1 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:13,800 We remember Elizabeth I as one of our greatest monarchs. 2 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,360 Queen of Shakespearean England... 3 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:20,320 HINGES CREAK 4 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:22,800 ..patron of great voyages of discovery... 5 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,920 ..and protector of the Protestant Church of England. 6 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:33,360 But things could have been very different. 7 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:39,360 In the summer of 1588, 8 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:43,920 Elizabeth and the people of England faced an overwhelming threat. 9 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,240 The country was on the verge of invasion 10 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:48,760 by the most powerful military fleet 11 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,360 ever assembled - the Spanish Armada. 12 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:54,920 SHOUTS AND GUNSHOT 13 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,120 Defeat would have led to the imprisonment 14 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,720 and execution of Elizabeth... 15 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,160 My throne is unstable... 16 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:12,640 ..and a future for England under the control of Catholic Spain... 17 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,560 ..my kingdom tottering. 18 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,280 ..with dramatic consequences for the whole of Europe. 19 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:29,160 Now, to understand this defining moment in history, I'm going 20 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,280 to take to the waters I love... 21 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:33,520 Right, let's get out into the rough stuff. 22 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:36,240 ..following the course of the English navy as it battled 23 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,120 the Spanish Armada in the Channel. 24 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:40,520 There's now a howling gale, 25 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:44,080 similar conditions to the ones that Drake and the fleet faced. 26 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:48,640 While access to unique, eyewitness accounts... 27 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,880 This is one of the most remarkable letters I have ever seen. 28 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,880 ..will take us, for the very first time, 29 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:58,000 inside the minds of the commanders themselves... 30 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,000 Your problem is that your fleet is divided. 31 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,440 ..and offer unprecedented insight into the corridors of power 32 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,000 in England... 33 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:08,080 Gentlemen. 34 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:09,600 ..and Spain... 35 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:12,520 SHOUTING 36 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:16,280 ..allowing us to bring to life 12 days in the summer of 1588... 37 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:21,800 ..when England's very survival... 38 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:24,400 ..hung in the balance. 39 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:29,800 This is a tale of astonishing twists and turns, which saw England 40 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,480 and its Queen come within a whisker of disaster. 41 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:36,280 This is the real story of the Spanish Armada. 42 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:06,200 HORSES APPROACH 43 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:13,960 When Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of England, 44 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,520 woke on Friday the 29th of July 1588, 45 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:23,080 she knew that her life and her realm were in grave danger. 46 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:26,960 A good night? 47 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,000 My mind was tossing on the ocean. 48 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:40,520 The cause of Elizabeth's nightmares was 700 miles away. 49 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:45,120 King Philip II of Spain... 50 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:49,080 ..the most powerful man on earth, 51 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:52,200 hellbent on the Queen of England's destruction. 52 00:03:57,640 --> 00:03:59,840 His weapon, a mighty Armada. 53 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:05,080 125 ships... 54 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:08,720 ..packed with men... 55 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:12,040 ..bristling with cannon... 56 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,560 ..sent to crush a rogue state... 57 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,000 that stole from Spanish treasure ships... 58 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,920 and lived by the terrible heresies of Protestantism. 59 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:32,240 This was a crusade for the safety of Spain and the glory of God. 60 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:38,080 - Good morning, Your Majesty. - Good morning. 61 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:43,160 England was a small country on the very edge of Europe... 62 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:47,560 a Protestant outpost surrounded by Catholic powers. 63 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:49,400 Good morning, ladies. 64 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:56,320 Elizabeth had been in a cold-war standoff with Spain for years... 65 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:00,720 Your Majesty. 66 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:03,800 ..but now she knew that the Armada had sailed... 67 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,160 ..and she was under immense strain. 68 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:12,680 On the eve of the Armada, 69 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,040 Elizabeth is looking every single one of her 54 years. 70 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:18,200 Her skin is pockmarked, she had smallpox 71 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:20,720 when she was some 25 years younger, 72 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:24,040 her hair has largely fallen out. 73 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,480 So she really is looking like an old woman, even though 74 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:28,360 she's only in her mid-50s. 75 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:34,040 She was God's anointed. She was the head of the body politic. 76 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:38,480 She was England. Her face was the landscape of her country. 77 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:40,520 She couldn't afford for it to look 78 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:42,800 withered or decayed. 79 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:49,160 It was a mammoth operation getting Elizabeth ready in the morning, 80 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:52,960 and we're talking about make-up that one critic at the time described 81 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,080 as being half an inch thick. 82 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,600 Elizabeth is having to slap it on. 83 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,640 She would've certainly been startling in appearance, 84 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,000 almost frightening, I think. 85 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,000 And I think that was part of it for Elizabeth. 86 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,320 She didn't want to look like an ordinary human being. 87 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:13,840 She was appointed by God and therefore 88 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:19,080 she was going to appear at court as some kind of semi-godlike figure. 89 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:24,120 This was England's virgin queen... 90 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:27,240 ..ageing... 91 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:29,000 politically isolated... 92 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:30,360 Your Majesty. 93 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:31,520 Thank you, Blanche. 94 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:34,640 ..and under threat. 95 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:35,760 There we are, then. 96 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,400 200 miles from Elizabeth, on the coast of Devon, 97 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:49,480 the men of the English navy 98 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,360 were preparing for the battle of their lives. 99 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:58,120 I've been fascinated by the momentous battles of the Armada 100 00:06:58,120 --> 00:06:59,520 since I was a child... 101 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:05,400 ..and I've been sailing in the English Channel for just as long. 102 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:06,920 There you go, look at that! 103 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,560 Now, I'm going to be following every manoeuvre of the navy 104 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:17,440 and the Armada as they fought in these very waters 400 years ago. 105 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:25,320 But on the morning of Friday the 29th of July, 106 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:27,720 the English were still in harbour... 107 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,560 ..and they had no idea just how close the Spanish were. 108 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,680 Elizabeth had a big international network of spies and they'd spent 109 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:42,360 months learning all they could about Spain's preparations for the Armada. 110 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:45,400 But unfortunately, what none of them could tell the English government 111 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:48,960 was exactly where or when the Armada might arrive. 112 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,920 And that meant, through the early summer of 1588, 113 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:54,800 England was on high alert. 114 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:02,000 Over 100 ships had been assembled at Plymouth, 115 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,680 under the command of England's Lord High Admiral - 116 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:07,920 Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham. 117 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,560 Good afternoon, men. 118 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:14,840 Please, continue. 119 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,680 Howard was a leading aristocrat, a former ambassador to France 120 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:21,280 and Elizabeth's own cousin. 121 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:23,480 The problem was that Howard had never commanded 122 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:24,600 a fleet in battle before. 123 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:29,000 He was an administrator, he was used to giving orders from behind a desk. 124 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:34,440 Oh, easy, boy! We don't want to do the Spaniards' job for them! 125 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:38,520 To be honest, he got the job mainly because of his aristocratic pedigree 126 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:43,280 rather than his naval fighting skills, which was a bit alarming. 127 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:46,920 Come on, men, this is your home, keep it tidy. 128 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:50,920 Thankfully, Howard had a crack team of experienced commanders... 129 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,240 - Are we ready? - We're patching up. 130 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:56,720 ..most famously, his deputy, Sir Francis Drake. 131 00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:58,560 Good, good. Excellent work, Drake. 132 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:00,320 That's why I'm here. 133 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:02,640 Drake was just a few years younger than Howard 134 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:04,560 but he was from very different stock. 135 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:06,280 He was the son of a Devon farmer 136 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:09,400 and he'd spent nearly his entire adult life at sea. 137 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:12,720 He was one of a new breed of self-made men who 138 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:14,440 lived by their wits. 139 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:16,480 He'd managed to complete, quite recently, 140 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:20,680 the second ever circumnavigation of the globe and he'd been knighted 141 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:24,040 for services to his country, which basically meant that he'd managed 142 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:28,920 to fill Queen Elizabeth's coffers with stolen Spanish gold and silver. 143 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:34,720 In short, Drake was England's most brazen pirate. 144 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:37,600 Elizabeth had knighted him 145 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:40,280 and made him second-in-command of her navy... 146 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:43,960 ..and it needed all the help it could get. 147 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:47,840 The ague - how bad? 148 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:49,880 'The fleet wasn't just in harbour, 149 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:52,680 'it was recovering from a failed mission.' 150 00:09:52,680 --> 00:09:54,520 And munitions? 151 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:57,560 Loading what we can but could always do with more. 152 00:09:57,560 --> 00:09:59,000 As ever, mend and make do. 153 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:04,120 My ships will be ready. They will be ready. 154 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:07,160 An impetuous plan of Drake's to attack first... 155 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:08,480 Keep our promises. 156 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:10,840 ..had seriously backfired. 157 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:13,800 Drake had just returned from a disastrous attempt 158 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:15,840 to intercept the Spanish out at sea. 159 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:18,040 Terrible weather had battered his fleet 160 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:22,240 and no-one had even spotted one single Spanish vessel. 161 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:26,320 So this quayside would have been a scene of chaos and confusion, 162 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:30,040 men were lying sick, vessels were being hastily repaired 163 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:32,200 and provisions being piled on board. 164 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:36,600 This was hardly the battle-ready fleet that Drake had promised. 165 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,360 Time was running out. 166 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,920 Philip's great Armada was just 40 miles west of Plymouth... 167 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:53,280 ..and inching ever closer to London... 168 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:54,560 and Elizabeth. 169 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:02,720 The Armada had left port a week before 170 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:04,840 and was now approaching English waters. 171 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:06,800 It was a massive fleet. 172 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:09,160 125 ships crammed 173 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:10,960 with 16,000 soldiers 174 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,080 and 7,000 of Spain's finest sailors. 175 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:15,480 They were in a variety of ships 176 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,760 but they kept perfect formation as they approached the Channel 177 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:21,160 and their sails darkened the southern sky. 178 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:23,760 Now, the English know they're coming, they haven't seen them 179 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:26,120 yet but that's why they're positioned here at Plymouth 180 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,440 so they can get them before they get into the main body of the Channel. 181 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:31,840 We've got about 105 ships here, bit of a mixed bag 182 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:33,760 but a lot of powerful galleons among them. 183 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:35,720 Not so many soldiers, of course, 184 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:38,360 but add to this force another 30 ships over here, 185 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:42,240 just off the Kent coast, about 135 in total - pretty similar numbers. 186 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:46,240 But your problem is that your fleet is divided which means these 187 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:49,400 ships alone have to be able to try and stop our Armada. 188 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,240 Well, that's what they're worried about, of course, in Plymouth. 189 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:54,680 They know the Armada is coming, they haven't seen it yet 190 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:57,160 but they must have feared it's going to be unstoppable. 191 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:04,680 The destruction of Tudor England 192 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:07,240 had been plotted here in Spain's capital. 193 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:13,880 In the 16th century, Madrid was the hub of a vast empire... 194 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:18,440 ..stretching from Peru to the Philippines. 195 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:24,640 Spain was THE superpower. Immensely powerful. 196 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:27,200 It controlled not only the Iberian Peninsula 197 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:31,080 but also the New World and all that bullion. 198 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:35,120 Spain had a foothold in North America, South America, 199 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:37,320 the West Indies, the East Indies, Africa, 200 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:39,080 great swathes of Europe. 201 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:42,880 It was famously the empire upon which the sun never set. 202 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,240 The nerve centre was this royal palace and monastery, 203 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:52,960 30 miles to the north of the capital. 204 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:59,680 From a small cell at its heart, King Philip orchestrated his empire. 205 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:04,200 His motto matched his ambitions - 206 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,800 "The world is not enough." 207 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:11,120 Philip was an obsessive. 208 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:17,040 Not the sort of person you'd like to sit next to at a dinner party. 209 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:21,320 Only two things concerned him - his empire and his religion. 210 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:30,160 In 1588, Philip was 61 years old and in failing health 211 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:33,960 but he remained driven by a singular zeal. 212 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:37,360 Your Majesty. 213 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:41,520 Philip was a dour, rather dull character, to be honest. 214 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,240 More papers for you to sign. 215 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:46,360 He was known as the Bureaucrat King 216 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,360 and what he liked was nothing better than to sit in a very plain, 217 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:51,800 simple apartment doing his paperwork. 218 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:54,760 He didn't like personal contact with his minions, they had to submit 219 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,520 their reports on paper, even if they were sitting in the next room. 220 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:03,920 Professor Geoffrey Parker is the world's leading expert 221 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:05,480 on Philip and his empire. 222 00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:09,720 He's spent an entire career - over half a century - 223 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:14,960 unearthing ancient documents in archives from California to Madrid. 224 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:20,520 You would think, since the King died in 1598, we've had time to 225 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:23,800 discover everything but this just isn't so. 226 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:26,640 I would say there's thousands of documents still out there 227 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:28,720 which have not been identified. 228 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:31,560 This is what comes of spending most of your days reading papers 229 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:35,200 and annotating them - you leave a very long and wide paper trail. 230 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:38,480 PHILIP COUGHS 231 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:39,560 Highness, if I may... 232 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:43,880 ..your cough is getting worse. 233 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:48,160 There's one document where he says, "It's the documents that 234 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:51,880 "give me cough, every time I pick up a document I start coughing." 235 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:53,000 What do you expect... 236 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:56,160 ..with all these papers? 237 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:59,680 'They all say he stares at you and the other thing 238 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:02,320 'they all say is he speaks very, very quietly 239 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:04,120 'and he says very, very little.' 240 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:07,560 I meant no... 241 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:14,760 One startling new discovery has revealed over 3,000 242 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:18,880 hand-written papers, shedding light on a man who was intent 243 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:23,960 on keeping his world in order by micromanaging every detail himself. 244 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:29,080 This is absolutely typical. 245 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,120 It's a letter from his private secretary, 246 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:34,240 Mateo Vazquez, saying, you know, "I need a decision on something." 247 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:38,200 The King launches into a four page tirade about how much 248 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:41,120 work he has to do, "I don't know how I put up with it, I don't 249 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:43,720 "have time to do everything", on and on and on. This is just 250 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:48,400 pages two and three of a four-page response, and the brunt of it is, 251 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:50,640 "I don't have time to take the decisions." 252 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:52,360 Well, this took him 15 minutes. 253 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:57,720 But in the summer of 1588, 254 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:01,600 Philip was preoccupied with the problem of England. 255 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:07,440 The Armada was his solution... 256 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:13,720 ..to finally deal with a heretic Queen... 257 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:19,160 ..a woman who, surprisingly... 258 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:24,240 ..he had once asked to be his wife. 259 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,200 Philip and Elizabeth had first met here at Hampton Court, 260 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:39,120 near London, more than 30 years earlier. 261 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:45,000 Elizabeth was then a 20-year-old princess... 262 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:51,960 ..Philip, a Spanish prince, sent to forge an alliance with England 263 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:56,760 by marrying Elizabeth's older, Catholic half-sister, Queen Mary. 264 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:02,320 So we've got a really interesting coin here. 265 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:07,400 It's an image of Philip and Mary but above them is a floating crown. 266 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:11,520 Now what this suggests is a kind of dual monarchy, the idea... 267 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,520 This isn't a crown that's on the top of Mary's head, 268 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,000 it's both above Mary and Philip. 269 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:20,120 It shouldn't be but it's a kind of little-known fact that Philip 270 00:17:20,120 --> 00:17:22,160 was, for a time, King of England. 271 00:17:24,360 --> 00:17:28,680 But just four years later, Mary had died, and Elizabeth - 272 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,720 a Protestant - had been crowned Queen. 273 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:37,440 We have this coin and, if we compare the coin to the one we saw of 274 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,440 Mary and Philip, a dual monarchy, 275 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,880 here we have Elizabeth as sole Queen 276 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,400 and, of course, this is a situation 277 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:48,240 that was to continue through her life 278 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:51,520 even though, for the very early years of her reign, 279 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:54,640 Elizabeth was relentlessly petitioned to marry. 280 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,720 First in the queue had been Philip himself. 281 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,160 Historians still debate whether his proposal 282 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,760 was driven by royal politics... 283 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:08,360 religion... 284 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:09,920 or even love. 285 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:15,280 Philip proposes to Elizabeth soon after she becomes Queen 286 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:19,080 because he doesn't want to give up being King of England. 287 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:20,920 It was a jewel in his crown, 288 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,800 and he isn't going to give it up without a fight. 289 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:27,360 Also I think he had this sort of obligation to God, in a way. 290 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:31,440 He said that he wasn't attracted to Elizabeth but it was the fact 291 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,600 or the hope of saving Catholic souls 292 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:38,080 that made him reluctantly propose to her. 293 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:42,200 I think there was an attraction on Philip's part towards Elizabeth. 294 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:46,240 Certainly she was a stark contrast, in those days, from her sister 295 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:50,160 and I think, actually, that Philip was drawn to Elizabeth. 296 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:54,800 Philip did not love Elizabeth. There's no evidence of this at all. 297 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:59,160 This was a dynastic match, this was for religious reasons. 298 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:02,400 Whether or not Philip's alleged love was genuine, 299 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:04,760 it certainly wasn't requited. 300 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:09,560 Elizabeth made him wait, manana, manana, so Philip waited, 301 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:12,840 he waited for several weeks and then she turned him down. 302 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:19,680 Now, three decades later, Philip wanted Elizabeth dead, 303 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:21,760 and England for himself. 304 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,200 Years of religious differences 305 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:29,080 had bred an increasingly bitter animosity. 306 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:32,200 Philip certainly wasn't pleased with the Protestant direction 307 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:34,320 Elizabeth was taking her country in. 308 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,800 He saw the mass being banned, he saw priests being outlawed. 309 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,240 Torture was used and almost 200 men 310 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:44,400 and women were executed in her reign for essentially religious reasons. 311 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:49,760 In addition to this, England has not been out 312 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:55,320 and found its own wealth but, instead, is attacking 313 00:19:55,320 --> 00:20:00,160 the Spanish treasure fleet as it's making its way back from the Indies. 314 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:03,040 And this is state-sponsored piracy. 315 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:06,000 The final straw for Philip 316 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,760 was when Francis Drake made his famous raid on Cadiz, 317 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:11,760 "the singeing of the King of Spain's beard," as it was called. 318 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:14,120 It was one thing to try and intercept the treasure fleet, 319 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:16,880 it was another thing to raid the coast of Spain itself. 320 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:18,880 And if Philip could not respond to this, 321 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:22,120 then his hold on his provinces was under threat. 322 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:28,360 The time had come to stop this dead in its tracks. 323 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:31,400 He decided after two months' rumination, 324 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:33,320 the only way he could do that 325 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:37,320 was to set up an Armada and invade Protestant England. 326 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:40,600 BELL 327 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:44,840 The cold war...was over. 328 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:47,800 Philip's great Armada 329 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:54,240 had finally set sail from Spain on the 21st of July, 1588... 330 00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:59,560 ..intent on annihilating the English navy, Elizabeth, 331 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:01,640 and all they stood for. 332 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:06,800 BIRDSONG 333 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:08,720 CHURCH BELL CHIMES 334 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:12,400 Some weeks earlier, 335 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,760 Elizabeth had cancelled all her public engagements. 336 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:20,160 - Her entire court had moved to Richmond Palace... - SQUAWKING 337 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,120 ..her country retreat outside London. 338 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:24,200 BELL 339 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:27,040 It's the place she always feels safest. 340 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:29,360 She calls it her "warm box". 341 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:31,040 And we can trace throughout her reign 342 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:32,480 that she tends to go to Richmond 343 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:34,720 when she's feeling particularly under threat. 344 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:40,160 I'm as happy here as anywhere. 345 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,680 Always so peaceful. 346 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,120 As Elizabeth hid in Richmond, 347 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:49,600 she surrounded herself with her menagerie of pets, 348 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:51,600 her ladies-in-waiting, 349 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:54,480 and the only person she could fully confide in, 350 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:58,360 her oldest companion, Blanche Parry. 351 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,240 Elizabeth had lost her own mother, Anne Boleyn, 352 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:06,080 when she was just two years and eight months old. 353 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,640 Blanche had entered her household very soon afterwards. 354 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:13,760 I think there's no doubt that she was almost a replacement mother figure for Elizabeth. 355 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:17,680 She is somebody that Elizabeth trusts. 356 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:19,240 And, of course, at this point 357 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:22,320 when Elizabeth is very, very fearful and apprehensive, 358 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,400 it's trust and people that have been with her for years 359 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:27,840 that she's going to increasingly rely on. 360 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:29,000 SIGHING 361 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,520 As her navy prepared for battle, 362 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:34,960 Elizabeth's ladies whiled away the hours. 363 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:40,240 - Your Majesty. - Can't we let him off his leash? Just for a moment? 364 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:42,800 You know he'll run amok. 365 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,480 BLANCHE LAUGHS I feel for him. 366 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:47,480 BLANCHE LAUGHS SOFTLY 367 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:51,280 We can conjecture about how she might have felt. 368 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,360 She's a woman, she's unmarried, 369 00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:57,440 she's childless, so there is no heir, 370 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:01,640 and she is also governing a country 371 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:06,160 where Catholicism is STILL present. 372 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,880 The threat to Elizabeth wasn't just from without, it was from within. 373 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:11,400 The great dread was that 374 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:14,320 there was this huge fifth column of Catholics 375 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:17,480 who were just ready to march under the papal banner. 376 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:19,240 ELIZABETH SIGHS 377 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:24,120 Even in her favourite palace, Elizabeth's life was still at risk. 378 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:29,600 Just for an hour, Blanche... 379 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:31,880 to breathe the air. 380 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:35,680 No-one need know. 381 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:41,440 It's safer...within the embrace of these walls. 382 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:46,960 Elizabeth has been constantly under threat of assassination. 383 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:49,800 And then of course the Pope excommunicates her. 384 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:53,720 He doesn't just sanction her death, he encourages it. 385 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:57,440 He encourages her subjects to kill the Queen of England. 386 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:03,120 Sometimes at night, I see such terrible things. 387 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,200 Women, children, 388 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:12,760 maids, sucking babes... 389 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,320 murdered. 390 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,440 Cast into the river... 391 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:22,160 turned red with blood. 392 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:30,400 GULLS SCREECH 393 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:35,640 Meanwhile, at four o'clock that same afternoon, 394 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:38,960 a small boat dropped anchor in Plymouth harbour. 395 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:45,400 It carried the news that England, and Elizabeth, had been dreading. 396 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,440 The boat's captain, Thomas Fleming, 397 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,240 had been patrolling in the western approaches of the Channel. 398 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:56,840 At dawn that day just off the Scilly Isles, he'd seen the Spanish ships. 399 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,720 And he sailed back here to let the navy know. 400 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:07,880 The English fleet was caught off-guard. 401 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,840 Still not ready, it had to set sail to meet the Spanish threat. 402 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:15,840 And on the afternoon of July 29th, 403 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:20,400 it faced yet another problem that could have proved disastrous. 404 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:24,760 Back in 1588, you couldn't just turn a ship's engine on 405 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:27,920 and go wherever you wanted to go whenever you wanted to go, 406 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:30,040 you were at the mercy of the conditions, 407 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:32,040 wind and tide had to be favourable. 408 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,960 Today's a great example. There's now a howling gale blowing me back towards Plymouth 409 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:38,960 and I'm fighting the tide too, which is flowing in. 410 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:41,160 And those are similar conditions to the ones 411 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:45,520 that Drake and the fleet faced that afternoon of 1588. 412 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:51,840 This explains one of the most famous stories about Drake's actions that day. 413 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:54,800 The old story goes that Sir Francis Drake 414 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,760 was right up there on Plymouth Hoe playing bowls 415 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,280 when the news arrived that the Spanish Armada had been sighted. 416 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:04,000 The legend has it that he calmly said, 417 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,160 "Well, we have time to finish the game and beat the Spaniards too." 418 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,680 Sadly, that certainly is a legend, it was invented decades later. 419 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:16,920 But if Sir Francis Drake had been playing bowls up there on that afternoon in 1588, 420 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:20,240 he would have known as a consummate sailor full well, 421 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:23,800 that he might as well finish the game because there was nothing else he could do. 422 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:29,560 The English fleet were effectively trapped by wind and tide right there in Plymouth harbour, 423 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:32,240 and there was no way they could go anywhere very quickly. 424 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:38,120 With the English fleet stuck in harbour, 425 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:41,480 Elizabeth's kingdom lay undefended. 426 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:46,640 For the Armada, it was an incredible opportunity to move in early... 427 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:49,880 and deal a decisive, killer blow. 428 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:53,240 For centuries we had little idea 429 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:56,720 what the Spanish commanders were thinking at this key moment, 430 00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:59,920 until Professor Geoffrey Parker 431 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:04,840 began to explore some boxes of old papers in Madrid. 432 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:07,960 It's one of those amazing pieces of luck. 433 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,280 There were four boxes, in a series called Military Orders, 434 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:13,800 which just didn't seem to fit. 435 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,960 I was able to open them, undid the tape, 436 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:20,520 wondering what I was going to find. 437 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,360 And I opened them up... 438 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:26,640 and they said...Curious Papers. 439 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:29,800 And I thought, "Ohh, this is going to be interesting." 440 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:36,160 As Geoffrey painstakingly deciphered the near illegible handwriting, 441 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:39,960 he realised he'd stumbled across a treasure trove 442 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,720 that took him to the very heart of the Armada. 443 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:46,360 It took me a little while to figure out 444 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:48,680 that this was the series of exchanges 445 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:52,800 between the Duke of Medina Sidonia, the Commander of the Armada, 446 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:56,840 and his second in command, a man called Juan Martinez de Recalde. 447 00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:59,480 And, in fact, it was Recalde's papers. 448 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,640 It's very unusual, I later discovered unique 449 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:06,520 to find correspondence between two unit commanders during a naval battle. 450 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:09,240 And it tells us why certain decisions were taken, 451 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,480 why there was a disagreement on tactics. 452 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:15,680 And it's not just any battle, this is the Spanish Armada. 453 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:19,800 MAN: Recalde. 454 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:25,040 This unique window into the Spanish command allows us, for the very first time, 455 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,160 to recreate just what was going on 456 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,640 as Philip's battle fleet approached Plymouth. 457 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:34,880 With God's blessing...we will crush the heretics. 458 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:36,360 There is no time to be wasted. 459 00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:40,200 Like his English counterpart, Lord High Admiral Howard, 460 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:42,960 Medina Sidonia was a landed aristocrat 461 00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:46,440 whose high social standing had put him in charge. 462 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:51,840 Astonishingly, Medina Sidonia 463 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,760 had never actually commanded a fleet at sea before. 464 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,320 The landlubber was actually quite uncomfortable afloat. 465 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,440 He wrote to King Philip saying, "I don't do well at sea." 466 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:04,760 And he begged Philip to give command of the Armada to someone else. 467 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:06,960 But the King was having none of it. 468 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:10,520 Luckily, for the Spanish, like Howard, Medina Sidonia 469 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,760 would be surrounded by his own group of experienced sea dogs. 470 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:16,960 He even had his own Drake - Recalde. 471 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:24,320 Like Drake, Recalde had worked his way up through the ranks of the navy 472 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:26,520 and was an expert sailor, 473 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,640 the most experienced commander of the entire Armada. 474 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:31,440 There is no time to be wasted, 475 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,440 it is better to destroy the serpent in its egg. 476 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:39,840 One letter reveals a startling plan. 477 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:44,440 Recalde proposed a direct and immediate attack on the English navy 478 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:48,840 while it lay tide-bound in Plymouth harbour. 479 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:53,360 Recalde makes it clear in his rather accusatory letter to Medina Sidonia 480 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:55,960 that there had been a counsel meeting the previous day. 481 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:59,240 I propose...we attack Plymouth. 482 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:01,640 We have no idea of the enemy's strength. 483 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:05,200 What we know is that the harbour is narrow and treacherous. 484 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:07,840 A first strike would be decisive. 485 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:10,800 You know the seas better than I. 486 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:16,280 What we need...is success for the King! 487 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:18,000 I'll drink to that. 488 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:22,240 But despite Recalde's entreaty, the Spanish did not attack. 489 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:25,120 Instead, they sailed on. 490 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,760 Recalde clearly thinks that it's been agreed 491 00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:30,000 that they will indeed attack Plymouth 492 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,320 and he feels betrayed when they did not. 493 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:38,040 He says, "I don't know why we failed to enter Plymouth harbour." 494 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:40,040 "I feel downhearted," he writes, 495 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,280 "there are some very experienced people out there," meaning the English, 496 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:46,360 "and we behaved like novices and we made the wrong call." 497 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,360 Surely, Sam, here's a great opportunity, isn't it? 498 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:55,760 Because if the Spanish had attacked Plymouth, 499 00:30:55,760 --> 00:31:00,920 either blockaded it or, even bolder still, come in and attacked the British ships at anchor, 500 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,520 had they not got an opportunity to destroy the defence of England in a single blow? 501 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:07,040 Absolutely. It is a clear opportunity. 502 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:11,520 And if they'd changed course and headed for Plymouth, that great port in the West Country, 503 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:13,720 then they certainly could have done something. 504 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:18,400 It's not necessarily clear cut if they could have removed the English fleet from the equation, 505 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:21,160 because attacking a fleet at anchor's actually very difficult, 506 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:24,560 but they could have certainly done something here in the south-west, 507 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,880 perhaps attack Plymouth, perhaps land in Falmouth or Torbay. 508 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,360 So we're agreed then, it's a missed opportunity, 509 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:33,280 and if it had been taken it could have been the end of Tudor England. 510 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,320 The experienced sailor, Recalde, 511 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:42,360 resented Medina Sidonia dismissing his advice. 512 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:46,440 He believed that decisive action 513 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:49,640 could have handed Spain a swift victory. 514 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:54,000 And he might well have been right. 515 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:58,800 The fact was, Medina Sidonia had absolutely no intention 516 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:02,360 of diverting from the plans given to him by Philip. 517 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:06,880 If he had done so, the life of Queen Elizabeth, and this story, 518 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:09,480 might virtually have been at an end. 519 00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:23,320 Far to the south, the architect of the grand invasion plan 520 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:25,720 continued to work... 521 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,960 ..unaware of exactly where his Armada was... 522 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:38,040 ..or of the developing tensions between his two top commanders. 523 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,800 Your Majesty, how do you feel today? 524 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:43,680 PHILIP COUGHS 525 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:47,920 I feel there is not time enough in the world for me. 526 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:50,720 I will not stop. 527 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:55,520 Philip's orders had left no room for opportunistic attacks. 528 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:02,920 Carefully considered, he expected his plans to be carried out to the letter. 529 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:08,120 Philip had a choice of two plans that he could adopt. 530 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:12,400 The army came up with the idea of a quick incursion from the Spanish Netherlands, 531 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,600 where the Duke of Parma, his main military commander, was based 532 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:20,120 with a large army to shoot across the Channel and stage a smash-and-grab raid, if you like, 533 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:23,160 on England and depose the Queen that way. 534 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:26,880 His navy, naturally as navies do, wanted a seaborne force, 535 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:30,440 an Armada to set off from Spain and conquer England that way. 536 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:35,360 Philip had been given two choices... 537 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:37,440 but he'd taken neither. 538 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:44,200 Instead, he'd combined them into one seemingly invincible master plan. 539 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,360 Philip's master plan was for his ships 540 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:51,160 to sail up the Channel as quickly as possible. 541 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:53,680 Now, they would go the whole length of the Channel. 542 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:58,240 And the idea was for them to land here at Margate, 543 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:02,400 where they would join forces, in his words "join hands," with the Duke of Parma, 544 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,520 who had a vast army in the Spanish-controlled Netherlands. 545 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:07,640 Now, the Duke of Parma was Philip's nephew 546 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:10,440 and he was one of the greatest soldiers of his generation. 547 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:15,840 The Armada would then cover that army marching up the Thames to London. 548 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:19,600 It's a hugely ambitious and complex plan, isn't it, Sam? 549 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:21,600 But one thing is not in any doubt, 550 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:24,600 if that veteran Spanish army gets over to England, 551 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:27,160 we've pretty much got nothing left to oppose them with. 552 00:34:27,160 --> 00:34:29,680 And it would do three major things for Philip. 553 00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:31,520 It would consolidate his empire, 554 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:33,720 he could realise his dreams of a Catholic Europe, 555 00:34:33,720 --> 00:34:37,360 and he could free the seas of irritating English piracy. 556 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:46,000 On the evening of July 29th, the Armada sailed on... 557 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:49,040 its mission clear... 558 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:54,960 ..to "join hands" in the Channel with a battle-hardened Spanish army 559 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:57,440 and invade. 560 00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:00,960 Army and navy together. 561 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:04,480 - Their might would be... - Unstoppable. 562 00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:09,200 CHURCH BELL CHIMES 563 00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:10,760 CICADAS CHIRRUP 564 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,080 Another day passes. 565 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:20,160 - With no news. - Take confidence from that. 566 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:23,800 In Madrid, and in Richmond, 567 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:26,760 Philip and Elizabeth prepared for bed. 568 00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:31,240 Your bed is safe, Your Majesty. 569 00:35:31,240 --> 00:35:33,680 I would hope so. 570 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:35,600 ELIZABETH LAUGHS WEAKLY 571 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:41,720 Both monarchs prayed for the blessing of an even greater power. 572 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:46,280 Philip was intensely religious. 573 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:49,600 PHILIP PRAYS IN LATIN 574 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:53,720 He had a cell-like bedroom surrounded by pictures of the saints. 575 00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:55,800 And the Escorial wasn't just a palace, 576 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:58,920 it was a monastery and a church and a mausoleum. 577 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:04,480 And it seemed for him like it was an extra weapon in his crusade against Elizabeth. 578 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:08,960 PHILIP PRAYS IN LATIN 579 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:13,280 Philip believed fervently that God was on his side. How could he fail? 580 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:16,360 PHILIP PRAYS IN LATIN 581 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:20,560 And he believed that it was his own personal duty 582 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:23,320 to try and save those English Catholics 583 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:27,680 and revenge all those Catholic martyrs who had been slaughtered, 584 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:32,320 not only by Elizabeth, but by her father as well, Henry VIII. 585 00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:37,240 In these last and worst days of the world, 586 00:36:37,240 --> 00:36:41,520 when wars and seditions with grievous persecutions ... 587 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:43,560 Elizabeth was by inclination moderate, 588 00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:45,680 she didn't want to force consciences, 589 00:36:45,680 --> 00:36:50,480 but she did expect obedience from her subjects and she was devout. 590 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:54,400 The love of my people has appeared firm 591 00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:58,560 and the devices of mine enemies frustrate. 592 00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:03,440 Elizabeth made much of the fact that God was on her side. 593 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:06,320 Philip was on the side of the devil, 594 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:09,720 and that's how the contest was going to be played out. 595 00:37:09,720 --> 00:37:11,960 World without end. 596 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:14,560 - Amen. - Amen. 597 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:25,320 GULLS SCREECH 598 00:37:32,240 --> 00:37:33,880 Dawn. 599 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:39,760 BOY SINGS IN LATIN 600 00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:43,960 As morning prayers were sung, 601 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:48,040 the Armada continued its journey into the Channel. 602 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:51,080 HE CONTINUES SINGING IN LATIN 603 00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:55,720 All was calm... 604 00:37:55,720 --> 00:37:59,800 but the Spanish were wary of their easy progress. 605 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:03,120 There was no sight of the English navy, 606 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:06,520 and no way of knowing if it was still anchored in Plymouth, 607 00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:10,440 or preparing to attack at any moment. 608 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:12,960 BOY CONTINUES SINGING IN LATIN 609 00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:20,080 In fact, the English fleet had left port. 610 00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:22,640 Overnight the tide had turned, the wind had changed, 611 00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:25,240 they'd sailed down here out of Plymouth Sound. 612 00:38:25,240 --> 00:38:29,280 But they had no intention of taking on the Spanish head-on. 613 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:32,880 Instead, they were going to try something far more cunning. 614 00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:38,560 The English realised that the Armada was too big to take on directly. 615 00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:43,640 So their plan was to stop the Spanish 616 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:46,880 from taking any harbour deep enough to use as a base... 617 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:52,000 ..without getting themselves blown to pieces in the process. 618 00:38:54,920 --> 00:39:00,240 You think that the Armada want to take a deep water port on the south coast of England, maybe Plymouth. 619 00:39:00,240 --> 00:39:02,520 But their plan is to keep moving up, 620 00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:05,600 constantly driving up towards Parma's army. 621 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:08,080 You're absolutely right. The English are pre-occupied 622 00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:12,000 with the possibility the Spanish are going to take a deep-water port, they must prevent it. 623 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,760 First of all, get them away from Plymouth Sound. 624 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:18,760 But once they're out into the open, they're then going to put their master plan into operation, 625 00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:22,000 which is to get behind the Armada, drive it up the Channel, 626 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:25,120 hopefully out the other end, and harry them like a terrier. 627 00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:28,880 With the quality of our seamanship and the compactness of our formation 628 00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:30,960 that's actually all you can do. 629 00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:38,840 The English fleet first caught sight of the Spanish Armada 630 00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:41,880 on Saturday 30th July at 3pm. 631 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:43,680 The weather had turned foul, 632 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:47,320 and so when a look-out on Howard's ship, who was up in the crow's nest high up in the mast, 633 00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:51,840 was peering through the mist and the rain and he finally caught sight 634 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:54,720 of the Spanish ships just out there. 635 00:40:00,720 --> 00:40:04,960 It was now time to turn plans into action... 636 00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:08,200 and let the harrying begin. 637 00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:10,440 But would it be enough? 638 00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:14,520 Or would Philip's great Armada manage to successfully "join hands" 639 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:18,280 with the vast Spanish army...and invade? 640 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:27,920 Riders dispatched from Plymouth the previous day 641 00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:30,880 reached Richmond Palace 24 hours later. 642 00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:32,320 HORSE WHINNIES 643 00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:42,600 The news was delivered first to Elizabeth's most trusted ministers, 644 00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:45,360 Sir Francis Walsingham... 645 00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:47,480 and Lord Burghley. 646 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:52,200 What news? 647 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:54,400 The Spanish are sighted... 648 00:40:55,720 --> 00:40:57,240 ..off the Lizard. 649 00:40:59,080 --> 00:41:01,000 At our gates. 650 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:03,120 The two dominant figures in Elizabeth's court, 651 00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:08,680 the Tweedledum and Tweedledee if you like, were Burghley and Walsingham. 652 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:12,640 They sail with more than 120 ships. 653 00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:17,840 Might and malice to match. 654 00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:21,640 Burghley was the most powerful man in England. 655 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:24,240 He'd known Elizabeth since she was a princess 656 00:41:24,240 --> 00:41:26,400 and they'd had tough times together. 657 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:30,680 She trusted him and she relied on him to speak truth to power. 658 00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:32,560 She called him her "spirit". 659 00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:36,400 He wanted to avoid a confrontation, because it was incredibly expensive. 660 00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:37,960 He was Lord High Treasurer, 661 00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:40,800 he wanted to keep his hands on that purse. 662 00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:44,840 Walsingham was Elizabeth's spy master. 663 00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:48,640 He'd set up this incredibly sophisticated intelligence network. 664 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:50,920 And because of his experiences, 665 00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:55,880 he'd seen at first hand the terror that Catholic Europe could contain, 666 00:41:55,880 --> 00:41:57,760 he was always advising Elizabeth 667 00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:00,120 towards an aggressive foreign policy. 668 00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:02,400 Elizabeth's biggest problem was, I think, 669 00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:05,520 that she listened to both opinions for action and for inaction 670 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:07,720 and dithered between the two of them. 671 00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:13,320 Elizabeth vacillated. 672 00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:16,840 Let's remember, she is a woman in a man's world. 673 00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:18,480 When she makes up her mind, 674 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:21,440 she's stuck with the results of that decision. 675 00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:25,280 So she looked at a decision from lots of different ways, 676 00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:28,920 and frequently changed her mind once she'd made one. 677 00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:30,800 Gentlemen. 678 00:42:30,800 --> 00:42:32,960 We sued for peace... 679 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:34,920 but to no avail. 680 00:42:34,920 --> 00:42:38,080 I pray you, speak plainly. 681 00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:42,080 The time has come. A Holy War. 682 00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:43,720 ELIZABETH SIGHS 683 00:42:43,720 --> 00:42:47,440 I did not desire this... 684 00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:50,640 but I did expect it. 685 00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:53,600 Elizabeth, naturally, was very cautious. 686 00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:55,800 She did not like spending money. 687 00:42:55,800 --> 00:43:01,280 She naturally favoured Burghley's very conservative foreign policy. 688 00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:05,080 But equally, she was justifiably aware 689 00:43:05,080 --> 00:43:10,200 of the threat posed to her safety by the powers of Catholic Europe. 690 00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:14,720 What is clear is that we cannot afford to stand idle. 691 00:43:14,720 --> 00:43:17,440 We must strike...and strike hard. 692 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:20,960 And if that fails? When we have nothing left to strike with? 693 00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:23,320 With the Armada looming, 694 00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:26,840 Elizabeth knew the time for havering was over. 695 00:43:26,840 --> 00:43:29,240 She really had nowhere else to go. 696 00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:31,280 She knew she'd have to fight. 697 00:43:31,280 --> 00:43:36,160 And those ships, those wooden walls defending England, 698 00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:39,640 were the only thing between her and oblivion. 699 00:43:39,640 --> 00:43:43,800 Your Majesty, you must meet this battle, 700 00:43:43,800 --> 00:43:46,360 for the sake of England. 701 00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:48,040 For you. 702 00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:52,240 Then we shall prevail... 703 00:43:52,240 --> 00:43:54,800 for God's favour is with me. 704 00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:57,840 Then God will help us all. 705 00:43:59,960 --> 00:44:05,600 Let all of England...taste victory. 706 00:44:18,720 --> 00:44:22,400 Out in the Channel, both sides were preparing for battle. 707 00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:24,080 Many no doubt were praying, 708 00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:27,000 some were checking weapons and ammunition. 709 00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:29,640 The ships on both sides were bristling with cannon, 710 00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:33,240 most ships had between 20-50 cannon. 711 00:44:33,240 --> 00:44:37,720 And they would be firing cannonballs, some light, about 6lbs, 712 00:44:37,720 --> 00:44:40,840 others up to 60lbs of iron, 713 00:44:40,840 --> 00:44:45,240 waiting to crash through wooden hulls and rigging. 714 00:44:49,760 --> 00:44:52,320 Despite the sheer might of the Armada, 715 00:44:52,320 --> 00:44:55,000 the English did have some reason for hope. 716 00:44:55,000 --> 00:45:01,400 Superior weapons created by new English technology. 717 00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:05,760 The great revolution in the 16th century 718 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:10,320 was an amazing technological advance, it led to the Industrial Revolution, 719 00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:15,000 and this was the introduction of the blast furnace for cast iron. 720 00:45:17,600 --> 00:45:20,360 - Traditionally, cannons had been handmade... - HAMMERING 721 00:45:20,360 --> 00:45:23,320 ..the metal crafted into shape. 722 00:45:23,320 --> 00:45:27,840 Cannonballs had been hand carved... from stone. 723 00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:29,240 HAMMERING 724 00:45:29,240 --> 00:45:34,360 The blast furnace enables you to melt large quantities of cast iron, 725 00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:37,880 it flows like water, so you can pour it into moulds. 726 00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:43,040 You can make repeated items exactly the same. 727 00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:45,560 It was cannonballs first, 728 00:45:45,560 --> 00:45:49,960 it was then used to make the first cannon in England. 729 00:45:49,960 --> 00:45:52,680 These iron guns were much cheaper, 730 00:45:52,680 --> 00:45:55,360 they could be made fairly consistently 731 00:45:55,360 --> 00:45:58,920 and they could be issued with large quantities 732 00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:01,480 of consistent, standardised cannonballs. 733 00:46:03,640 --> 00:46:07,160 England was ahead of the rest of Europe. 734 00:46:08,720 --> 00:46:11,480 New technology furnished the English navy with cannon 735 00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:16,480 that were more accurate and more powerful than those of the Spanish. 736 00:46:18,040 --> 00:46:22,840 But would that be enough to even break the tight formation of the Armada, 737 00:46:22,840 --> 00:46:25,080 let alone defeat it? 738 00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:38,240 - First light. - MAN SHOUTS IN SPANISH 739 00:46:38,240 --> 00:46:42,600 And a Spanish lookout finally spotted the English navy. 740 00:46:42,600 --> 00:46:46,160 But it wasn't where the Spanish were expecting it to be. 741 00:46:50,520 --> 00:46:53,680 The Spanish were expecting the English to appear in front of them, 742 00:46:53,680 --> 00:46:56,160 to contest their march up the Channel. 743 00:46:56,160 --> 00:46:58,560 But instead the English did something quite different, 744 00:46:58,560 --> 00:47:02,280 they split into two groups, came round behind the Spanish, 745 00:47:02,280 --> 00:47:04,760 and prepared to launch a pincer attack. 746 00:47:06,680 --> 00:47:11,040 Medina Sidonia ordered the Spanish royal standard to be raised, 747 00:47:11,040 --> 00:47:14,400 the signal for the Armada to get into battle formation, 748 00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:19,400 a crescent of ships stretching for over two miles. 749 00:47:19,400 --> 00:47:22,160 Then at 9am, in a piece of old-fashioned chivalry, 750 00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:25,280 Howard decided to officially throw down the gauntlet to the Spanish. 751 00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:28,680 He sent ahead a small ship, appropriately called the Disdain, 752 00:47:28,680 --> 00:47:32,080 which fired one shot into the midst of the Armada... 753 00:47:32,080 --> 00:47:33,960 and then quickly turned round 754 00:47:33,960 --> 00:47:35,920 and headed back to rejoin the English fleet. 755 00:47:35,920 --> 00:47:41,000 With that, the first battle against the Spanish Armada had begun. 756 00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:43,280 MEN SHOUT 757 00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:50,000 Now, we've surprised you by our position, Sam, 758 00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:52,760 but the English have also got another trick up their sleeve, 759 00:47:52,760 --> 00:47:55,320 - the way they're going to fight. - Oh, yeah? 760 00:47:55,320 --> 00:47:59,200 Their tactics are to use new and more effective guns, 761 00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:02,680 but also the way they're going to use them, this is going to surprise the Spanish. 762 00:48:02,680 --> 00:48:05,480 Traditionally, what the Spaniards are expecting 763 00:48:05,480 --> 00:48:06,880 is to have boarding actions 764 00:48:06,880 --> 00:48:09,200 where the ships will come up close alongside, 765 00:48:09,200 --> 00:48:11,400 the soldiers'll pile in with grappling hooks, 766 00:48:11,400 --> 00:48:13,920 there'll be lots of stabbing, and fighting, and slashing, 767 00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:16,320 and they'll settle the matter in hand-to-hand combat. 768 00:48:16,320 --> 00:48:19,680 That's exactly what they expect and they want the English to do. 769 00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:22,560 Now, that's exactly what the English didn't want to do. 770 00:48:22,560 --> 00:48:24,720 They didn't want to close with the Spanish ships, 771 00:48:24,720 --> 00:48:27,320 which were bigger and they were packed with more men. 772 00:48:27,320 --> 00:48:29,880 Instead, they wanted to stand off, keep their distance, 773 00:48:29,880 --> 00:48:32,240 and blast them with cannon fire. 774 00:48:32,240 --> 00:48:36,480 Now, to us today that seems entirely logical, but for the Spanish, 775 00:48:36,480 --> 00:48:39,640 it was pretty much the first time they'd ever seen this. 776 00:48:43,600 --> 00:48:45,920 MEN HOLLER 777 00:48:45,920 --> 00:48:48,920 The Spanish soldiers were stuck on their decks, 778 00:48:48,920 --> 00:48:51,880 and could only taunt an enemy... 779 00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:54,320 who refused to come close. 780 00:48:54,320 --> 00:48:56,720 MEN HOLLER 781 00:48:56,720 --> 00:49:00,640 Now, the one problem you're going to have is that if there's one thing the Spanish are good at, 782 00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:03,920 it's maintaining close formation under hostile attack, 783 00:49:03,920 --> 00:49:05,640 it's how the Spanish empire works. 784 00:49:05,640 --> 00:49:08,880 They usually protect their silver convoys going across to the New World. 785 00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:14,800 This time they're protecting their vulnerable troop ships in the centre of this crescent formation. 786 00:49:14,800 --> 00:49:16,560 And they're very good at seamanship, 787 00:49:16,560 --> 00:49:19,920 they're good at maintaining their position in this tight crescent formation. 788 00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:22,160 It's absolutely true, it's a formidable formation, 789 00:49:22,160 --> 00:49:25,040 but it has a couple of weaknesses and I'll show you were they are. 790 00:49:25,040 --> 00:49:27,400 These two arms of the crescent, 791 00:49:27,400 --> 00:49:30,400 if we can use our ships to close up pretty effectively 792 00:49:30,400 --> 00:49:34,760 and then we can fire our guns at a distance in a continual rolling fire. 793 00:49:34,760 --> 00:49:40,080 And if you have enough of these ships sailing one after the other after the other, using their broadsides, 794 00:49:40,080 --> 00:49:43,160 you've almost got a primitive machinegun. 795 00:49:52,040 --> 00:49:53,400 HUBBUB 796 00:49:56,400 --> 00:49:57,480 - MAN: - Fire! 797 00:49:57,480 --> 00:49:59,640 Drake and Howard lined up their squadrons 798 00:49:59,640 --> 00:50:03,600 and launched a relentless barrage against the Armada. 799 00:50:03,600 --> 00:50:05,040 - MAN: - Come on! 800 00:50:05,040 --> 00:50:06,680 MEN SHOUT 801 00:50:14,080 --> 00:50:15,720 This was one of the first times 802 00:50:15,720 --> 00:50:18,960 this had ever happened on this scale in European naval history. 803 00:50:18,960 --> 00:50:20,480 Over the next couple of hours, 804 00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:23,080 the English managed to fire off around 2,000 shots. 805 00:50:23,080 --> 00:50:26,160 The Spanish only got in 750 in reply. 806 00:50:26,160 --> 00:50:27,600 HUBBUB 807 00:50:30,080 --> 00:50:35,160 What people were witnessing here was a revolution in military tactics. 808 00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:45,920 The English called off the attack after two hours, 809 00:50:45,920 --> 00:50:49,000 having driven the Armada beyond Plymouth. 810 00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:53,760 But the reality was the Armada had never been planning to enter Plymouth, 811 00:50:53,760 --> 00:50:56,560 and for all their rapid cannon fire, 812 00:50:56,560 --> 00:50:59,920 the English hadn't actually inflicted that much damage. 813 00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:08,840 So often the details of historic battles are lost, 814 00:51:08,840 --> 00:51:12,280 but because of Professor Geoffrey Parker's discoveries, 815 00:51:12,280 --> 00:51:16,080 we know that the Armada's second-in-command, Recalde, 816 00:51:16,080 --> 00:51:20,720 immediately understood the English tactics. 817 00:51:20,720 --> 00:51:23,960 One of the things I most admire about Recalde, 818 00:51:23,960 --> 00:51:26,640 he sees instantly what the English are up to 819 00:51:26,640 --> 00:51:31,640 and he writes to Medina Sidonia saying, "We're not doing well here." 820 00:51:31,640 --> 00:51:35,280 And he says, "In future we need to make sure that our enemies 821 00:51:35,280 --> 00:51:40,600 "don't consume us little by little - poco a poco - and without risk to themselves. 822 00:51:40,600 --> 00:51:43,360 "We should rather put all our eggs in one basket 823 00:51:43,360 --> 00:51:48,200 "and the sooner the better for this fleet and for the army." 824 00:51:48,200 --> 00:51:50,080 So Recalde's strategy is 825 00:51:50,080 --> 00:51:54,120 turn the fleet around and hit the English hard now. 826 00:51:55,920 --> 00:52:00,320 But once again, Medina Sidonia ignored Recalde's advice 827 00:52:00,320 --> 00:52:04,760 and dutifully sailed on, following Philip's master plan. 828 00:52:12,480 --> 00:52:16,200 After the battle off Plymouth, for all the smoke and noise, 829 00:52:16,200 --> 00:52:19,200 neither side had lost a single ship. 830 00:52:21,240 --> 00:52:24,000 But that was about to change. 831 00:52:25,560 --> 00:52:29,680 All that day, local people lined these cliffs around Plymouth 832 00:52:29,680 --> 00:52:33,200 watching the great battle out at sea for the fate of England. 833 00:52:33,200 --> 00:52:37,640 For those who'd never heard anything louder than a church bell or a clap of thunder, 834 00:52:37,640 --> 00:52:44,040 the noise of these several hundred cannon reverberating off these hills must have been almost deafening. 835 00:52:44,040 --> 00:52:46,200 But the loudest explosion of all 836 00:52:46,200 --> 00:52:48,560 would come that afternoon at four o'clock. 837 00:52:53,120 --> 00:52:56,920 One Spanish ship, the San Salvador, blew up. 838 00:52:56,920 --> 00:52:59,600 Now, we don't know why or how, but there are some accounts 839 00:52:59,600 --> 00:53:02,720 that there was a disgruntled Dutch or German sailor on board 840 00:53:02,720 --> 00:53:05,800 who set fire to the powder store and then legged it overboard. 841 00:53:05,800 --> 00:53:09,680 In any case, 200 Spanish sailors drowned. It was a massive own goal. 842 00:53:09,680 --> 00:53:14,920 It's not the only disaster that day, because that same afternoon, a second ship, the Rosario, 843 00:53:14,920 --> 00:53:20,080 another of your most powerful fighting ships, bumps into first one ship then another, 844 00:53:20,080 --> 00:53:25,320 the foremast comes down into the mainmast and completely disables the steering. 845 00:53:25,320 --> 00:53:29,080 Medina Sidonia would have loved to have gone back to rescue the Rosario, 846 00:53:29,080 --> 00:53:31,960 but he didn't feel he could deviate just one little bit 847 00:53:31,960 --> 00:53:34,640 from the master plan given to him by King Philip. 848 00:53:34,640 --> 00:53:38,720 So, reluctantly, he led the Armada on up the Channel. 849 00:53:43,120 --> 00:53:46,560 The Rosario was left to its fate. 850 00:53:46,560 --> 00:53:49,120 Recalde was appalled 851 00:53:49,120 --> 00:53:52,360 and vented his feelings in a hastily written letter, 852 00:53:52,360 --> 00:53:57,200 discovered by Professor Geoffrey Parker over 400 years later. 853 00:54:00,080 --> 00:54:02,840 He's absolutely furious. 854 00:54:02,840 --> 00:54:07,200 "I can't begin to tell your Excellency how grievously I felt the loss of the ship." 855 00:54:07,200 --> 00:54:12,120 And then he goes on to say, "If we'd laid to, if we'd drawn in sail, 856 00:54:12,120 --> 00:54:17,360 "the situation could have been remedied. In the position we were in, we could have done it." 857 00:54:17,360 --> 00:54:21,360 I think this is the point where perhaps Recalde's beginning to think 858 00:54:21,360 --> 00:54:24,240 Medina Sidonia is not the right man for the job. 859 00:54:25,440 --> 00:54:28,920 As the Armada sailed on, shadowed by the English fleet, 860 00:54:28,920 --> 00:54:32,240 the commanders took stock of the day's events. 861 00:54:34,280 --> 00:54:38,760 Medina Sidonia hadn't been able to get close to the English navy, 862 00:54:38,760 --> 00:54:42,560 and he'd already lost two great ships. 863 00:54:47,080 --> 00:54:51,600 Meanwhile, Howard and Drake were no happier... 864 00:54:51,600 --> 00:54:56,080 all too aware of the formidable strength of their enemy. 865 00:54:56,080 --> 00:54:59,640 - Two ships down. - Better we'd dealt the deadly blows. 866 00:55:03,440 --> 00:55:06,560 We'll puck their feathers little by little. 867 00:55:06,560 --> 00:55:08,840 That's a lot of plucking. 868 00:55:11,240 --> 00:55:14,600 But they were already concerned by a serious problem, 869 00:55:14,600 --> 00:55:17,320 caused by their rapid-firing tactics. 870 00:55:21,880 --> 00:55:27,400 Quite simply, the English were lacking crucial ammunition, powder and shot for their cannon. 871 00:55:27,400 --> 00:55:31,000 So much so that that very night, Howard wrote to London, 872 00:55:31,000 --> 00:55:35,200 he wrote to Walsingham, asking for more supplies. 873 00:55:35,200 --> 00:55:37,080 But he knew that, in all likelihood, 874 00:55:37,080 --> 00:55:39,600 that request would fall on deaf ears. 875 00:55:43,960 --> 00:55:47,480 Elizabeth's finances are in a parlous state, 876 00:55:47,480 --> 00:55:50,640 the coffers are bare and Elizabeth doesn't want 877 00:55:50,640 --> 00:55:53,760 to go to parliament to ask for more tax revenue. 878 00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:57,120 In a sense, she doesn't want to be in hock to parliament. 879 00:55:58,880 --> 00:56:01,080 MONKEY CHITTERS ELIZABETH GASPS 880 00:56:01,080 --> 00:56:03,720 Brazen-faced jackanapes! 881 00:56:03,720 --> 00:56:06,480 Please remove the monkey, Bess. 882 00:56:06,480 --> 00:56:08,120 Your Majesty. 883 00:56:08,120 --> 00:56:11,840 He takes what is mine without fear nor favour. 884 00:56:11,840 --> 00:56:14,000 She had spent quite a lot of money 885 00:56:14,000 --> 00:56:17,000 on building up brand-new ships for her navy, 886 00:56:17,000 --> 00:56:24,320 but now she didn't really want to spend money on ammunition, or indeed food to feed her sailors, 887 00:56:24,320 --> 00:56:26,240 because her cupboard was bare. 888 00:56:26,240 --> 00:56:29,880 To the Tower with the impertinent ape! 889 00:56:33,160 --> 00:56:36,440 ELIZABETH CACKLES 890 00:56:36,440 --> 00:56:39,720 A jest, that was all! 891 00:56:39,720 --> 00:56:41,680 ELIZABETH LAUGHS 892 00:56:41,680 --> 00:56:43,120 Even at this time of great crisis, 893 00:56:43,120 --> 00:56:47,040 Elizabeth was failing to properly provide for her navy. 894 00:56:48,280 --> 00:56:50,800 She was clearly hoping it would defeat the Spanish Armada 895 00:56:50,800 --> 00:56:53,320 without any further financial assistance. 896 00:56:53,320 --> 00:56:57,720 She was, basically, sending it into battle with one arm tied behind its back. 897 00:57:00,080 --> 00:57:02,480 Being short of ammunition was bad, 898 00:57:02,480 --> 00:57:05,400 but things were about to get much worse. 899 00:57:06,640 --> 00:57:10,200 That evening, Howard ordered Drake to lead the English navy 900 00:57:10,200 --> 00:57:15,480 during the night with a light on the stern of his ship, the Revenge. 901 00:57:15,480 --> 00:57:19,800 But, ever the maverick, Drake had other plans... 902 00:57:21,400 --> 00:57:23,640 ..and he extinguished the flame. 903 00:57:26,560 --> 00:57:30,240 He knew exactly where the Rosario lay stricken, 904 00:57:30,240 --> 00:57:34,680 and for such a seasoned pirate, the fully-stocked Spanish ship 905 00:57:34,680 --> 00:57:37,160 was simply too much of a temptation. 906 00:57:39,480 --> 00:57:43,600 It was an extraordinary dereliction of duty, but Drake, in typical fashion, 907 00:57:43,600 --> 00:57:47,360 was about to stumble across a great treasure trove, gold and ammunition, 908 00:57:47,360 --> 00:57:50,560 but something even more important than that...intelligence. 909 00:57:50,560 --> 00:57:53,400 Intelligence that was to give the English a hope 910 00:57:53,400 --> 00:57:57,680 that they could in fact defeat this, the greatest naval force on the planet, 911 00:57:57,680 --> 00:58:00,600 keep their country independent and Protestant, 912 00:58:00,600 --> 00:58:03,760 and their Queen Elizabeth...alive. 913 00:58:08,240 --> 00:58:10,320 Next time. 914 00:58:10,320 --> 00:58:13,640 The Armada sails ever closer. 915 00:58:13,640 --> 00:58:16,920 MAN: Remember, speed. Now! 916 00:58:16,920 --> 00:58:19,080 Drake tries out new tactics. 917 00:58:19,080 --> 00:58:20,320 Whoa! 918 00:58:20,320 --> 00:58:24,040 And the battles for England grow ever more intense. 919 00:58:28,840 --> 00:58:31,880 Subtitles by Ericsson