Battle of Cádiz

The intense rivalry between England and Spain during the reign of Elizabeth I led Philip II of Spain to prepare an armada to invade England. Learning of this through spies employed by her councilor, Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth ordered a preemptive strike against the Spanish fleet, a daring raid sometimes called the Battle of Cádiz, though its leader, Francis Drake, declared his adventure the “singeing of the king of Spain’s beard.” Drake carried his successful attack out between April 29 and May 1, 1587.

Tension between Protestant England and Catholic Spain grew during the reign of Elizabeth I. English privateers attacked Spanish ships, while the English aided Dutch rebels in their revolt against Spanish rule. In 1587, Elizabeth executed her Catholic cousin and heir, Mary Queen of Scots, for treason. In response, Philip prepared a large armada to invade England to overthrow Elizabeth and restore Catholicism. Elizabeth ordered Francis Drake to disrupt Philip’s plans. Walsingham masked Drake’s departure on April 12 by sending a false report to the English ambassador in Paris, who was in the pay of the Spanish, so that Drake could sail without being intercepted on the open sea. Once Drake had departed, Elizabeth sent a false counter-command ordering him not to engage with the Spanish, a subterfuge that would allow her deny involvement should Drake fail in his mission.

The English fleet arrived at Cádiz on the afternoon of 29 April, and, flying no flags to indicate their nationality, sailed through the defending galleys into the harbor. The English quickly sunk a Genoese merchantman and then began to attack the many ships at anchor, removing their cargoes and setting them alight. The Spanish defenders launched a number of hit-and-run attacks and managed to seize one isolated English ship. The next day, the English continued their attacks, despite the Spanish use of heavy onshore guns and fireships sent in to disrupt the English fleet. Unfavorable winds kept the English fleet in harbor a second night before Drake made his escape the next day. After he read a report on the raid, Philip II stated, “The loss was not very great, but the daring of the attempt was very great indeed.” However, the English destruction of thousands of barrel staves, crucial to the manufacture of storage barrels, was to prove significant when the famed Spanish Armada of 1588 set out to sea to conquer England with too few barrels of food and drink.

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After the raid, Drake lingered off the Spanish coast until early June, harassing Spanish shipping and seizing a carrack bearing trade goods from Goa to Lisbon, earning him a bounty of £14,000, while Elizabeth took over £40,000. The expedition was thus successful financially as well as strategically.

Losses: English, 1 ship captured of 21; Spanish, 33 ships destroyed.