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The decline of the Portuguese empire as a
strong sea power began in 1580 when it united
with Spain in disputes with other European
countries.
DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMADA
From 1492 to 1588 Spain stood in the
forefront of sea power among the nations of
Europe. But Spain was a classic example of sea
power based on quantity rather than quality, as
evidenced by the defeat of the Spanish Armada
by the English in 1588. At this time, the king of
Spain, Philip II, determined to end successful
English raids on Spanish ships and ports. To
accomplish this, he launched an attack of over-
powering military force against England.
The Spanish Grand Invincible Armada, made
up of 124 ships, manned by 8,000 sailors, and
carrying 19,000 soldiers, entered the English
Channel. To oppose it, the English had only 90
ships, plus a mosquito fleet that had never seen
action. However, they also had the know-how of
Sir Francis Drake and his men. Drake, a master
mariner, knew how to use the wind and tide as
allies.
As a general rule, most naval battles were
virtually infantry fights on floating platforms. If
ramming did not sink an enemy ship, soldiers
swarmed over its side to engage in hand-to-hand
combat. The British, however, used the same
tactics the Portuguese had used at the battle of
Diu. Instead of engaging in close-range battle,
English ships maneuvered to the windward side
of the Spaniards and pounded them with artillery
from a distance. The big, lumbering Spanish
ships, with their towering upper works, were easy
targets.
Ignoring a chance to attack the English off
Plymouth, the Spanish sailed on up the Channel
while the English pecked away at them. Although
these attacks did little damage, they induced the
Spaniards to fire all their heavy shot with no
telling effects on the English. When the Spaniards
anchored in Calais, the English forced them out
by floating several burning hulks down on them
during the night. The next day the combined
English and Dutch fleets attacked the Armada and
might have crushed it had they possessed ample
powder and shot. After this upsetting blow, the
demoralized Spaniards fled north and rounded the
British Isles to the Atlantic. There, storms nearly
succeeded in finishing what the English had
started. The defeat of the Armada ushered in the
decline of Spain’s world dominance, while
England went on to become mistress of the sea.
While not achieving any great destruction of
the enemy, the English demonstrated the
superiority of tactics over an abundance of
weapons. From that time on, the use of gunnery
that could be fired from a distance gradually
replaced the shock action of close-range battles
at sea. The cries of “boarders away” and “stand
by to repel boarders” gradually became less
frequent.
THE CONTINENTAL NAVY
SIGNIFICANT DATES
13 Oct. 1775
Second Continental Congress
establishes the Continental
navy.
4 Apr. 1776
Brig Lexington takes first enemy
warship.
4 May 1780
Navy adopts its first official
seal.
19 Apr. 1783
General George Washington
proclaims American Revolution
ended. At the end of the war,
British naval strength included
469 vessels, with 174 of them
mounting 60 to 150 guns. The
American naval strength during
the war reached a peak of 27
ships averaging 20 guns.
Navies are born out of a spirit of independence
and under the threat of war. They are nurtured
into maturity by the urgent demands of defense
and sharpened by the encounters of conflict. The
Continental navy, which was the first American
navy, was born for such reasons during the
American Revolution.
Before the American Revolution, the
American Colonies were heavily dependent on the
sea for their livelihood. Harbors and shipbuilding
docks all along the coast offered livelihood to
many colonists and provided income to thousands
more. These ports also harbored the tiny, hastily
organized American naval forces that were sent
to harass the mightiest sea power in the world.
Therefore,
when the conflict between the
Americans and the British began, these ports were
naturally the first ports the British struck.
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