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PEC. Primer Cuatrimestre. Elizabeth I: Against the Spanish

Armada
Mundos Anglófonos en Perspectiva Histórica y Cultural (UNED)

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Elizabeth I. Against the Spanish Armada. 1588

This is a historical-circumstantial text, a speech given by Queen Elizabeth I of
England, meant to boost the morale of her troops, as they faced the possibility
of battle, and to reinforce herself as a sovereign prince embodying the qualities
of man, woman and king. It took place at Tilbury, Essex, on 19 August 1588, af-
ter the Battle of Gravelines, the most notable event of the undeclared Anglo-
Spanish War (1585-1604), in which England confronted an invasion by Spain.
This invasion was seen by Catholic King Philip II of Spain as a crusade to rid
catholic Europe of its most significant protestant opposition left. It was also in-
tended to settle economic conflicts between the two powers, in both the Span-
ish Netherlands and the Atlantic trade routes. When the speech was given,
there were still fears that Spain may attack from Dunkirk but victory was soon to
be complete.
Employing the plural to refer to herself, as was common practice among the
princes of the period, Queen Elizabeth begins her speech emphasizing her af-
fection for her subjects by declaring herself safe in their presence, contrary to
the opinions of others she doesn’t name (presumably, personal advisors). “Let
tyrants fear,” she says, separating her own person from despotic rulers such as
King Philip himself, the leader of the Counter-Reformation. Then she invokes
God, kingdom and people for the first time and asserts that she is there to live
and die with them.
Elizabeth presents herself as weak in body but equal to any king in spirit, as
zealous and fierce in her protection of her kingdom and her subjects as a male
prince could be. She assures her soldiers of her presence in the battlefield and
guarantees that she shall be their general, judge and rewarder. Then she intro-
duces her lieutenant general, her proxy in the battlefield, and declares that, by
their obedience, comradeship and valor, victory would be theirs. The speech
ends with another mention of God, kingdom and people.
From the beginning of her reign, Elizabeth had been a believer in the English
Reformation begun by her father, Henry VIII, and followed by her brother, Ed -
ward VI. After Edward’s premature death, their sister Mary took the throne and
led England back to Catholicism, strengthening her purpose by marrying King
Philip of Spain. After Mary’s death, Elizabeth became Queen and continued her

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father and brother’s reforms, undoing what her elder sister had done. When a
second Spanish marriage was suggested, Elizabeth declined, not desiring to
have for a spouse the persecutor of her faith nor to give England a foreign ruler.
By doing this, she was able to continue to present herself as the Virgin Queen,
married to her subjects and England.
Religious conflict rose in Europe and England feared its propagation. Philip is
believed to have supported plots to have her overthrown and replaced by her
cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, who had become Elizabeth’s prisoner after Mary
had been deposed in Scotland, in favor of her son James.
The economic side of the conflict extended to the Atlantic, as England and
Spain vied for supremacy over the trade markets of the colonies. Elizabeth had
invested in the privateer Francis Drake’s aggressive expeditions against Span-
ish ships which ultimately returned great profit to her.
The feud grew as Elizabeth covertly supported the protestant rebellion in the
Spanish Netherlands, by financing the protestant efforts to overthrow the Habs-
burgs. England had economic interests in the Netherlands where English wool
traders made great business. This meant that the success of the rebellion led
by protestant Prince William of Orange, would be convenient to England. It also
meant stopping the Spanish persecution of her coreligionists, but the Prince’s
assassination left the fate of Protestantism in Elizabeth’s hands.
Queen Mary’s involvement in Catholic conspiracies to murder and replace
Elizabeth in the English throne, led to her execution. This event ultimately
pressed Spain to project an invasion of England to defeat religious opposition
and recover control over the Netherlands and the Atlantic markets.
With war preparations completed, the Spanish Armada sailed for England
carrying land troops under the Duke of Parma’s command. The fleet, led by the
inexperienced Duke of Medina Sidonia, was unfit for a tactical battle, with ships
too large to be effectively used in the Battle of Gravelines. The smaller English
ships outmaneuvered the Spaniards. Violent weather conditions destroyed
much of the remaining fleet against the western coast of Scotland, trying to re -
turn home.
When Elizabeth gave her speech at Tilbury, victory was not yet confirmed; a
second attempt by the Duke of Parma was still an open possibility. But soon
confirmation was given. The belief that God had helped against the Spanish

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and, therefore, the cause of Protestantism, served as motivation to continue

building upon the Reformation throughout Europe. It also strengthened national
pride and established England as a European power. All of this gave Elizabeth
a great and enduring popularity.
The Tilbury speech has a significance beyond the importance of the political
events surrounding it. It was Elizabeth’s theatrical attempt at being seen as
something other than what a woman was restricted to be. She resented war be-
cause it meant leaving power in the hands of others and she found a way to be
present on the field. Wearing armor, she spoke to her troops with both humility
and grandeur, calling for both comradeship and obedience, not unlike a Shake-
spearean general or a hero from ancient poetry.
To conclude, during Elizabeth’s reign, England rose to become a European
power and Protestantism prevailed as the national religion. She achieved this
by surmounting every difficulty a male monarch would have faced, as well as
others thrown in her way because of her sex, and using her image as a rhetori-
cal device more skillfully than any other English sovereign had ever done be-
fore, or has done since. In my opinion, Queen Elizabeth was a political leader of
uncommon intelligence and determination, with a great command of both the-
atrics and penmanship. Even if the general despotic behavior of the princes of
the period may seem abhorrent today, she is one of the more tolerable ones
and her charisma and intellectual stature can’t be disputed.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. David Starkey's Elizabeth. Directed by Max Fielder. Channel 4, 2007.

2. Oakland, John. British Civilization. Routledge. Seventh edition. 2006.
3. Wikipedia contributors. "Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)." Wikipedia, The
Free Encyclopedia, 11 Nov. 2016. Web. 11 Nov. 2016,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Spanish_War_(1585%E2%80%931604)
4. Wikipedia contributors. "Spanish Armada." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclope-
dia, 8 Dec. 2016. Web. 8 Dec. 2016,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Armada
5. Wikipedia contributors. "Speech to the Troops at Tilbury." Wikipedia, The
Free Encyclopedia, 7 Nov. 2016. Web. 7 Nov. 2016,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_to_the_Troops_at_Tilbury

COMMENTARY: 10

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