Identifier: draketudornavy02corb (find matches)
Title: Drake and the Tudor navy, with a history of the rise of England as a maritime power
Year: 1898 (1890s)
Authors: Corbett, Julian Stafford, 1854-1922
Subjects: Drake, Francis, 1540?-1596
Publisher: London : Longmans, Green
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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th the Spanishfleet is upon their own coast or in any harbour of theirown, and there to defeat them; and he further explainsthere is still time for this course. Of the Spanish move-ments they had received no later information than that ofthe homeward bound merchantman which on May 14 hadseen the great fleet of ships coming from Lisbon. It wasthen standing to the westward on a northerly wind. Theskipper and his company, so Drake wrote, judge it to bethe great fleet which the King of Spain hath made ready ;for that they saw so many that they could not numberthem. They say that they saw 150 or 200 sail and yetcould not discover the end of the fleet, although they layto the eastward and the fleet to the westwards. Fromthis Drake deduced that what had been seen was one oftwo things. Either it was the whole Armada on its wayto England, or else it was the squadrons which had con-centrated at Lisbon making for a final rendezvous with therest of the Armada at Coruna or Vigo. If the former, the
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ATTEMPTS TO ATTACK THE ARMADA 171 prevailing winds must already have brought the Spaniardsin sight of Plymouth. As they had not appeared, therefore,he argued that the concentration was still incomplete andthat the Armada might yet be struck upon its own coast.1Howard fully accepted this view. Sir, he wrote toWalsingham, I protest before God I would I had not afoot of land in England, so that the wind would serve usto be abroad ; and the same eagerness to be away forVigo was in everyone keener than ever. Having sent up a categorical expression of hisopinion, that an attack with the whole fleet was still theproper course, the Lord Admiral naturally thought itought finally ,to settle the question. The Council indespatching him westward had solemnly resolved thatthe fleet was 1 to be employed as by his Lordship shallbe thought meet, upon such intelligence as he shall receivefrom time to time ; and having stated what he thoughtwas meet and the intelligence on which his opinion wasformed, h

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