At midnight on this day in history, the 28th July 1588, five hell-burners were ordered to be sent amongst the galleons of the Spanish Armada at Calais. Hell-burners were fire-ships, ships that were packed with wood and pitch and set alight. The high winds at Calais caused an inferno which resulted in complete chaos and the Armada’s crescent formation was wrecked as galleons scattered in panic.
The English move had been a success and, as Alison Weir says:-
“This meant that the little English ships would now be able to fight on more equal terms. As a result of this action, morale amongst Spanish forces was fatally weakened.”1
Notes
- Elizabeth the Queen, Alison Weir, p391
Related posts:
The Spanish Armada 4: The Battle of Gravelines
The Spanish Armada 6 – The Spanish Fleet Homeward Bound
The Spanish Armada 5 – The Protestant Wind
The Spanish Armada 1: The Assembling of Troops at Tilbury Fort
Spanish Armada 9 – God Blew and They Were Scattered
The Spanish Armada 8 – Elizabeth’s Tilbury Speech
The Spanish Armada 2 – Leicester Invites Elizabeth to Tilbury
The Spanish Armada 7 – Elizabeth I Visits Tilbury
Sir Francis Drake Sets Sails from Plymouth for Spain – 2 April 1587
Singeing the King of Spain’s Beard – April 1587
Painting the Armada Exhibition
Sir Francis Drake Sets Off on his Circumnavigation – 13 December 1577
