This website is about 'The Fire Ships' - a suite for orchestra and choir composed and arranged by Laurence F Harvey between 2008 and 2024 retelling the story of the 1588 Spanish Armada.
On 28 May 1588, following a year of preparation, King Philip (Philip ‘the prudent’, or ‘Felipe El Prudente) of Spain launched an Armada of 130 ships, 8,000 sailors, 18,000 soldiers and 130 Catholic priests with the objective of invading and conquering England, ending England’s interference with Spanish colonial conquests and shipping, and restoring supremacy of the Catholic church.
Queen Elizabeth (known in England as ‘Gloriana’ or ‘Virgin Queen’) was aware of King Philip’s plans and assembled her own, significantly smaller, fleet at Plymouth.
The Armada set sail from Lisbon.
So large was the fleet that it took two days to leave port. The plan was to
sail to the coast of Flanders and pick up an additional 30,000 soldiers from
the Spanish army in the Netherlands, cross the channel and invade the
south-east coast of England. Parents,
wives, children and lovers all said farewell to their loved ones not knowing if they would ever
see them again.
"Though they sail for England
I pray for safe return"
At the time that news arrived in England that the Spanish Armada had been spotted off the coast of Cornwall, the English fleet was trapped in Plymouth by a low tide, and the Spanish could have possibly destroyed it while defenceless. But Medina Sidonia, the Duke in command of the operation (codenamed ‘The Enterprise of England’ by King Philip), decided against it, an error of judgement that probably saved England. When the tide turned, 55 English ships hurried after the Armada under the control of Lord Howard and Sir Francis Drake. During the following week there were two inconclusive battles, and the Spanish Armada made a temporary base on the Isle of Wight. The English then launched a full-scale attack. The Spanish admiral felt that he could not trust that the charts in his possession had the sandbanks plotted correctly, so he decided to flee and head to Calais rather than risking ships grounding mid-battle. The Armada reached Calais on July 27.
The Armada anchored and sent orders to the army waiting for them in the Netherlands to make their way overland to Calais. While anchored, the English fleet caught up with them and loaded 8 ships with explosives, set light to them and set their sails so they would drift unmanned towards the Armada at anchor. While few of these ‘Fire Ships’ managed to actually strike any of the Spanish fleet, the effect was no less devastating. Some of the Spanish Captains panicked, disobeyed orders and cut their anchor lines in order to flee. Much of the Spanish fleet scattered in fear and confusion.
With the formation of the Spanish ships now broken, the English fleet closed in for battle. Soon it became clear that the Spanish gun crews had not been trained properly. The English ships stayed just out of range but close enough to provoke the Spanish to fire and waste their heavy cannon shots. Then the English closed into range and exchanged fire, causing much damage to the Armada which was forced to flee up the English channel.
The Armada, who’s escape to the West was cut off by the English fleet, headed north along the East coast of England, pursued by the English. On 2 August the English fleet called off the pursuit just past the northern border of England, and the Spanish decided to sail for home by navigating round the coast of northern Britain. On its trip around Scotland and Ireland, the Armada began to crumble. Battle damage, heavy storms, hunger and thirst began to take their toll. By the end of the operation, the Spanish had lost 70 ships and 32,000 souls in the ‘Enterprise of England’. English morale, however, soared. Not one English ship had been sunk and very few lives were lost in the battle. Events established England as an unmatched global sea power.
Now our story is all but done
All our players are long since gone
But if you think this is just history
Look around your world and tell me what you see
Man fighting man all in the name of folly and greed
Sending tens of thousands men to battle
must have seemed like a perfectly sensible idea to King Philip. That Queen Elizabeth decided, after the
victory, not to pay the salaries of the sailors who bravely defended England
and her crown (and probably her head too) must have seemed a reasonable
way of ensuring the treasury did not become bankrupted. At the same time it is very likely that then,
as today, the ordinary people of Spain and England had no stake in going to war
with each other nor were content to pay the taxes that were needed to finance the subsequent wars between the two countries.
Our story ends with the triumphant "War (We
Don’t Want War)" - a rally cry to politicians and leaders past, present and future
from the voices of those who have lost so many and so much, and have no
interest, no investment and want no involvement in war. We just want to live our lives.
we dont want war , we just want our freedom
we dont want to fight , we just want our rights
we dont need wealth, we dont need any glory
we just want to be free, to be at one with neighbours
we just want peace, our hearts released
all battles cease
we don't want war, not any more
let hope's wings soar
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