Texas Almanac, 1992-1993 Page: 601
656 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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SPANISH HISTORY 601
Muslims in southern Spain revolted against the bad
treatment by the central government and received help
from religious allies in North Africa. Philip put his ille-
gitimate half brother (on his father's side), Don John of
Austria, in command of Spanish forces to put down the
revolt in 1570.
For several years, the Turks controlled the Mediter-
ranean, making life miserable for traders in both ends
of the sea. After his success with the Muslims in Spain,
Don John was given command in 1571 of a multi-nation-
al naval force sent to deal with the Turks. At Lepanto, a
well-protected bay within the Gulf of Patras on the Adri-
atic Sea, a Spanish-led armada defeated the Turks in
October 1571, ending their dominance of the Mediterra-
nean. Don John later took command of troops in the
Netherlands where Protestants fought a determined
war with the Spanish monarch. John died of disease
during this duty.
Even during the turmoil, Philip pursued a project
close to his heart: the construction of Escorial, a combi-
nation palace and monastery, near Madrid, the capital
of Spain after 1561. From 1563-1584, work continued on
the editice, despite the crown's nagging financial prob-
lems.
Interest rates rose to 30-40 percent after the bank-
ruptcy of 1557, and in 1577, Philip again shook up lend-
ers by suspending payments on all loans made after
1560. He was then ablgte to negotiate lower interest rates,
which eased financial pressures for another 20 years.
A long-standing truce in the Netherlands broke
down after Protestants looted or destroyed 400 churches
and monasteries in 1566. The next year, the battle was
engaged in earnest, and the war lasted until the Dutch
finally won in the mid-17th century.
In 1581, Philip, claiming the throne as the son of a
Portuguese princess, was confirmed as sovereign by
the kingdom's cortes, reuniting the Hispanic peninsula
for the first time in nine centuries. It also was the merg-
er of the world's two largest colonial powers. And, the
combined sea forces of the two countries gave the unit-
ed peninsula the largest navy in the world.From Previous Page
fresh wind took the Spanish northward, and Medina
Sidonia opted to return to Spain via a route around
Scotland and Ireland, rather than try to return
through the English Channel. Since the armada had
been unable to succeed in its primary task of invad-
ing England, Medina Sidonia thought it better to save
the ships and not risk further encounters.
In retrospect, the decision was bad. None of the
Spanish had experience in the stormy North Sea, nor
were they familiar with the coasts of the outlying
islands, Scotland or Ireland. Weather was the worst
enemy, surpassing the hostility of the English, Scots
or Irish. More Spanish ships and lives were lost in the
voyage home than in the campaign through the chan-
nel. Fewer than 70 ships returned to Spanish ports
over the next three months.
Medina Sidonia set a course well west of the Irish
coast. None of the ships following the course were
wrecked, although some sank from damages sus-
tained in battle or from battering by the high winds
and heavy seas.
Twenty-six ships wrecked on the Irish coast where
bandits may have enticed vessels onto the rocky
shores with bonfires. Of 6,000 men on these boats, only
750 returned to Spain. Piracy and salvage were ways
of life on the coast, and many survivors were killed by
the Irish for their clothes, money and other valuables.
Authorities also executed some 1,500 survivors.
English control of Ireland was tenuous, and the threat
of seasoned Spanish troops aiding an Irish revolt ter-
rified officials. Richard Brigham, governor of Con-
nacht, alone meted out summary justice to survivors
of a half-dozen ships.
On the other hand, some Irish clans welcomed the
survivors and saw to their safety. In come cases, the
Spaniards were transported across the country and
put on boats to Scotland.
Even after the disaster of the armada, Spain had
the strongest navy in the world. Philip II immediately
began construction of new fighting ships, and Spanish
officers reviewed the battle tactics. In coming years,
Spain managed to improve protection of its vital trea-Philip II, groomed from
birth for leadership, is
considered Spain's
greatest king. Associ-
ated Press Picture.Philip tolerated Elizabeth I, even when her ships
were pirating Spanish vessels in the Caribbean. But she
went too far in 1585 by sending troops, as well as money,
to the Netherlands to aid the Dutch against the Spanish.
Almost immediately, Philip began to plot the Invin-
cible Armada (See the feature, The Armada, below).
Defeat of the Armada of 1588 was a turning point in
Spanish history. Until then, it appeared the Spanish
were God's newly chosen people. Invincible at war, cre-
ative in verse and prose, among the most pious people
in Christendom, they were blessed in all activities. They
were indeed pursuing God's will, and He was rewarding
them. The Armada's defeat broke this spell. The coun-
try did not fall apart; it was too powerful and confident.
But small self-doubts began to crack the veneer of the
Spanish.
At Escorial, Philip toiled away, reading every re-
port, making thoughtful and prayerful decisions, and
running up a staggering debt. By the time he turned the
reins of government over to his son, Philip III, debt
stood at 100 million ducats, five times the size it had
been a half-century earlier when Charles V abdicated.
Spain remained potent and powerful and confident.
But the seeds of its destruction were sown and awaiting
only another round of deficit spending to flourish.sure fleets traveling from the New World each year.
On the continent, England continued to support
Protestant rebels. In 1596, the English again sacked
the Port of Cadiz and held the facility for two weeks.
A treasure fleet was lost, playing havoc with Philip
II's finances. With national pride and finance
shocked, preparations began for another armada.
Don Martin de Padilla Manrique commanded, but his
luck was bad. King Philip ignored warnings of bad
weather in the channel in November and launched the
fleet on Oct. 24. Four days after leaving Lisbon, bad
weather scattered the fleet, destroying 32 fighting
ships and drowning 3,000 men.
The following year, another armada was launched
in an operation that was the best kept secret of the
16th century. Falmouth was the objective, a port
where troops could be landed. England was caught to-
tally unaware, and some reports tell of Spanish troops
actually taking and holding positions for two days
near Falmouth. But another fall storm scattered the
fleet, and when support failed to arrive, the troops
left. This story is discounted by many historians be-
cause English records don't speak of it.
Ireland and Spain share a special feeling, both bit-
ter enemies of England with a common, intense de-
votion to Roman Catholicism. In 1596, Hugh O'Neill
Earl of Tyrone, began urging Philip II to invade Ire-
land and aid in a rebellion against Elizabeth. Under
her reign, England began a systematic destruction of
the Celtic culture of Ireland.
When Philip II died on Sept. 13, 1598, his son, Philip
III, took the throne. When Tyrone started a rebellion,
immediate preparations began for an invasion of Ire-
land. Plans were to land troops, which would be peri-
odically supplied by sea. No plans were made for a
Spanish naval presence.
Troops were landed, but the Irish rebels were
unreliable. Eventually a truce was called, and the
Spanish returned home. In 1604, the hostilities be-
tween England and Spain ended. Spanish hegemony
in Europe was intact for another four decades, but its
monopoly in the Caribbean was ended. Spanish sea
power was unable to defeat a determined English de-
fense and the weather.*-
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Kingston, Mike. Texas Almanac, 1992-1993, book, 1991; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth279642/m1/605/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.