Anglo-Spanish War 1585-1604 Invincible armada

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In the second half of the 16th century a series of economic, political, and religious circumstances created tensions in the relations between England and Spain. Protestant England came into direct confrontation with Catholic Spain; Elizabeth I of England had been excommunicated by Pope Pius V in 1570 whilst in 1584 Philip II of Spain had signed the Treaty of Joinville with the French Catholic League with the aim of eradicating Protestantism.
The constant raids by English privateers against Spanish territories in the West Indies and against the Spanish treasure fleet, which carried the wealth that supported Madrid's finances, were considered by the Spanish as a threat to their economic interests. The support of the English for the United Provinces, who were at this time fighting against Spain for their independence, was sealed by the Treaty of Nonsuch in 1585, whereby it was agreed to form an Anglo-Dutch military alliance against Spain. The English support for the pretender to the Portuguese throne, Dom António, was another source of contention.
The increasing power of the Spanish Empire, which in 1580 had entered a dynastic union with the Kingdom of Portugal and its empire under Philip of Spain, was expanding in the Americas and had the support of the Catholic German Habsburgs as well as the Italian princes, was regarded by the English as a major threat to their security.
In 1585 the tension between the two countries erupted into the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604. Philip II ordered the arming of a great military fleet, which was to become known as the Invincible Armada, and it was hastily assembled in the Spanish port of Cádiz and in the Portuguese port of Lisbon with the objective of invading England.

The first stamp depicts the Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I of England, the title of any of the three surviving versions of the allegorical panel depicting the Tudor queen surrounded by symbols of royal majesty against a background depicting the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Unknown English artist (previously attributed to George Gower).
Тhe second stamp there is a painting by an unknown artist: “The Invincible Armada on the March”
The third stamp depicts a portrait by Titian: “Philip II, King of Spain.”
Kuban 2020; (3x25r); (15х25r)
Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singeing_ ... C%C3%A1diz.

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The Cadix Raid
The Spanish king planned to invade England, for which a large fleet was assembled in Cadiz and Lisbon, later known as the Invincible Armada. Sir Francis Drake, having learned about this, suggested that Elizabeth I launch a preemptive strike and attack Spanish ships right in the ports. Queen Elizabeth and her government were convinced that war with Spain was inevitable and therefore Elizabeth placed four galleons under Drake's command: the flagship Elizabeth Bonaventure, Golden Lion, Rainbow and Dreadnought. In addition to them, 20armed merchant ships and pinnaces set off for the shores of Spain. A total of 24 ships took part in the expedition. On April 12, 1587, the English fleet sailed from Plymouth and headed for the shores of Spain.
No single campaign of Drake better illustrates his qualities as a commander than the famous "singeing of the beard" of King Philip II of Spain, in his enormously successful attack on the port of Cadiz. He appeared before Cadiz on April 29th, and late in the afternoon of that day he sailed boldly into the harbor, completely surprising the defenders, and throwing the Spanish land and naval forces there into a panic. All the remainder of the day, and all the next day, Drake cannonaded, plundered and burned. Thirty-seven naval and merchant vessels were destroyed with only small losses on his side. During the next month he sailed back and forth on the Iberian coasts between Lisbon and Cape St. Vincent, capturing ships and destroying supplies being sent to Lisbon for the Spanish Armada.
Along the way, Drake captured a rich prize - a karakka coming from Goa with a large cargo of gold, spices and silk (worth 108 thousand pounds sterling). During the entire campaign off the coast of Portugal and Spain, Drake's squadron destroyed more than 100 ships with various supplies. This delayed the launch of the “Invincible Armada” for more than a year, but could not force the Spaniards to completely abandon the idea of landing in England.

The Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada set sail for England in May 1588, and arrived on the English coast on 29 July, near Cornwall. An English fleet consisting of 55 ships set out from Plymouth to confront the Armada, under the command of Lord Howard of Effingham, with Sir Francis Drake serving as vice admiral, commanding from the galleon Revenge. As the English fleet pursued the Armada up the English Channel in closing darkness, Drake broke off and captured the disabled Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora del Rosario, along with Admiral Pedro de Valdés and most of his crew. The Spanish ship was known to be carrying substantial funds to pay the Spanish Armada.[127] Drake's ship had been leading the English pursuit of the Armada.
The stamp depicts a fragment of the painting: “The Battle of Cadiz” by the artist Aert Anthonisz.
Kuban 2020;25.0r; 25,0r.
Sources: https://www.loc.gov/collections/sir-fra ... adiz-raid/.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Drake.

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Sir John Hawkins (also spelled Hawkyns) (1532 – 12 November 1595) was an English naval commander, naval administrator, privateer and slave trader.
Hawkins pioneered, and was an early promoter of, English involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. He is considered to be the first English merchant to profit from the Triangle Trade, selling enslaved people from Africa to the Spanish colonies in the West Indies in the late 16th century

In 1578 Hawkins was appointed Treasurer of the Navy, briefly he worked alongside his father-in-law, Benjamin Gonson, before taking full control of the position. He embarked on a comprehensive reform of naval administration and managed to achieve an annual saving of nearly £4,000 per annum, while at the same time raising naval pay. He reformed the design of galleons so that they were longer, able to carry a larger number of guns, more manoeuvrable and faster moving. As a result of Hawkins' reforms, according to Garrett Mattingly, the Navy was a "fighting-fleet faster and more weatherly than any that had ever been seen on the ocean before". He also increased the size of the Navy, so that by 1587 it consisted of 23 ships and 18 pinnaces.
Hawkins served as a Vice-Admiral during victory against the Spanish Armada, he was part of the war council and third in command overall. Hawkins had an extensive influence on the outcome of the engagement not only through his command, but because his improved ship designs, while acting as Treasurer of the Navy, had given the fleet more firepower and speed.
The stamp depicts a portrait of John Hawkins (unknown artist) against the background of the painting: “The Battle between England and Spain” by artist Vroom Hendrik Cornelis
The Spanish flagship, the galleon "San Martin" in battle with English ships. By Cornelis Hendricks Vrom. The ship was built in 1580. The galleon had a total length of approximately 55 meters, a width of approximately 12 meters. It carried more than 40 heavy cannons on two decks and a host of smaller caliber weapons. The ship had a displacement of approximately 1000 tons. The flagship of Admiral Medina Sidonia the “San Martin” is attacked off the coast of Dover from port by the English “Rainbow” and from starboard by the Dutch “Gouden Leeuw” (Golden Lion), Dover, August 8, 1588.
The ship escaped destruction and returned to Spain.
Kuban 2020; 25.0 rub
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hawk ... commander).

[Anatol]

Lope de Vega is one of the founders of Spanish drama. He worked during the Renaissance. His literary heritage, in addition to novels, poems and sonnets, includes more than 2,000 plays, of which 426 have survived to this day.
Spanish literature of the 16th century is represented by two people of enormous talent, who were also naval servants. We once talked about the first one - this is Cervantes. The second is Lope de Vega.
Lope de Vega wrote not only his love plays and poems. Meanwhile, Lope de Vega wrote “Dedication to the Capture of the Azores”, several small poems and quatrains were dedicated to the Armada, and finally in 1598 he created an epic work on the death of Francis Drake - “Dragontea”.
Lope de Vega sailed on the almirante "San Juan" back in the campaign of 1582-83, and his friend Juan Martinez de Recalde commanded the ship.
It must be said that Lope de Vega and his brother Juan de Vega deliberately went on this campaign - the fact is that the galleys and ground forces there were commanded by his namesake - Lope de Figueroa, hero of Lepanto, commander of the third third of Sicily, and all the marines in island. It was under his command that the poet took part in the landing on Terceira, and returned in triumph to Cadiz on September 15.
When the formation of the Armada began, Recalde invited his old soldiers to go with him on his ship, the San Juan. And Lope, together with his brother Juan, happily accepted this offer. However, the campaign turned out to be very difficult - the Biscay Armada of Recalde was essentially a “Sonderkommando” of the Great Armada, which plugged all the weak points. And it must be said that the entire voyage along the canal the British could not do anything with it. Lope's brother Juan died in the battles in the English Channel, and the poet himself wrote about it something like this:
We catch other people's bullets with our chests,
Everywhere there is only sea and battle, side to side.
Belisa is crying bitterly,
Multiplying sorrow and shedding tears.
Finally, "San Juan" Recalde returns home:
Muskets on the shoulders.
Sides pierced by cannonballs.
And sails, torn by the wind.

This was Lope de Vega's last sea voyage. But he never ceased to be interested in the fleet.
The stamp features a portrait of "Lope de Vega" (Attributed to the artist Eugenio Caques) against a background illustration from Lope de Vega's book: “The Royal Navy”.
Kuban 2020; 25.0 rub.
Источник: : dzen.ru› a/W_EM0oVxzgCvoVR1.