"THE ENGLISH ARMADA", A TALK BY SPANISH WRITER LUIS GORROCHATEGUI. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH, 7.30PM
In 1588 King Philip II of Spain sent a great Armada to attack England. This armada was defeated by a combination of the English forces and bad weather. This defeat left Spain vulnerable to attack. The next year, 1589, Queen Elizabeth I of England decided to take advantage of this Spanish weakness by launching a massive attack against Spain and Portugal (Portugal was at that time part of Spain and ruled by Philip II). This English Armada was even larger than its Spanish counterpart of the previous year, with more ships and more men. The destiny of this English fleet is at the centre of Spanish writer Luis Gorrochategui’s book The English Armada , which charts the series of calamities that befell the largest fleet ever assembled by England. The book also explains how such a disaster was covered up in the aftermath, and how it has faded from history, while the Spanish Armada of the year before has become one of European history’s great lan