24:14if she'd still be wearing England's crown by nightfall.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Do stop fussing.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20You act as if what you do is more important than
0:24:20 > 0:24:22the defence of England.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Ladies, please grant Her Majesty some peace.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31We can only imagine Elizabeth's state of mind.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34I mean, this is a conflict she sought to avoid,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36this a confrontation that
0:24:36 > 0:24:40has now moved beyond her control and she simply is in a position
0:24:40 > 0:24:45of waiting for the inevitable news of England falling to the Spanish.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50As Elizabeth prepared for the journey downriver to London...
0:24:50 > 0:24:51SHE SIGHS
0:24:53 > 0:24:55I am drained.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59..Walsingham and Burghley continued to organise the country's
0:24:59 > 0:25:02last-ditch defence,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04preparing the English for invasion
0:25:04 > 0:25:07by spreading propaganda about the hated Spanish.
0:25:11 > 0:25:18Hispanophobia, the fear of Spanish, is rife and Walsingham
0:25:18 > 0:25:22and Burghley ramped up this fear for very good reasons, they wanted to
0:25:22 > 0:25:27stiffen the resolve of the English people if there was an invasion.
0:25:27 > 0:25:33Because, after all, every able-bodied man over the age of 16
0:25:33 > 0:25:37would be expected to take up arms to defend the country.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41I have here a proclamation, a draft proclamation,
0:25:41 > 0:25:46which was sent enclosed in a letter from Burghley to Walsingham.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50It shows the heightened rhetoric that they are playing on.
0:25:50 > 0:25:55It refers to "A full tyrannical conquest of the country,
0:25:55 > 0:26:01"the depriving of Her Majesty and the slaughter of her subjects."
0:26:01 > 0:26:05Walsingham went even further in his rhetoric
0:26:05 > 0:26:09in trying to inculcate a sense of fear.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11And he almost referred to
0:26:11 > 0:26:15a sort of sense of genocide and ethnic cleansing,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19that children over the age of seven would be slaughtered,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22that babies would be branded in the face,
0:26:22 > 0:26:26that women would be raped and whipped.
0:26:26 > 0:26:31And what this did was to whip up a sense of fear in the people
0:26:31 > 0:26:35of England, a fear of Spanish invasion.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44In fact, on the morning of the 8th August,
0:26:44 > 0:26:49the Spanish were in disarray and further from invasion than ever.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52HE SINGS
0:26:52 > 0:26:55As morning mass was celebrated, Medina Sidonia
0:26:55 > 0:26:59and Recalde took stock of the previous night's disastrous events.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Most of the Armada had fled and was now scattered.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Only five Spanish ships remained anchored off Calais,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14including Medina Sidonia's flagship.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Facing them, the entire English fleet,
0:27:21 > 0:27:22preparing to attack.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33All was now set for the largest confrontation
0:27:33 > 0:27:35of the Armada campaign.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Monday, 8th August, 1588 has gone down as the date of one
0:27:38 > 0:27:41of the greatest naval battles in history -
0:27:41 > 0:27:43the Battle of Gravelines -
0:27:43 > 0:27:45named after the town of Gravelines just here on the coast.
0:27:45 > 0:27:50The stakes were high - the fate of England and its queen,
0:27:50 > 0:27:54the primacy of Spain as a military and imperial power,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57and the future of Christianity, all hung in the balance.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07Howard's fleet was now joined by 35 ships from Kent,
0:28:07 > 0:28:09filled with fresh stocks of ammunition.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15For the first time, the English navy outnumbered the Armada.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17Shot and wad, boys, shot and wad!
0:28:17 > 0:28:19Make sure that coin is fast!
0:28:20 > 0:28:22And with all he'd learned over the past ten days,
0:28:22 > 0:28:28Drake was determined to destroy the Spanish once and for all.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30Sailing as close as he dared,
0:28:30 > 0:28:35so that the English cannon could do maximum damage to the enemy ships.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37Until I say, you never stop!
0:28:37 > 0:28:41At 6 o'clock in the morning, Drake's squadron attacks,
0:28:41 > 0:28:43led by the Vice-Admiral.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51Drake sweeps in, firing his bow guns,
0:28:51 > 0:28:53heels over and gives
0:28:53 > 0:28:56the Spanish ships a rippling broadside from his port battery.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04EXPLOSIONS AND SHOUTS
0:29:13 > 0:29:15Clear the pigs!
0:29:15 > 0:29:18And then the rest of the English fleet attack.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21The English coming in close for the first time.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31But the Spanish were not about to retreat from the fight.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33Up till now, Sam, the English,
0:29:33 > 0:29:34I think, have very sensibly
0:29:34 > 0:29:37kept their distance, they've been fighting
0:29:37 > 0:29:38maybe at 100 or 200 yards.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42But this is different. This is the decisive battle developing now.
0:29:42 > 0:29:43And Medina Sidonia knows
0:29:43 > 0:29:45he needs to do something.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47So he's here, Drake attacks him -
0:29:47 > 0:29:49he goes straight for the Spanish flagship,
0:29:49 > 0:29:53but the Spanish here fight a very, very important
0:29:53 > 0:29:55rearguard action that allows the
0:29:55 > 0:29:57rest of the ships time to reform.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00And so, displaying immense seamanship,
0:30:00 > 0:30:01the rest of the ships
0:30:01 > 0:30:05turn around and face the English.
0:30:06 > 0:30:11EXPLOSIONS AND SHOUTS
0:30:23 > 0:30:24MUFFLED SHOUTS
0:30:30 > 0:30:32The battle was very fierce but also very confused.
0:30:32 > 0:30:33The weather was terrible.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36There was cloud, rainstorms and wind.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38And that was made even worse by the huge banks of gun smoke,
0:30:38 > 0:30:41caused by all the cannons firing so much.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44Through it all, the English pressed home their attacks with new energy.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46Keep pressing, men!
0:30:52 > 0:30:56The English are closing in, causing structural damage.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00Now, the Spanish ships are taking a terrible pounding.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03It goes on for eight hours with
0:31:03 > 0:31:04the English just coming again
0:31:04 > 0:31:05and again and again at them.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08You get a real sense that this proximity of fighting,
0:31:08 > 0:31:10this new way of doing it is having a
0:31:10 > 0:31:12massive effect on the Spanish ships.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16Part of the problem is the disparity in the rate of fire
0:31:16 > 0:31:18between the two sides.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20The San Martin fires off 300 cannon balls
0:31:20 > 0:31:22but it's got almost 50 cannon,
0:31:22 > 0:31:24that's just over one an hour.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27I mean, the English are firing five times as quickly.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30The Spanish have no respite.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33They simply haven't got the time to reload their cannon.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36It helps you understand just how
0:31:36 > 0:31:38one-sided this battle was.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46The battle damage is becoming severe.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59We have Spanish warships who are struggling to keep afloat.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03The carnage is terrifying to see.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06You like what we're giving to you?
0:32:06 > 0:32:07Bastards!
0:32:12 > 0:32:14On board the Spanish ships,
0:32:14 > 0:32:17the salvos of cannon fire caused devastation.
0:32:21 > 0:32:22Forward and then the two back.
0:32:22 > 0:32:23Yes!
0:32:25 > 0:32:28Using a pig carcass, it's possible to understand the mortal
0:32:28 > 0:32:31peril the sailors faced that day.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34A four-pound ball was one of the smallest
0:32:34 > 0:32:36used during the battle of Gravelines.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Others were up to 15 times the size.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45Four, three, two, one.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21We've hit it fair and square on this massive oak target.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25On the inside, you've got all these splinters.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29You can see the jagged effect. Huge splinter come off.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33This would not do you any good at all if it hit you.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43There's a nasty hole there
0:33:43 > 0:33:47and inside the flesh there's a chunk of oak.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50A nasty jagged chunk of oak.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53This is really a serious injury.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Onboard, the air was filled with splinters of oak
0:33:59 > 0:34:02that mowed down hundreds of Spanish soldiers and sailors.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09For gun crews below deck there was no escape.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12If you were hit during the Armada battles, then you've got
0:34:12 > 0:34:14several problems to contend with.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17First of all, there's the immediate problem of the massive trauma
0:34:17 > 0:34:20wound you may have suffered, either from some piece of flying
0:34:20 > 0:34:23wood or if you were unlucky enough to get hit by a cannon ball.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27Has it ruptured your internal organs, has it blown a limb apart?
0:34:27 > 0:34:31If you survive that, you've then got to survive what the
0:34:31 > 0:34:33barber surgeon is about to do to you.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41Major amputation causes one of the biggest
0:34:41 > 0:34:45problems for the barber surgeon and especially for the patient.
0:34:45 > 0:34:47HE YELLS
0:34:47 > 0:34:50First of all, there's the physical difficulty of hacking through
0:34:50 > 0:34:52the bone and flesh of a patient.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55They would need to use something like this, which is
0:34:55 > 0:34:58a Tudor bone saw. Now, bearing in mind, if we're amputating the arm,
0:34:58 > 0:35:01that's going through one of the biggest bones in the body
0:35:01 > 0:35:04and some of the most hefty tendons.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07It's physically very difficult to saw through the arm.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10It requires the services not only of this,
0:35:10 > 0:35:14but of several large, burly men to hold the patient down.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18But then even if you survive that,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21you've got a further stage, which is to stop the bleeding
0:35:21 > 0:35:26but then to survive the infections that can creep in from infected,
0:35:26 > 0:35:29dirty instruments or even the surgeon's hands.
0:35:35 > 0:35:40As the battle raged on, 85 Spanish doctors on board the Armada
0:35:40 > 0:35:43were overwhelmed by the wounded and the dying.
0:35:44 > 0:35:45It was a bloodbath.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54Official Spanish casualty figures put the number of Spanish dead
0:35:54 > 0:35:55at 600, the wounded at 1,000.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59But some historians think this is very conservative and they've
0:35:59 > 0:36:04calculated that as many as 6,000 Spanish could have been wounded.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07But whatever the numbers, the fact was that the English fleet
0:36:07 > 0:36:09here at the Battle of Gravelines
0:36:09 > 0:36:12had given the Spanish Armada a terrible battering.
0:36:15 > 0:36:20Finally, the Spanish fleet was at England's mercy.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22I mean, it looks at this point that it's going to be a famous
0:36:22 > 0:36:25decisive victory and that the Spanish fleet are going to be
0:36:25 > 0:36:26completely destroyed
0:36:26 > 0:36:28by this superior English gunnery.
0:36:28 > 0:36:29There's just one problem,
0:36:29 > 0:36:31the English are running out of ammunition.
0:36:31 > 0:36:36And so, finally, at about 5 o'clock, Howard calls off the attack.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42Even with the fresh supplies of gunpowder and shot from Kent,
0:36:42 > 0:36:45Howard did not have enough ammunition to finish the job.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49A spirited fight, they are smarting more than we are.
0:36:49 > 0:36:54The English have not landed any kind of killer blow. Why?
0:36:54 > 0:36:58Because they were handicapped all the time by a shortage
0:36:58 > 0:37:00of ammunition, shortage of gunpowder.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08So even though English sailors had outfought the greatest
0:37:08 > 0:37:11military fleet the world had ever seen,
0:37:11 > 0:37:14the Armada escaped total destruction.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33Now safely ensconced in St James's Palace,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Elizabeth was about to receive news of the victory at Gravelines.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43But Walsingham and Burghley were acutely aware that even badly
0:37:43 > 0:37:46damaged, the Armada still remained a dangerous threat.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54Gentlemen.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56The Spanish are heading north.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00So we have prevailed?
0:38:00 > 0:38:04They could turn back. They could even land.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07I pray not. This whole enterprise is bankrupting us.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09There is more to war than book-keeping.
0:38:11 > 0:38:12Elizabeth always wanted
0:38:12 > 0:38:13to achieve her results
0:38:13 > 0:38:15at the cheapest possible price.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18She hated spending a penny on anything and she simply
0:38:18 > 0:38:22refused any more supplies, either of food or of ammunition.
0:38:23 > 0:38:29Walsingham, we all know that your ideal would be for England to
0:38:29 > 0:38:33spend everything on building your war machine.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37We only follow where you lead, Your Majesty.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39Indeed.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43It is the Almighty who has kept us safe.
0:38:43 > 0:38:44Amen.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51Elizabeth's concern for her cash-strapped economy
0:38:51 > 0:38:54rather than the will to press home victory,
0:38:54 > 0:38:57meant she was still gambling with her own -
0:38:57 > 0:38:59and her country's - future.
0:39:01 > 0:39:06And at 11 o'clock on the 9th August, that gamble paid off.
0:39:07 > 0:39:12The wind direction suddenly changed and the Armada was blown north,
0:39:12 > 0:39:15far from the Duke of Parma's army.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18The wind had finally done what the English had been trying to do
0:39:18 > 0:39:21all along, which was push the Spanish Armada
0:39:21 > 0:39:23out of the English Channel and into the North Sea.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32It's long been thought that this was the moment the Armada threat
0:39:32 > 0:39:34was finally at an end.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36Many ships were in a desperate state.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40And sailing back into the Channel, against prevailing winds,
0:39:40 > 0:39:42was almost impossible.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45So it seemed like the planned invasion was over.
0:39:47 > 0:39:52But a remarkable recent discovery has revealed one more twist...
0:39:53 > 0:39:56..an incredible eyewitness account of the Armada,
0:39:56 > 0:40:00written by Recalde, and discovered by Professor Geoffrey Parker.
0:40:02 > 0:40:07He was the first person to read it in over 400 years.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11And this account revealed something utterly unexpected.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16That even after the Battle of Gravelines,
0:40:16 > 0:40:20Recalde believed the Armada could still fight,
0:40:20 > 0:40:22rendezvous with Parma
0:40:22 > 0:40:23and invade.
0:40:24 > 0:40:29Recalde kept a log and it's the log of a very, very irritated man.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33Recalde clearly thought that honour required a second attempt.
0:40:33 > 0:40:38And he must have made his views felt at the Council of War.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41We must resolve how to proceed.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43We owe it to our king to return to the Channel
0:40:43 > 0:40:45and execute what he commanded.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48We must come to blows with our enemies once more.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53Medina Sidonia could still do his duty
0:40:53 > 0:40:55and fulfil his monarch's wishes.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58But his courage failed him.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03The Duke of Medina Sidonia also keeps a log
0:41:03 > 0:41:07and his log for that day suggests that they discussed what to do next
0:41:07 > 0:41:12and there was a unanimous decision to set sail for Spain going north,
0:41:12 > 0:41:14about going round Scotland and Ireland
0:41:14 > 0:41:16and heading back to Spain that way.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21I propose that we sail westwards around the British Isles
0:41:21 > 0:41:22and return home.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26It is our duty to save as many of the king's ships as possible.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28And face his wrath...
0:41:30 > 0:41:31Are we in agreement?
0:41:33 > 0:41:35Then it is decided.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37Nothing is impossible!
0:41:38 > 0:41:43We hold firm, we make rendezvous with Parma and proceed.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46We are homeward bound.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48HE HITS THE TABLE
0:41:48 > 0:41:52The plague on whoever is responsible.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54Medina Sidonia says there's a unanimous decision.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56We go back to Spain.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00Recalde says, "I didn't like this. I protested but I was overruled."
0:42:00 > 0:42:01They can't both be right.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06It just happens that we have another account from a senior commander
0:42:06 > 0:42:10who backs Recalde's account to the hilt and says there was
0:42:10 > 0:42:15a decision to go back to Spain and, "We protested and we were overruled."
0:42:15 > 0:42:16I think I believe Recalde.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27What is certain is that on the following day,
0:42:27 > 0:42:30the 10th August, Medina Sidonia announced that the
0:42:30 > 0:42:33remnants of the Spanish Armada would travel back to Spain.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36And they'd go via the North Sea and the North Atlantic,
0:42:36 > 0:42:38around England, Scotland and Ireland.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46Humiliated and depressed, Medina Sidonia took to his cabin.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50The Spanish Armada had been defeated.
0:43:18 > 0:43:24Back in London, Elizabeth remained closeted away in St James's Palace.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28But as the vanquished Armada sailed north and the danger clearly
0:43:28 > 0:43:33passed, she decided it was time to present herself to her subjects.
0:43:33 > 0:43:34It's very important for Elizabeth
0:43:34 > 0:43:37to be publicly identified with
0:43:37 > 0:43:41the victory, particularly as she is a female ruler.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45Women do not know anything about matters of war.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48And so, Elizabeth wants to be identified
0:43:48 > 0:43:50as this great warrior queen.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53She wants to show herself in victory.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58Elizabeth's emergence from St James's Palace was quite deliberate,
0:43:58 > 0:44:00quite calculated
0:44:00 > 0:44:01and absolutely necessary.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05I mean, London was full of rumour, of speculation,
0:44:05 > 0:44:08and disorder was feared.
0:44:08 > 0:44:10She needed to come out and put on a show.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16It was time for Elizabeth to write one of the greatest political
0:44:16 > 0:44:17speeches in history.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24Wherefore I am come among you at this time...
0:44:25 > 0:44:29..not for my recreation or pleasure,
0:44:29 > 0:44:35but being resolved in the heat and midst of battle...
0:44:37 > 0:44:39..to live and die amongst you all.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43What comes next?
0:44:44 > 0:44:47"Die amongst you all..." To lay down.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50To lay down, yes, of course.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02Tilbury Fort was where Elizabeth's troops were billeted,
0:45:02 > 0:45:05and it gave her the perfect opportunity
0:45:05 > 0:45:06to show herself to her people.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10She could progress all the way from Westminster to Tilbury,
0:45:10 > 0:45:13across the length of the Thames, and her people could see her.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17It's almost like she's saying, "Here I am. I'm fine."
0:45:17 > 0:45:20This was great PR, it was like a river pageant.
0:45:24 > 0:45:28With church bells ringing in her ears, she mounted a white horse.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30Accompanied by an honour guard
0:45:30 > 0:45:33of 1,000 cavalrymen and 2,000 infantrymen,
0:45:33 > 0:45:37she made her way here to where her army was encamped at Tilbury Fort.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41Legend has it that she was wearing an armoured breastplate over her
0:45:41 > 0:45:45dress as she reviewed all 17,000 men in her army.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48Then came the piece de resistance.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53..to lay down, for my God
0:45:53 > 0:45:58and for my kingdom and for my people...
0:45:59 > 0:46:05..my honour and my blood, even in the dust.
0:46:08 > 0:46:14I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman
0:46:14 > 0:46:18but I have the heart and stomach of a king.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21And a king of England too.
0:46:21 > 0:46:27And take foul scorn that Parma or any prince of Europe
0:46:27 > 0:46:31should dare invade the borders of my realm.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36The speech was pure gold. It was magnificent.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39It's up there with Shakespeare's Henry V.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42She was acknowledging that she's a woman, but she's saying
0:46:42 > 0:46:46she has the heart and stomach of a king and a king of England!
0:46:46 > 0:46:48You know, this is all part of the Gloriana myth.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53As a piece of propaganda,
0:46:53 > 0:46:56Elizabeth's speech here at Tilbury was unrivalled.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59Word of it quickly spread throughout the rest of the kingdom.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02She knew full well that she wasn't just addressing
0:47:02 > 0:47:05the men in the army here - she was talking to the whole nation.
0:47:09 > 0:47:14This great heroine, a Protestant heroine who had defeated
0:47:14 > 0:47:17the Spanish advance, who had defended England
0:47:17 > 0:47:20against the Spanish, against this Catholic crusade.
0:47:20 > 0:47:25So it was absolutely central to the myth making of Elizabeth.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29It was central to understandings of the success of Elizabeth's
0:47:29 > 0:47:33reign and very much explains why she is celebrated
0:47:33 > 0:47:36today as one of England's greatest monarchs.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39Medals were cast.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42It shows the Spanish Armada foundering on these rocks.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44It's got the date and it's got the words from a psalm
0:47:44 > 0:47:46written around the edge.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50"You God art great and doest wondrous things."
0:47:51 > 0:47:55Even Elizabeth got in on the action, she wrote poems and hymns,
0:47:55 > 0:47:57commemorating herself.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03But behind Elizabeth's glorification, there was a cold
0:48:03 > 0:48:08disregard for those who had saved her life and won her victory.
0:48:11 > 0:48:16The English fleet limped home, short of stores
0:48:16 > 0:48:19with the crews exhausted from battle,
0:48:19 > 0:48:23only to be shunned by a queen who cared more for money than
0:48:23 > 0:48:25for the men who'd brought her glory.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30One would have thought that Elizabeth's navy would have
0:48:30 > 0:48:33been covered in glory after the defeat of the Armada,
0:48:33 > 0:48:37but in fact, there's an astonishing audacity
0:48:37 > 0:48:39to what Elizabeth does next,
0:48:39 > 0:48:43because she actually criticises the commanders of her navy for not
0:48:43 > 0:48:47looting the Spanish ships enough and bringing her more riches.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50Victory, apparently, was not enough.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56And if her lack of gratitude to her commanders was surprising,
0:48:56 > 0:49:00the treatment of her sailors was far, far worse.
0:49:03 > 0:49:08When Howard and the ships returned, there was an epidemic of typhus,
0:49:08 > 0:49:10which swept through the English fleet,
0:49:10 > 0:49:15killing many of the sailors who had fought so bravely for her.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19Elizabeth refused to spend any money looking after them.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25One statistic tells the horrific story.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28Though England did not lose a single ship during the course
0:49:28 > 0:49:31of the battle with the Armada, yet the losses of men to disease
0:49:31 > 0:49:34and starvation meant that their losses equalled
0:49:34 > 0:49:38those of the Spanish, which lost half their fleet.
0:49:38 > 0:49:41And had Elizabeth's commanders not used their own money to
0:49:41 > 0:49:43provide some food and sustenance for these men,
0:49:43 > 0:49:47the death toll would have been even more horrific than it was.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51It's a stain on her character that I believe can never be erased.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56What does this treatment of the sailors tell us about Elizabeth?
0:49:56 > 0:50:01Well, Elizabeth is a lonely woman in a man's world.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05She has to be more hardnosed than anybody else.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09And so, those Tudor genes she inherited
0:50:09 > 0:50:13enabled her to look very callous,
0:50:13 > 0:50:17to look very cruel in her treatment,
0:50:17 > 0:50:21but in the 16th century this wasn't unusual.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24She was just better at it than others.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38- HE PRAYS IN SPANISH:- Padre nuestro que estas en los cielos
0:50:38 > 0:50:42Santificado sea tu nombre
0:50:42 > 0:50:43Venga tu reino...
0:50:43 > 0:50:46Whilst England and Elizabeth celebrated victory,
0:50:46 > 0:50:51far away in Spain, Philip II continued to pray for success.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57More than three weeks after the decisive battle,
0:50:57 > 0:51:00he was still unaware of the Armada's terrible fate.
0:51:02 > 0:51:08He had heard nothing from the Armada as to their progress,
0:51:08 > 0:51:10even where they were,
0:51:10 > 0:51:14but he was now becoming worried
0:51:14 > 0:51:18that his plan had been fatally flawed.
0:51:18 > 0:51:23And he prayed three hours at a time,
0:51:23 > 0:51:24on his knees.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27I mean, victory should be his.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32"Isn't God on my side?"
0:51:37 > 0:51:42Then, at last, on the 31st August, as the remnants of his Armada
0:51:42 > 0:51:46struggled past the Hebrides, news finally arrived.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51It's a letter from Parma himself
0:51:51 > 0:51:56saying that the vital precondition for invasion has not been met,
0:51:56 > 0:52:00that is to say the fleet and the army have not 'joined hands'.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06That's bad but even worse is the news that comes three days later
0:52:06 > 0:52:10that the Armada has decided to set sail for home,
0:52:10 > 0:52:11going around Scotland and Ireland.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19Philip has to shoulder a lot of responsibility for the failure
0:52:19 > 0:52:20of the Armada.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28And above all, Philip trusted too much in God,
0:52:28 > 0:52:32he had this blind faith that it didn't matter how bad or how
0:52:32 > 0:52:35flawed his strategy was, because God would make it work.
0:52:38 > 0:52:43Too much could go wrong and lo, it did all go wrong.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48God not only deserted the Spanish monarch,
0:52:48 > 0:52:51but also the Armada as it struggled home.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58Because for the sailors who'd survived battle,
0:52:58 > 0:52:59there was even worse to come.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04Terrible storms drove many of the Spanish Armada ships
0:53:04 > 0:53:08onto the rocky coasts of Scotland and Ireland.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10Perhaps 40 ships were lost.
0:53:10 > 0:53:15Around 12,000 men drowned, died of exhaustion and hunger,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18or were killed by the Irish or English.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22Perhaps as little as 65 ships ended up returning home.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26Around half the men were killed, including many of the commanders.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29No wonder one monk in The Escorial called it
0:53:29 > 0:53:32"The worst disaster to affect Spain for 600 years."
0:53:39 > 0:53:43The Duke of Medina Sidonia was one of the lucky few.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46His ship limped home in late September.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49But he was utterly humiliated.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53As he passes through the towns of Castile, people call him
0:53:53 > 0:53:55Chicken Duke - Duque de Gallina.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58And people ring his residence where he's sleeping
0:53:58 > 0:54:00and say, "Drake, Drake, Drake is coming.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02"Drake, Drake, Drake is coming."
0:54:05 > 0:54:08But hey, he survives, the rest of them don't.
0:54:09 > 0:54:15For Juan Martinez de Recalde, exhausted and sick with typhus,
0:54:15 > 0:54:17this would be his last campaign.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22Recalde gets back. I mean, he's a superb sailor,
0:54:22 > 0:54:25but when he comes ashore he already knows that the Armada has
0:54:25 > 0:54:29failed, he already knows that many, many other ships are not coming home.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31And three days later, he dies.
0:54:33 > 0:54:38Before he dies, he puts together this incriminating dossier,
0:54:38 > 0:54:40and he sends it all to the king,
0:54:40 > 0:54:43hoping to take down the Duke of Medina Sidonia.
0:54:45 > 0:54:50Its pages reveal every beat of the Armada campaign from the inside.
0:54:52 > 0:54:54From the moment it approached Plymouth
0:54:54 > 0:54:58to the battle for the Isle of Wight,
0:54:58 > 0:55:01and the tragedy of Gravelines,
0:55:01 > 0:55:05this is an experienced warrior's indictment
0:55:05 > 0:55:07of his pen-pushing commander.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16We know the king reads it because Philip writes, "I've read it all,
0:55:16 > 0:55:20"although I would rather not have done because it hurts so much."
0:55:20 > 0:55:24But because Recalde's dead, he files it away
0:55:24 > 0:55:27and it stays in these files until I find it 400 years later.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35- As for Philip himself, - HE COUGHS
0:55:35 > 0:55:38he also never recovered from his Armada's destruction.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44Philip's health started to deteriorate, he suffered from
0:55:44 > 0:55:47malarial fevers, his gout got worse,
0:55:47 > 0:55:51and he had this incapacitating arthritis,
0:55:51 > 0:55:54but he still believed that God was on his side.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57So he sent two more Armadas against Elizabeth
0:55:57 > 0:55:59and they were both foiled by the weather,
0:55:59 > 0:56:02but he remained at war with England until his death.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13Philip's great Protestant enemy, Elizabeth, was also ageing.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15Her physical powers waning.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20But her public image went from strength to strength.
0:56:21 > 0:56:27And we can see that in one glorious painting - the Armada Portrait.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33Behind Elizabeth, through two windows,
0:56:33 > 0:56:34are the defeated Armada
0:56:34 > 0:56:37and her victorious navy.
0:56:38 > 0:56:42But a youthful queen sits centre stage,
0:56:42 > 0:56:46bedecked in pearls and wearing the imperial crown.
0:56:48 > 0:56:53We don't see the frail, fading woman that Elizabeth's ladies saw.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57It says that her best years are ahead of her.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00And where the codpiece should have been, had she been a king,
0:57:00 > 0:57:04there is a pretty pink bow with a pearl pendant.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07This is the Virgin Queen,
0:57:07 > 0:57:11she is impregnable, and she is invincible, and so is England.
0:57:11 > 0:57:16She was now firmly established as the great Gloriana,
0:57:16 > 0:57:18the triumph of England.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21It was really the birth of national identity
0:57:21 > 0:57:26and that identity was inextricably bound with Elizabeth herself.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32I think this is a pivotal point really in the development
0:57:32 > 0:57:35of England as a world power.
0:57:35 > 0:57:39This victory goes to England's head in a way that, perhaps,
0:57:39 > 0:57:40has never really died.
0:57:46 > 0:57:48If Spain had won,
0:57:48 > 0:57:51the chances are her empire would have gone from strength to strength.
0:57:51 > 0:57:55Instead, the defeat of the Armada is seen as the beginning
0:57:55 > 0:58:00of Spain's decline and the start of England's formidable rise.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03In the painting, Elizabeth is resting her hand on a globe,
0:58:03 > 0:58:06her fingers touching the Americas.
0:58:07 > 0:58:09In the decades that followed the Armada,
0:58:09 > 0:58:13England and its navy would set about constructing what would
0:58:13 > 0:58:17become the greatest empire in the history of the world.
0:58:17 > 0:58:22CHORAL SINGING
0:58:27 > 0:58:32# They swear they'll invade us These terrible foes
0:58:32 > 0:58:36# They frighten our women Our children and beaus
0:58:36 > 0:58:41# But should their flat bottoms in darkness get o'er
0:58:41 > 0:58:45# Still Britons they'll find to receive them on shore
0:58:45 > 0:58:50# Heart of oak are our ships Heart of oak are our men
0:58:50 > 0:58:54# We always are ready Steady, boys, steady!
0:58:54 > 0:58:58# We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again. #