Main content

The English Armada

We remember the defeat of the Spanish Armada as a triumph for the English underdog. But we forget that England sent a fleet of similar strengh back to Spain the very next year.

We remember the defeat of the Spanish Armada as a triumph for the English underdog. How Sir Francis Drake fought off a Spanish behemoth with superior seamanship, first rate gunnery and some friendly weather. But we forget that 'plucky' England sent a fleet of comparable might to invade Spain the very next year. And unlike its Spanish counterpart, The English successfully landed their troops. Michael Portillo tells the story of Sir Francis Drake and the English Armada and finds a series of events remembered very differently either side of the Bay of Biscay. Michael also finds the origins of our own forgetting amidst the scurrilous complexities of an Elizabethan cover up.

Producer James Cook.

Available now

30 minutes

Last on

Sun 4 Dec 2011 13:30

More episodes

Next

You are at the last episode

See all episodes from Things We Forgot to Remember

Broadcast

  • Sun 4 Dec 2011 13:30

Featured in...