The Voyage of the Armada: The Spanish Story

by David Howarth

'Mr Howarth is a brilliant writer, full of grace and wit and solid common sense' - The New Yorker A reprint of a marvellous retelling of the Armada story. Until this book was published, the Battle of the Armada had been told primarily from the English viewpoint, the English victory puffed up into a national heroic tale which was far from the truth. There is another side to this story, however, and, basing his narrative on previously unexplored Spanish sources, David Howarth, brilliantly redressed the balance.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, School, Military Fiction, War, Renaissance, World History

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 1981

About the author

David Armine Howarth (1912 - 1991) was a British historian and author. After graduating from Cambridge University, he was a radio war correspondent for BBC at the start of the Second World War, joining the Navy after the fall of France. He rose to the rank of lieutenant commander and spent four yeas in the Shetland Islands, becoming second in command of the Shetland Naval base. He was involved in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), including the Shetland Bus, an SOE operation manned by Norwegians running a clandestine route between Shetland and Norway, which utilized fishing boats with crews of Norwegian volunteers to land agents and arms in occupied Norway. For his contributions to espionage operations against the German occupation of Norway, he received King Haakon VII's Cross of Liberty. The King also made Howarth a Chevalier First Class of the Order of St Olav.

After the War he designed and built boats before turning to writing full time. He wrote an account of the Shetland Bus operation, as well as many other books of history, bringing to his many of his books an immense practical knowledge of ships and the sea.

David Howarth died in 1991. At his request, his ashes were scattered over the waters of Lunna Voe, Shetland, near Lunna House, the first base of the Shetland Bus operation.

Reviews

[Bibliobites Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

An AO year 8 book that I’m finally getting around to, and I enjoyed it very much. It’s a subject I knew very little about going in, and I found it fascinating and learned so much. This is my second Howarth book (having read 1066 about two years ago) and I feel like he writes non-fiction exactly as it should be written. His writing is well done, not stiff and scholarly, and holds the readers attention. The amount of research he’s done is clear, and he sticks to what is known, or explains what can be most likely surmised, without going off into flights of fancy or speculation. Yet he never bogs one down with details or gets boring. I plan to read more of his books in the future.

[Петър Стойков · Rating 4 out of 5]

Това, което винаги сме знаели е, че Великата армада на Испанската империя напада Англия, но поради лошото време разтегля строя си прекалено много на километри и поради това англичаните успяват да я разбият в една от най-великите военни победи в историята.

Самата история обаче, както знаем я пишат победителите и този случай не прави изключение. Ако се водим от историческите документи, вкл. и особено испанските такива, нещата изглеждат по съвсем различен и далеч не толкова героичен начин.

Не само, че армадата (дума, която означава просто "група бойни кораби" на испански) е изключително зле подготвена и два пъти по-малка, отколкото е планирано да бъде, не само, че е водена от сухопътни офицери и предводителят й няма никакъв военен или военоморски опит, не само, че корабите й са безнадеждно морално остарели в сравнение с английските... ами самата битка повече прилича на безредно блъскане отвреме на време, повечето кораби както на испанците, така и англичаните така и не виждат противника, а боевете, доколкото ти има, са толкова незначителни, че дни след края на битката англичаните изобщо не знаят, че са "победили" и че испанците са решили да се откажат от понататъшни опити (нещо, за което те мислят още от тръгването).

Дейвид Хоуарт прави преглед на огромно количество документи, доклади и писма, основно от испанска страна, за да опише замисъла, събирането и пътуването на армадата и командването й от самоизолиралия се и според мен умствено разклатен испански крал. Поради големите подробности, описващи всяка среща на испанското командване, цитираща по-важните писма (всичко това е запазено и до днес като реални документи в архивите) и т.н. книгата е малко тегава и дълга, но именно това я прави исторически точна.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Voyage of the Armada” by David Howarth was a good, concise read. I am slowly working my way through all of Howarth’s writing because I enjoy his style, and this tale did not disappoint. He always writes with brevity and wit…two attributes that are hard to combine.

Howarth’s The Voyage of the Armada recounts the tale of Spain’s Catholic King Philip II’s attempt to take over England from Protestant Queen Elizabeth I in 1588…Philip wanted to reunite the Catholic world. This story has been written about many times in the past…most handily by Garrett Mattingly in 1959 in his Pulitzer Prize winner “The Armada” (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...). What Howarth brings to the table in his 1981 version is a retelling almost solely from the Spanish POV. Once again we are confronted with the endless problems of communication between and among commanders/ships, the importance of weather, and the hubris of King Philip.

All-in-all this remains a great tale…and an important one in world history because it essentially marked the removal of Spain from the front ranks of nations. Great companion book to Mattingly’s. Recommended.

[Joanna Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK WAS HILARIOUS. Ok this seems like the really serious boring kinda book. But it’s not it show how horribly planned the invasion was. And how stupid the spanish were at this time at least the king was stupid. Firstly they didn’t check their food and water supplies for leaks and wholes, secondly the king completely ignored the duke running the fleet’s cries for help. Then on the way home they had many and I mean very many navigation issues some of the ships ended up in Ireland for crying out loud. Not to mention how over crowded these boats were. Scurvy ran amuck between all the ships and to add to their suffering they lose the battle and England not even a scratch plus a huge ego boost for them. But the Spanish return home in shame. And this endeavor to took about a year (because they stopped at a port for a long time in the middle.) all in all for at least me it was hilarious and one of the Brett school books I have ever read (I am homeschooled for those wondering.)

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there are a ton of books about the Spanish Armada, this is one of the rare English-language books written from the Spanish persepctive. Source material is primarily Spanish records, letters and diaries from Spanish soldiers, sailors, officers, King Philip, the Duke of Parma (Spanish commander in the Netherlands), the Count de Olivares (Spanish envoy to the Vatican), Don Mendoza (Spanish ambassador to France), and the Duke of Medina Sidonia (overall commander of the Armada). He only uses enough English sources to shine some light areas that the Spanish were ignorant of at the time. The author avoids doing too much historical digression, but does give useful details about 16th Century ship design, artillery, and navigation. When he has to speculate, he's clear that's what he's doing. On the other hand, when it comes to some of the principle figures, he's got some opinions. My observations - Chapter 1: Boy, this dude really hates King Phillip. After reading several more chapters, I’m getting a certain “King Philip was an idiot and this is all his fault.,” vibe from the author. He pretty much stuck with this viewpoint throughout the book. 3.5 stars.

[Julie Mabus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so interesting. I had very little knowledge of the Voyage of the Armada except that it failed. Hearing the details of the voyage shows it was doomed from the beginning. King Philip was an interesting character and I felt truly sorry for the Duke who had no desire nor ability to lead this voyage yet was forced to by the foolish king. This was well written and very enjoyable.

[Erin Level · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3.5 - Very interesting but also very long. 0/10 desire to time travel back and sail on one of those Armada ships.

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wonderfully descriptive book by the English author, David Howarth, is well worth reading if you have a desire to learn about the Spanish Armada and the "Enterprise against England". Although this book, `The Voyage of the Armada' (1981) is not as detailed as `The Armada' (1959) by Garrett Mattingly, its still a great story and well worth the time to read.

By all accounts this story of the enterprise is told as it was seen through the eyes and experiences of the Spanish soldiers and sailors and is very well done in that regard. Using first hand accounts found in numerous Spanish letters and reports, many previously not utilised before, the story comes alive and gives you a real feeling and understanding of the participants, many who did not survive to tell their tale.

One aspect of the book that I found pleasing was that the author took the story past the battle with the English fleet. David Howarth provides the reader with an account of what happened to the ships and men who actually survived the "dash" up the Channel. Those who were shipwrecked along the Irish coast were subjected to even more terror than they had experienced so far and very few survived.

The real hero of this story is Medina Sidonia, the commander of the Spanish ships, and I found myself wondering could anyone have done any better under similar circumstances? This is a great story with an exciting narrative and although it only runs to 250 pages (hardback edition) I found I came away with a better understanding of what happened and why. This book would be a great companion volume to `The Armada' by Garrett Mattingly but can stand alone as a decent and well presented account of the "Armada".

[David Cuatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting historical narrative written from the Spanish point of view for a change. Quite different from the version most of us learned in school that is derived from English records. Well written and engaging, although the often terrible decisions made by the Spanish are cringeworthy.

[Grommit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consider the old rubric: the winners write the history. That was certainly true of the story of the Spanish Armada. England won, England wrote the history. Until now. David Howarth has re-calibrated the story. England still won. But the reasons now must include the naval tactics, ship design, "bolloxed" communications, legacy ship command, and just trying to do too much.
1) England's ships were fast, designed for standing off and firing away, while the Armada's ships were big, slow, and designed to get the soldiers close enough to board the opponent. The armada was sailed amazingly well when combat ensued. Too well. The English ships avoided close contact with the armada (to the annoyance of the Spanish soldiers clamoring to get close so they could board).
2) It has been previously acknowledged that Spain's plan was a tad complex: sail to Dunkirk (amazing...Dunkirk featured in another battle...), pick up Parma's soldiers, then sail on to England for a land invasion. Only Parma never really bought in to this plan. Oops.
3) England had adopted the command structure with the chief sailor (the captain) in charge of strategy and tactics. Spain retained the old structure of having the army in command. Not sure this really impacted the outcome, but it sure made the time between battles challenging for the Spanish fleet commanders.
4) The armada took a long time to be built and provisioned. Captains were curiously uninformed about where they were sailing. And the ships were surprisingly (to me) a real pain to sail. There were frequent periods where the winds were just not cooperating. Somehow I thought this would be worked out by the folks who could build these magnificent square rigged ships. Oh well.
5) An added point was the construction of the cannons and shells. As Howarth points out, the Spanish cannons and shells were brittle, making them ineffective and penetrating English hulls, and dangerous when the cannon broke apart.
6) Popular stories imply that the fire ships were the ultimate weapon in defeating the Armada. Um...nope. They did not do much damage at all.
Howarth details all of this, and more, inside 250 pages. And it is packed with additional information, especially in explaining what happened when the armada tried to sail away after their defeat. Grusome.
My only complaint is with maps...or the lack therof. But this is my complaint with just about all history books. Why does the author insist in using paragraphs explaining directions, shores, locations, when one simple map would more than suffice? Oh well, off to the local bookstore to get a printed map.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

The voyage of the Spanish Armada from the POV of the Spanish. Howarth shows how the entire thing was doomed from the start and that the idea of a great David/Goliath battle was mostly a fabrication. The Spanish really never had a chance, mostly because of poor planning and a technological disadvantage. King Phillip II planned the entire thing from his room in his castle and based it all on the Will of God and a fundamental lack of understanding of the difficulties involved. Phillip spent four hours a day on his knees praying and believed that God would aid him in freeing the English from the tyranny of the Protestants. Coincidentally, a victory would also make him King of England, but surely that fact did not in any way color his decisions.

Phillip chose the Duke of Medina to lead the armada. The Duke had no knowledge of land warfare and all he knew of ships was that being on one made his seasick. He expressed this to the King. After the death of the original Admiral the King was more interested in having someone notably loyal like the Duke who would not keep bothering him with excuses for delays. The Duke inherited a fleet of many disparate vessels, most not fit for an Atlantic voyage, with food stores that had been stores up for months and were half rotten before he even began. Phillip trusted in God to deliver fair weather, but God had other plans.

The few Spanish ships that were actual war vessels were already out of date, with huge castles on either end and woefully poor in sailing against the wind. A great many of the ships were converted merchant men which never left sight of the coast and were dreadfully slow, not fit for ocean going at all. In fact, the Great Armada was not an armada at all, but a convoy. The Spanish filled their ships with soldiers, expecting to close and grapple with the enemy. The English under Hawkins and Drake had upgraded their navy to fast ships with no castles, built to outmaneuver the enemy and fight from long range.

The Spanish intended to rendezvous with the Duke of Parma in the Netherlands and ferry his army across the channel. Parma had spent a year under orders from Phillip to negotiate for peace with England but under no circumstances were the negotiations to succeed. He told the English what they wanted to hear, and apparently did the same with Phillip. Having dealt with England Parma knew that he did not have the army necessary to ensure victory, and that the great wave of Catholic support that Phillip expected in England was mere fantasy. He stalled all along and never made any real effort to prepare for the invasion.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howarth's history of the Armada voyage is fascinating as told from the Spanish point of view. This book has been in my library for some time and I finally got down to reading it. He tracks the voyage from the planning stage through to the return to Spain by the half of the fleet that survived to return. The numbers of ships, sailors, and soldiers were stunning; they should have been able to effect a landing and invasion. But the lack of understanding by King Phillip of the details of naval warfare and his trust that God would bring about a miracle to allow Spain to win over the heretical English queen is astounding. Howarth shows that the battle could have gone a different way several times in the beginning had the orders been flexible for the men on the ships to make decisions as the situation demanded. However, after they got into the Channel and the weather deteriorated, there was no going back - the battle was over and the Spanish lost.
King Phillip was wrong; he sent the wrong ships, the wrong men, at the wrong time of year, with the wrong presuppositions as to the English desire for "liberation". But maybe he was right about God's intervention; Howarth admits at the end that naval battles under sail depend almost entirely on the winds and he shows how each side was helped or hindered by the prevailing winds at different times despite the battle plans they tried to execute. I found the entire story fascinating even though it was difficult to keep the Spanish names and their positions separate. A valuable addition to the other side of the story of the Armada.

[Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Antes de comenzar la lectura, hay que ponerse en contexto. Y no me refiero al contexto histórico del siglo XVI donde se produce el relato que el autor nos transmite, sino del propio contexto del autor.

Más marino que historiador; acudiendo, principalmente, a fuentes inglesas clásicas; siendo él mismo inglés, y escribiendo en la década de 1970, lo que tenemos es un relato bastante conciso y directo, sin muchos alardes literarios y más cercano a un cuaderno de bitácora que a un relato conexo. La influencia de sus fuentes y su propia formación destila una parcialidad, por otra parte nunca oculta, en la que todo lo español es mezquino, estúpido, fanático y artero, contrapuesto a la virtud, elegancia y habilidad inglesas.

Pese a todo, el autor realiza un análisis bastante veraz y certero de lo sucedido, tratando de dejar de lado sus propios prejuicios y ciñéndose a los hechos e hipótesis plausibles para las lagunas documentales. La lectura, aunque algo árida por momentos, resulta un resumen bastante acertado y conciso de los prolegómenos, desarrollo y desenlace de esta empresa. Por tanto, pese a los años que han pasado y que en algunas situaciones ha podido quedar desactualizado ante los nuevos descubrimientos, no podemos negar que es una muy recomendable aproximación a este hecho histórico, especialmente para aquellos que buscan leer la historia desde el otro lado.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book with my 13 year old son and it was tough to get through. The story of the Spanish Armada is fascinating and the tale is super entertaining but we could’ve done without so many of the details: winds, wind directions, depths, shorelines, etc. etc. I wish it had been half as long, seriously. But alas we finished and we’re hopefully better for it. If I had to read again I would have a good map of the channel nearby and we’d do more research of the navigational system used in 1588 and get pictures of the different ships and boats so we could see what was being described. But let’s face it, I’m going to outsource this for the next kids coming along. Once was enough for me!

[Leah Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy reading about minute details of shipping vessels from the 16th century, then this is the book for you. This was a well-written book for the most part, but in my opinion it read more like a logbook of ship statistics than what I would have preferred. I think this would have been a fascinating account if it had included less measurements, statistics, and vague details. This might seem like a harsh review for what is, after all, an historical account, but I read many historical nonfiction books both for school and for fun, and nearly all of them were more riveting than this one. Three stars for its factuality and for the poor Duke of Medina-Sidonia.

[Jill Courser · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read overall! It felt a little heavy with technical naval details now and then, but for the most part a compelling and human telling of the story of the armada. Howarth does especially well in contrasting the character of the 2 main Spanish figures: the foolish and reclusive King Philip, who believed the attack and invasion of England was ordained by God, no matter how impossible; and the Duke of Medina Sidonia, who was forced to command the armada against his own wishes and dutifully obeyed the King's orders even in the face of disaster.

[Andrew Herbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howarth wrote very well and this is another volume of interest. I wish there were more maps and detail provided to support the text. I know of the defeat of the Armada from British-centred histories, so this was a very interesting read.

The text relies heavily on the letters sent from combatants, the king, and various diarists. Howarth supplements this with details of the ships, weapons and weather of the time to paint a vivid picture of the voyage and battles.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not hate this subject per se, but boy did this book make it tough to endure. I certainly enjoyed the chapters giving particulars on sea life and the excerpts of letters and speeches. All the rest (e. g. the captain’s weakness, EVERY detail about EVERY ships’ losses, the king of Spain at that time’s stupidity) was so boring. I suggest finding a book from the English point of view.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first chapter or two is a bit slow but the rest was quite an entertaining read. Especially if you are a sailor it was fascinating to read all the finer details. As a metallurgist I also appreciated the part about the Spanish cannon balls.

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent retelling of the Spanish Armada and conditions on board the ship and what was happening on both sides.

[Rachel]

One of my favorite history books in our homeschool program.

[Christie Wessels · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of the Armada from the Spanish perspective. Sad and depressing for all involved. A bad plan, poorly executed, at the expense of so many lives.

[Scarlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confusingly written but I did like some of the anecdotes

[Meredith Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read along with Ben.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Howarth digs deeply in King Philips's voluminous archives to see exactly what shaped this fiasco and how it just grew worse and worse from its inception. This is the Spanish side of the story, and it is not what you have been taught in school. You have been hearing in recent years about those mysterious Spanish Galleon’s wreaked along the coast of Ireland, but what happened to those ships, and any survivors of those wreaks? The terrible conditions on the Spanish ships (from day 1) are detailed. Horwarth lays out a worthy read, but not wordy, at only 247 pages. I wish the book would have had some useful modern maps so that I might have tracked the ships that I was reading about.

[Nerdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this as a punishment and I thought it would thoroughly suck but it actually doesn't. It's nicely descriptive with many good details and tells the history almost like a story. I haven't read many other Armada books so I can't compare it but it's not to bad of a history book to start with when looking into the category. I will say though it has a lot of naval(sailing) termonology. It's worth the read though.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good account of the Spanish attempt to invade England. The results of the Armada's destruction are the most interesting parts, especially the tales of Spanish sailors shipwrecked in England. The naval tactics of botht the English and Spanish are also interesting as neither fleet was capable of fighting the other.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was part of our history reading for school. It tells the story of the Spanish Armada from the Spanish point of view, through letters, official documents, and first-hand accounts of participants. It was a fascinating story. I especially enjoyed learning more about King Philip's poor leadership and the duke of Medina Sidonia's noble, unwilling service to the king.

[Missmath144 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting (and short, easy-to-read) history. The author sees the Duke who was in charge of the Armada, not as a coward or bungler, but as brave, loyal, and destined to doom by circumstances beyond his control. The Armada lost because of the design of its ships, the weather, the King's outrageous plan, and more -- all beyond his control.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good popular introduction to the politics and military relations between Britain and Spain in the late sixteenth century with an emphasis on the failed Spanish attempt to invade Britain in 1588. Most notable for being an English book representing the Spanish point of view.