The Spanish Armada

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Spanish Armada. On May 28th, 1588, a fleet of a hundred and fifty-one Spanish ships set out from Lisbon, bound for England. Its mission was to transport a huge invasion force across the Channel: the Spanish King, Philip II, was determined to remove Elizabeth from the throne and return the English to the Catholic fold. Two months later the mighty Spanish Armada was sighted off the coast of Cornwall. Bad weather, poor planning and spirited English resistance defeated the Spaniards: after a brief battle the remnants of their fleet fled. This tale of religious dispute, shifting political alliance and naval supremacy has entered our folklore - although some historians argue it changed nothing.

→ Play on BBC Sounds website

Guests

• Diane Purkiss 4 episodes
  Fellow and Tutor at Keble College, Oxford
• Mia Rodriguez-Salgado No other episodes
  Professor in International History at the London School of Economics
• Nicholas Rodger No other episodes
  Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College at the University of Oxford

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Programme ID: b00v1qyb

Episode page: bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00v1qyb

Auto-category: 942.055 (History of England during the reign of Elizabeth I)