Prayer and the defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588.

As I write this, it is the uncelebrated 430^th anniversary of the service of national thanksgiving held in St Paul’s Cathedral for the defeat of the Spanish Armada and, consequently, the preservation of a Bible-based Britain.

By the late 16^th Century, trouble between Spain and England had been in the air for some time. Preparations for the Armada had begun in Cadiz in April 1587 under the Admiral Santa Cruz. In the same year Francis Drake had carried out a pre-emptive raid, damaging many vessels and supplies by fire, so causing appreciable delay. Early in 1588 the experienced and skilful Cruz died of typhoid and was replaced by the inexperienced and unwilling Medina Sidonia.

In late May the Armada set sail from Lisbon, made up of 130 ships and 18,000 soldiers. Its destination was the Netherlands, where it was to be reinforced by some 30,000 troops before attacking England. Its purpose was to remove the Protestant Queen, Elizabeth I, and bring the nation back under Papal authority. The Pope himself had authorised the mission, which was masterminded by King Philip of Spain.

The English fleet at the time had only 80 ships, 50 of these being privateers (i.e. not part of the Navy). But Admiral John Hawkins, writing to Sir Francis Walsingham (Principal Secretary to Queen Elizabeth I) on 1 February 1587, had said “God will defend us, for we defend the chief cause, our religion, God’s own cause, for if we would leave our profession and turn to serve Baal (as God forbid, and rather to die a thousand deaths), we might have peace, but not with God”¹.

The purpose of the Armada was to remove the Protestant Queen of England, Elizabeth I, and bring the nation back under Papal authority.

A Nation Prostrate Before God

The nation was called to prayer and fasting. Rev Thomas Lathbury, writing in 1840, described the situation thus:

While the military preparations were going forward, the Queen and her council were not unmindful of the source whence success and preservation were to be expected. They well knew that unless the Lord should keep the city, the watchmen might wait in vain.

In this emergency, therefore, the nation was called to humble itself before God. Public prayers were enjoined to be used weekly…and a Form of Prayer was composed for that special purpose. The clergy of London were summoned to meet together, when they were strictly charged to observe the appointed days of fasting and prayer.Undoubtedly the clergy in other parts of the country were charged in a similar manner. 

Strype² quotes the following words from a manuscript of one of the London clergy of the period: “That being called together, they were required to be zealous in prayers and almsgiving, namely, on Wednesdays and Fridays; and to stir up the people thereunto; and proper homilies to be read for fasting, praying and almsgiving.”³

Thanks to clergyman and historian John Strype, we have a record of one of the prayers used in the Queen’s chapel during the time when the invasion was expected. It had this title: For Preservation and Success against the Spanish Navy and Forces. It was written by Henry Marten, the Queen’s Steward. The following extracts clearly show its nature:

O, Lord God, heavenly Father, the Lord of Hosts, without whose providence nothing proceedeth, and without whose mercy nothing is saved; in whose power are the hearts of princes, and the end of all their actions, have mercy upon thine afflicted Church; and especially regard thy servant Elizabeth, our most excellent Queen; to whom thy dispersed flock do fly in the anguish of their souls and the zeal of thy truth…

Consider O Lord, how long thy servant hath laboured to them for peace; but how proudly they prepare themselves unto battle. Arise, therefore, maintain thine own cause, and judge thou between her and her enemies…

To vanquish is all one with thee, by few or by many, by want or wealth, by weakness or by strength. The cause is thine, the enemies thine, the afflicted thine; the honour, the victory, and triumph shall be thine…

Give unto all her councils and captains wisdom, wariness, and courage, that they may speedily prevent the devices, and valiantly withstand the forces of all our enemies, that the fame of the Gospel may be spread unto the ends of the world.⁴ (my emphasis)

A prayer written by the Queen’s Steward beseeched God for success, “that the fame of the Gospel may spread unto the ends of the world”.

On 15 July Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral, right after the first sighting of the Armada, wrote to Sir Francis Walsingham, “Sir, the southerly wind that brought us back from the coast of Spain brought them out. God blessed us with turning us back. Sir, for the love of God and our country, let us have with some speed some great shot sent us of all bigness; for this service will continue long; and some powder with it.”⁵

Then, on 19 July, the Armada was sighted off the south-west coast of England by Thomas Fleming on the Golden Hinde. According to Emma Mason,

On July 22nd, the day after the first naval encounter south of Plymouth, Howard had arrived with his ships and starving crews at Harwich in Essex. In the evening, while Elizabeth was still at the English army camp at Tilbury, there were rumours that Parma and his invasion force had embarked and “would be here with as much speed as possibly he could”. The Queen refused to return for her own safety to London, declaring that she “would not think of deserting her army at a time of danger”. The next day her troops kept a public fast for victory.⁶

According to Richard Hakluyt, the great geographer, during these times “all people throughout England prostrated themselves with humble prayers and supplications unto God”.⁷ Such was the spiritual nature of the times.

‘Unexpected’ Events

Some totally unexpected things then occurred. On the very same day, the Spanish ship San Salvador was blown up, apparently by a German saboteur, and the following day the Rosario surrendered to Francis Drake without a fight. On 24 July the Spanish fleet departed from the original plans and attempted an attack on Southampton, but was frustrated by a change to unfavourable winds during an engagement off the Isle of Wight.

The Spanish fleet then proceeded with its plan to join forces with the Duke of Parma’s army in the Netherlands, anchoring off Gravelines, near Dunkirk, on 27 July. On 29 July Drake attacked with fireships and the Spanish fleet escaped in haste by cutting away their anchors. They were chased into the North Sea, where a change of wind drove them further north, causing Francis Drake to write to Walsingham, “God hath given us so good a day in forcing the enemy so far to leeward, as I hope in God the Duke of Parma and the Duke of Sidonia shall not shake hands this few days”.⁸

By 9 August, still fearing invasion by the Duke of Parma’s army, Queen Elizabeth visited her troops at Tilbury fort, where she gave a speech. According to William Leigh’s account in 1612, this included, “We commend your prayers, for they will move the heavens, so do we your powerful preaching, for that will shake the earth of our earthly hearts; and call us to repentance, whereby our good God may relieve us, and root up in mercy his deferred judgments against us, only be faithful and fear not.”⁹

Unseasonal storms and gale-force winds forced the Armada north around the British coastline, and onto Scottish and Irish rocks.

Then, unseasonal storms and gale-force winds struck the North Sea. Having cut away their anchors at Gravelines, the Spanish ships were unable to obtain safe anchorages. They were driven further north and half the remaining ships were destroyed. By 11 August the survivors had rounded Scotland, but more storms in late August wrecked even more ships on the Irish coast, where surviving crews were killed by the Irish. Meanwhile, Parma would not invade without naval support and instead turned to besiege the English garrison at Bergen op Zoom, where he was defeated.

Rejoicing in Prayers Answered

On 20 August a service of national thanksgiving was held in St Paul’s Cathedral in London, amid much rejoicing. Hakluyt remarked,

…there was in England, by the commandement of her Majestie, and in the united Provinces, by the direction of the States, a solemne festivall day publikely appointed, wherein all persons were enjoyned to resort unto the Church, and there to render thanks and praises unto God: and the Preachers were commanded to exhort the people thereunto. The foresayd solemnity was observed upon the 29 of November; which day was wholly spent in fasting, prayer, and giving of thanks.¹⁰

On the Spanish side, King Philip of Spain acknowledged the defeat of his forces as the result of what he called ‘The Protestant Wind’, whilst the Jesuit Pedro de Ribadeneira, having commented on God not being “moved by the pious prayers and tears of so many”, concluded, “It is both necessary and advisable to seek and consider the causes that may have moved God to punish us in this way.”¹¹

Figure 1. See Photo Credits.Coins and medallions were struck to commemorate the English victory, attributing success to God, as shown in Figure 1. The left one, struck at Dort in the Netherlands, shows people at prayer and reads: Homo proponit, Deus disponit (‘man proposes, God disposes’). The right one carries the text, Flavit JHVH [in Hebrew letters] et dissipati sunt (‘God blew and they were scattered’).

God indeed answered prayer - and the long-term outcome was that the Gospel truly was spread to the ends of the world! Let’s be encouraged in prayer and thanksgiving. Let’s also recognise that, given the current desperate state of our nation, it is surely time to follow the example set by our Elizabethan forebears. Their calls should be taken up anew with urgency – for powerful preaching, for repentance, for fasting and prayer, to seek God’s mercy and intervention. Such is the need of the hour.

References

1. Lawton, JK (Ed), 1894. State Papers Relating to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada. Vol 1, p58.
2. Strype, J. Annals of the Reformation, III, ii, p15 (John Strype was a curate, lecturer and author, 1643-1737).
3. Lathbury, T, 1840. The Spanish Armada, A.D. 1588: Or The Attempt of Philip II and Pope Sixtus to Re-Establish Popery in England. London: Parker, pp63-67.
4. See note 2, p546.
5. See note 1, pp288-289.
6. 10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Spanish Armada. BBC History Extra, 16 April 2015.
7. Hakluyt, R. The Vanquishing of the Spanish Armada: Anno 1588.
8. Wilson, AN, 2011. The Elizabethans. Random House, p255.
9. Ridgeway, C. 9 August 1588 – Elizabeth I’s Tilbury Speech. The Tudor Society.
10. Richard Hakluyt, op.cit.
11. Martin, C and Parker, G, 1999. The Spanish Armada. 2nd Edition, Manchester University Press.