History of the Spanish Armada

Phillip ordered the Duke of Medina to prepare the great fleet to sail up the English Channel to link up with the Duke of Parma's army from the (Spanish) Netherlands. The main task of the Armada would be to transport these soldiers from the Netherlands to fight in England. The organization of the "Great Enterprise" was a colossal task. Philip sent agents to Germany and Italy to buy cannon, armor, gunpowder, shot, swords and all the weapons of war. He chartered vessels from many European nations. Apart from the 22 great Portuguese and Spanish fighting galleons, there were merchant ships converted for battle. Smaller ships were used as messengers and also for picket or guard duty.

The great unwieldy, lumbering "urca" transport ships carried siege guns and equipment intended for land battles. They were filled to bursting point with guns, horses, mules and ammunition. Collecting the stores and equipment for the Great Armada was a prodigious task. Enough food had to be supplied for six months. 11 million pounds of ships biscuit, 600,000 pounds of salt pork, 40,000 gallons of olive oil, 14,000 barrels of wine were but a part of the necessities for a force of over 30,000 men. The great transport "urcas" were to be filled with 5000 extra pairs of shoes, 11,000 pairs of sandals, as well as equipment to repair ships, and axes, spades and shovels for digging trenches and sieges.

With the fleet went six surgeons and six physicians, 180 priests as spiritual advisers, 19 justices and 50 administrators, carefully selected to set up government in England, and 146 young gallants who volunteered for the adventure, and took with them 728 servants.