Queen'S Speech'S Role In The Armada Conflict'S Outcome

This is a political text; concretely is a speech from a Queen to her troops before a fighting. It refers to a defined historical moment: the defense of the British coasts against the invasion planned by Philip II, King of Spain, in the sixteenth century. The content corresponds to the English Queen speech that she made to her troops before the departure. The queen wanted to transmit to them her confidence in the army men and her confidence in the victory. The content of the speech was probably prepared by the Queen herself and some of the Parliament members.

This text must be included in the scenario of the lengthy fight between England and Spain[s1] governments, along the sixteenth century, for the control of the maritime trade with the New World. In fact, from the treatment of Nonsuch in 1585 between England and the protestant Provinces in Flandes, England and Spain were practically in war. In the year 1588 Philip II, King of Spain, resolved invading the British Iles in order to finish the conflict in a definitive way. In a letter from 1587 Philip II gives to the Duke of Parma, Captain General of the Spanish forces in Flandes, the instructions of cooperation with the Captain of the Spanish fleet. The target was to complete that the Spanish King named “the main enterprise”, that is, to take London and overthrow Elisabeth. Of course the British Queen didn´t made it easy to the Spanish troops. Both nations prepared intensely for the fight (As interesting fact, Miguel de Cervantes was at that moment in charge of wheat collection to the Army in Castilla).

The main subjects that it is possible to find in the speech could be classified in two groups. First one, the explanation of the attitude of the Queen towards the situation, and second one, the display of what she expected as an adequate reaction from herself and from her troops. Among the subjects of the first group there are the showing of an absolute confidence and love to her people, a total personal involvement and sacrifice disposition, and a clear condemn to the fact that a European prince (she mentions Spain and Parma) would have dared to invade her Kingdom. In the second group appear the Queen´s disposition to take the arms herself, if she had been not a women, the confidence on the absolute obey of the troops to her lieutenant as a representative of the Queen herself, a brave behaviour in the fight, and a reminding of the future rewards to whom accomplish her expectations.

The confidence and love to her people is showed through the statement that she would prefer to die before to lose the confidence in the British people, after have been advised not to appear in front of armed people to avoid the possibility to be hurt or died by a traitor.

The invasion planned by the Spanish King is qualified as foul scorn, qualification that is extended to any European prince that would dare to such action, apparently as a form of explanation to motivate the British troops and to predispose them to the fight. It is curious that Elisabeth defines herself as a weak woman... probably referring only to her physical constitution. Any way this definition explains why she delegates the fight commandment in a man, her lieutenant, but remarking to the troops that he is like herself and thus they must obey him, and show concord and brave behaviour in the battle field. As a result of these attitudes and behaviour the Queen foresees a victory over the enemy that she qualifies in advance as famous.

It is noticeable that the reminding of the rewards from the Queen appears very clearly and more than once; it seems that the war was not only a matter of patriotism. The text illustrates about the triangular approach of the concept of monarch in that period of the history: the King or Queen as a representative of the land, the people and their Good. Referring to the qualification of “foul scorn”, applicable to the attempt of invasion, it seems that Elisabeth forgot the noticeable amount of Spanish ships boarded by “British” corsairs over the previous decades.

From the nowadays point of view is not easy to know if the speech was determinant to the naval battle results. In fact the invasion was not possible. As a first inconvenient the departure was delayed, among other reasons, because a sudden attack carried out by Francis Drake, officer of Elisabeth troops and corsair, to the shipyards in Cádiz. Finally the Spanish Army parted from Lisbon and arrived to the English Channel where faced the British one. It was august the 8th, 1588. The fleets were commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia and by Charles Howard respectively. Around a hundred and thirty ships with thirty thousand men in the Spanish side, and around two hundred British ships more thirty ships from the United Provinces with twenty thousand men in the allied side.

The battle lasted nine days. The greater manoeuvrability of the British ships won over the greater tonnage of the Spanish ones, and finally it was not possible the landing. Loses were important in both sides. In the difficult return to Spain, surrounding the British Iles, the Army should facing strong storms in the Atlantic Coasts; they lost more ships still. As a consequence of this battle the control over the sea fell in the British side, and this situation lasted until the 20thcentury. The war continued to 1604, date in which it is signed the London treat.